About MACEP

The Massachusetts Association of Clinical Exercise Physiologists (MACEP) was founded in 2004 to achieve the following goals:

  • To provide networking and educational opportunities for CEPs in MA.
  • To clearly define the scope of practice of CEPs
  • To advocate for the CEP profession within health care and with third party payers
  • To promote legislation to create a licensing board for CEPs in MA.

MACEP as an organization is dedicated to strengthening the CEP profession. The field of Exercise Physiology is in transition from one that was historically research based to one that is more clinically based. Clinical Exercise Physiologists and Exercise Specialists have been working in health care settings for well over a decade, but still find themselves having to explain what they do to fellow health professionals, providers, patients, and even family members. Each goal above forms an integral part in establishing CEPs as qualified and respected partners in health care intervention and prevention of chronic medical conditions.

Recent History

Below are some accomplishments of this grass-roots organization:

  • Incorporated as a Non-Profit organization with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Fall, 2004
  • Adopted By-laws for the MACEP: Fall, 2004
  • Submitted licensure bill for 2005-2006 Legislative Session. Our bill was heard by the Joint Committee on Public Health in November 2006 and sent to study in March 2006.
  • Submitted licensure bill for 2007-2008 Legislative Session. Our bill was supported by the Joint Committee on Public Health and by the Health Care Finance Committee. It was not supported by the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Professional Licensure in July, 2008. See the Legislative link above for full details.
  • Organize and hold two MACEP General Membership meetings per year. Our last meeting was in April, 2009 on Coronary Heart Failure: An Update for the Exercise ProfessionalOur next meeting will be at the New England American College of Sports Medicine meeting on November 5, 2009.
  • Created an informational brochure describing the role of a clinical exercise physiologist. This is used to advocate for our profession.

Current Emphasis

The current focus for MACEP is regrouping from our legislative effort of the past two years. We have decided not to refile our licensure bill for the current legislative session. Instead, we will focus on advocacy efforts both in the State House and in Massachusetts.

In March 2009 we became a supporting member of the Exercise is Medicine Initiative (http://www.exerciseismedicine.org. We are exploring how we can help to promote that effort in Massachusetts.

Now, as always, WE NEED YOUR HELP. Every CEP can contribute in one simple way. You can support MACEP by becoming a member. A robust membership is one way for our lawmakers to know that CEPs in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are organized and cohesive.

This is a critical and exciting time for our profession. We hope you will be inspired to get involved in MACEP, as we build our future together.

Contact Us

If you have questions or comments about MACEP, or are interested in becoming involved in any of our efforts please contact Michael See, MACEP President, at michael.see@joslin.harvard.edu , or Kirsten Ward, Secretary, at kirs10ward@mac.com