- The Short Answer: What EIM Stands For
- Why the Acronym Confuses People
- The Program Behind the Name
- How the Credential Evolved Since 2012
- The Five Curriculum Areas Under the Name
- Who Can Earn the Credential
- Course Format, Fees and Credits
- What EIM Is Not
- Preparing With the Name in Mind
- Frequently Asked Questions
- EIM stands for Exercise is Medicine, and this credential is issued and administered by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
- The current offering is the ACSM Exercise is Medicine Credential, an educational specialty program rather than a base fitness certification.
- The credential requires a B.S./B.A. in a related field plus an existing qualifying fitness certification.
- The online course costs USD195 for ACSM members and USD379 for nonmembers, and awards 15 CECs.
The Short Answer: What EIM Stands For
EIM stands for Exercise is Medicine. In the context of this site, it refers specifically to Exercise is Medicine Certification, the ACSM pathway that prepares exercise professionals to work alongside health care providers, receive referrals, and support patients living with common chronic conditions. The acronym is shorthand for a philosophy as much as a credential: physical activity is treated as a core part of health care, not an optional add-on.
If you landed here searching for a definition, that is the whole answer. The rest of this article explains what sits behind the three letters, because the name alone tells you very little about what the credential requires, what it covers, or who it is for. For a broader orientation, you can also read our companion pieces What Is EIM Certification? and EIM Meaning.
Why the Acronym Confuses People
Three-letter acronyms are crowded territory, and "EIM" is used by more than one unrelated credential or concept in the professional world. A search for the letters alone can return material that has nothing to do with exercise, clinical referral, or ACSM. That is why the full phrase matters.
Some third-party practice sites carry legacy references, including old "Level 1, Level 2, Level 3" language and dump-style listings with advertised question counts. Those details do not establish what ACSM currently requires. When a claim cannot be traced to ACSM's own pages, it is safest to hold it loosely. Our guide on What Does EIM Mean? covers how to sort legitimate sources from stale ones.
The Program Behind the Name
The name comes from the broader Exercise is Medicine initiative, which promotes physical activity as part of routine care. The credential translates that idea into a professional skill set: understanding how health systems work, communicating with clinicians, documenting appropriately, staying within scope of practice, and designing safe activity programs for people with medical conditions.
Operationally, the credential is offered through ACSM's specialty certificate programs. The online learning experience is delivered on ACSM's Path LMS platform as the Exercise is Medicine (EIM) Online Course. Passing participants receive an email invitation to complete the credential application, which is a separate step from simply finishing the coursework.
Educational Credential vs. Base Certification
This distinction trips up many candidates:
- The EIM credential is an educational specialty program, built on top of an existing fitness certification.
- It is not the same thing as ACSM-CPT, ACSM-EP, or ACSM-CEP, which are separate base certifications with their own handbook rules.
- The ACSM Candidate Handbook currently linked for base certifications covers GEI, CPT, EP and CEP and has no EIM entry, so its testing rules should not be applied to EIM.
How the Credential Evolved Since 2012
ACSM's own history of the program records that the original certification dates to 2012. In 2021 it was redesigned as a specialty credential and educational certificate, and a refreshed asynchronous course launched in June 2022. ACSM describes the redesigned course as 17 sections organized into five modules, using a "Common Chronic Medical Conditions" structure and placing facilitating behavior change before special settings.
That history explains a lot of the confusing material online. Older pages describe levels and application forms that no longer match the current pathway. A legacy application form that referenced five CECs and three levels now redirects to the EIM overview page, and its older level-based criteria should not be assumed to apply to the current 15-CEC course. If you see "Level 1/2/3" in a study resource, you are probably looking at pre-redesign language.
A dated course launch does not prove every current item is unchanged, so confirm specifics directly with ACSM before you commit time or money. Our EIM requirements guide walks through how to verify eligibility details at the source.
The Five Curriculum Areas Under the Name
The curriculum is organized into five sequential areas. These are unweighted preparation topics, not an official exam blueprint, and no official percentage weights have been verified. Treat them as a map of what to learn rather than a ranking of what to prioritize. For a deeper walkthrough, see EIM Exam Domains: Complete Guide to All 5 Content Areas.
Domain 1: Health Care Basics
The foundation for working inside a clinical-to-community relationship.
