Support clients with real health conditions and build a career that goes beyond general fitness.
This Level 3 GP Exercise Referral course is designed for qualified personal trainers who want to work with a wider, more complex client base. You'll learn how to safely support clients referred by healthcare professionals, including GPs and NHS services. These are people managing real conditions. They need guidance that's informed, structured and safe. This course gives you that capability. You'll understand common medical conditions, how they affect exercise, and how to adapt your approach. You'll learn how to plan, deliver and review programmes that support recovery, long-term health and quality of life. For many trainers, this is the step that changes how they work. You move from general fitness into meaningful, specialist support.
More people are being referred to exercise by their GP than ever, and most trainers turn them away because they are not qualified to take them. That is work walking out of the door.
How to safely support clients referred by GPs and NHS services including common medical conditions and how to adapt your approach.
You finish withFocus Awards Level 3 Certificate in Exercise Referral
You'll achieve a Level 3 Diploma in GP Exercise Referral. This qualification is recognised by employers, insurers and industry bodies, allowing you to work with referred clients and expand your scope of practice.
You must hold a Level 2 & Level 3 Personal Training qualification. This ensures you already have the foundation needed to safely progress into exercise referral.
Assessment is practical and applied. You'll complete: Interactive workbooks throughout the course Written assignments based on real-world tasks Practical assessments with a client (friend or family member), including consultation, programme design and delivery You'll film your practical work and upload it for feedback.
Drag the deposit and the term. Every figure updates, including the total you would pay by the end.
Fully online with no fixed start dates or deadlines. You work through written content and video lessons and practical tasks.
This course is delivered fully online with no fixed start dates or deadlines. You'll work through a mix of written content, video lessons and practical tasks. Everything is designed to help you understand, apply and retain what you learn. You can study around your current work and commitments.
You get access to your learningEnrol and your account is live straight away. No cohort to wait for and no start date to work around.
Start working through the modulesStudy at your pace, in the order that suits you. Everything stays open for the whole of your access period.
Use the support when you need itTutors who mark the work answer the questions. Same working day replies, and marking inside 72 hours.
Complete your qualificationSubmit, get feedback, resubmit free of charge for as long as you have access. Nobody is passed before they are ready.
Join the Create ClubQualified is the start. The Club is where you keep learning, ask questions and stay in touch with the people you studied alongside.
You’ll work with a real client, plan and deliver sessions and submit video evidence for assessment, which is marked by our tutors. Comprehensive feedback is provided so you can resubmit if needed.
Yes. The qualification is accredited by Focus Awards which is Ofqual regulated and CIMSPA endorsed, and is widely recognised by employers and insurers across the industry and internationally. This means you can get insured to work with referred clients on completion.
Yes. You can complete the entire course online, including the assessments (submitted as video evidence). There are no in-person days required, so you can study around your schedule.
You’ll work with clients referred by healthcare professionals for conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular issues or musculoskeletal problems and more. You’ll learn to design safe, appropriate programmes for each.
It’s a Level 3 qualification that allows you to work with clients referred by healthcare professionals such as GPs or NHS services. You learn to safely design and deliver exercise programmes for people with managed health conditions, opening up work with referral schemes and gyms that run them.
Referral relationships take months to build and last years. This is the qualification that lets you start.