- Models of Care and Exercise is Medicine
- Terminology, Documentation and Communication
- Privacy/HIPAA and Scope of Practice
Domain 2: Exercise Prescription for Common Medical Conditions
The largest block of condition-specific content.
- Hypertension and Dyslipidemia
- Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome and NAFLD
- Pre-diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes
- Osteoarthritis and Low Back Pain
- Introduction to Cancer
Domain 3: Exercise Prescription for Older Adults
Applying prescription principles to an aging population. No additional published subheadings are assumed beyond the domain title.
Domain 4: Exercise Prescription in Special Settings
Delivering programs outside the one-on-one model.
- Facilitating Small Group Medical Fitness Programs
- Virtual Training/Technology
Domain 5: Facilitating Behavior Change - The Coach Approach
The communication and adherence layer. Public learning objectives point to motivational interviewing and exercise adherence, but no unpublished subheadings should be assumed.
Public learning objectives also cover health systems, clinical-to-community collaboration, referrals, documentation and privacy, professional scope, medication effects and referral decisions, and technology. These support study of the five areas above without adding new exam domains.
Who Can Earn the Credential
Understanding the name means understanding who it is built for. There is an important difference between who can take the course and who can earn the credential.
| Question | What ACSM's current pages indicate |
|---|---|
| Does the online course have prerequisites? | No. The course itself has no prerequisites. |
| What does the credential require? | At least a B.S./B.A. in exercise science, exercise physiology or kinesiology. |
| What other certification is needed? | ACSM certification or another NCCA-accredited or ISO/IEC 17024 fitness certification. |
| What must be completed? | Every EIM course module. |
| What score is required? | At least 80% on every online examination, not an overall average. |
| What happens after passing? | An email invitation to complete the credential application. |
The "80% on every online examination" rule deserves emphasis. A strong score in one area cannot offset a weak score in another. If you are comfortable with hypertension but shaky on documentation and privacy, the weaker quiz is the one that can stop you. Our EIM passing score breakdown explains how this per-quiz standard changes your study approach.
Course Format, Fees and Credits
The name "Exercise is Medicine" might suggest a single sit-down test, but the structure is different. Delivery is asynchronous and online through ACSM's Path LMS. Publicly indexed course-item metadata lists 14 assessment quizzes with the following question counts:
| Quiz | Questions |
|---|---|
| Health Care Basics | 25 |
| Hypertension | 6 |
| Dyslipidemia | 10 |
| Obesity | 18 |
| Metabolic Syndrome | 9 |
| NAFLD | 7 |
| Prediabetes/Type 2 Diabetes | 26 |
| Osteoarthritis | 16 |
| Low-back Pain | 11 |
| Cancer | 9 |
| Older Adults | 15 |
| Behavior Change | 25 |
| Small Group Programs | 13 |
| Technology/Virtual Training | 13 |
Those counts add up to 203 questions, but that figure is a calculated aggregate across the listed quizzes, not a single 203-question final exam. The separate six-question course evaluation is excluded. The earlier reviewed catalog described 42 course items and its indexed list was incomplete, so these 14 quiz counts do not establish an exhaustive inventory of every instructional or assessment item. Paid lessons, handouts and assessment questions were not accessed in preparing this overview.
Fees, Access and Credits at a Glance
- Course fee: USD195 for ACSM members; USD379 for nonmembers.
- Continuing education: the course awards 15 CECs. That is an educational-credit quantity, not an exam timer and not an EIM renewal requirement.
- Access window: 365 days from purchase to access and complete the course. This is neither an examination duration nor the credential's validity period.
- Separate fees: a separate credential-application or standalone exam fee was not verified.
For the full cost picture, including how membership changes the math, see EIM Certification Cost: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
What has not been verified
Responsible preparation means knowing the gaps. The following were not verified from issuer sources, so treat any site claiming certainty with caution: a single timed exam duration, scored versus unscored item allocations, complete item-type specifications, current open-book or calculator rules, webcam or proctoring policies, and Pearson VUE involvement. The catalog's retake wording concerns retakes after passing and does not establish a complete failed-attempt policy. A generic ACSM scaled passing score does not apply as evidence for EIM.
Likewise, no verified EIM pass rate and no exact EIM credential-holder salary series were found, and no earnings premium caused by the credential has been demonstrated. If you are weighing the investment, read Is the EIM Certification Worth It? with that evidence gap in mind.
What EIM Is Not
Because the name sounds clinical, candidates sometimes overread it. The credential supports collaboration with health care providers; it does not confer medical treatment authority. Headlines and marketing that imply otherwise are not supported by ACSM's description of the program.
| Often confused with | How it differs |
|---|---|
| ACSM-CPT, ACSM-EP, ACSM-CEP | These are base certifications with their own handbook, testing rules and maintenance policies. EIM is an educational specialty credential with a distinct pathway; a comparison with ACSM-EP concerns different pathways, not credential equivalence. |
| Exercise is Medicine for Practitioners (course 309999) | A different one-CEC product, not the 15-CEC credential course. |
| Legacy Level 1/2/3 credentials | Older level-based language tied to pre-redesign materials; not adopted for the current pathway. |
| Other courses called "EIM" | Programs such as campus or Canadian recognition initiatives are outside the scope of this exact ACSM pathway. |
Key Takeaway
Before paying for anything labeled "EIM," confirm it is the ACSM Exercise is Medicine Credential course on ACSM's Path LMS (course 97326), not a similarly named product or a legacy practice dump.
Renewal is not the same as the base certification
A current EIM-specific expiration period, renewal fee and required CEU/CEC total were not verified. O*NET's directory record for this credential lists a three-year renewal through CEUs, but it also retains an education response that conflicts with ACSM's current bachelor's-degree requirement, so those directory statements may reflect legacy information. ACSM's recertification page and its certification maintenance guidebook list GEI, CPT, EP and CEP without a current EIM entry, and their generic three-year and 45-60 CEC figures do not establish EIM policy. Confirm directly with ACSM, and track renewal for your underlying fitness certification separately.
Preparing With the Name in Mind
Since the credential is built from 14 topic-level quizzes with an 80% bar on each, a sensible plan front-loads the areas where mistakes are most costly: the large quizzes and the ones that feel least intuitive. A single short sequencing example tied to the curriculum:
Health Care Basics
- Terminology, documentation and communication (the 25-question quiz)
- Privacy/HIPAA and scope of practice before anything clinical
Common Medical Conditions
- Pre-diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes (the largest listed quiz at 26 questions)
- Obesity, metabolic syndrome and NAFLD together, since they overlap
Older Adults and Special Settings
- Older adult prescription
- Small group programs and virtual training
Behavior Change and Review
- Motivational interviewing and adherence (25 questions)
- Revisit any topic where you scored under 80%
For resource selection, remember that the course description cites the 11th edition of ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription and the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, while a later notice recommends the 12th edition, described as published in 2024. This mixed reference information does not establish a new exam version, so check which edition your course materials point to. Our EIM study guide and one-page EIM cheat sheet are good places to consolidate what you learn, and you can pressure-test your recall on the main practice test site.
If you are still deciding whether the effort fits your career, explore EIM jobs and earnings analysis, keeping in mind that no credential-caused salary premium has been verified. When you are ready to test yourself, head to the practice questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
EIM stands for Exercise is Medicine. In this context it refers to the ACSM Exercise is Medicine Credential, an educational specialty program issued and administered by the American College of Sports Medicine.
No. It is an educational specialty credential that requires an existing qualifying fitness certification. ACSM-CPT, ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP are separate base certifications with their own handbook and maintenance rules.
The credential requires at least a B.S./B.A. in exercise science, exercise physiology or kinesiology, an ACSM or other NCCA-accredited or ISO/IEC 17024 fitness certification, completion of every course module, and at least 80% on every online examination. The course itself has no prerequisites.
The course is USD195 for ACSM members and USD379 for nonmembers. A separate credential-application or standalone exam fee was not verified, so confirm the total with ACSM. See the pricing breakdown for details.
No. The 203 figure is a calculated total of the 14 listed assessment quizzes, not a single final examination. A single-exam question count and timed duration have not been verified.
A current EIM-specific expiration period, renewal fee and required CEU/CEC total were not verified. A directory listing mentions three-year renewal, but it may be legacy information, so confirm renewal terms with ACSM and track your underlying certification separately.