Doctorate of Exercise Physiology: An Excellent Idea
or Is It?
Tommy Boone
Professor and Chair
Department of Exercise Physiology
The College of St. Scholastica
Duluth, MN 55811
“You can do what you want to do, accomplish what you want
to accomplish, attain any reasonable objective you may have in mind…if you
want to do it, if you work to do it….” – William E. Holler
Introduction
Have you tried to tell your friends about a new idea lately?
Was there instant agreement? Or, did they throw their hands up and
walk away. It isn’t easy to deal with people who say, “Your idea is
crazy. Get real”. Or, you hear someone saying, “If you keep this
up, you are going to upset a lot of people.” It is even harder to work
with people who don’t want change. So, why would a person even think
about acting on a new idea? The resistance, the long moments in reflection,
the wasted time, and the sighs saps a person’s energy and enthusiasm.
Perhaps, the bottom line is this: We have difficulty
stepping back from new ideas and looking at each one objectively. Perspective
is always a good thing, especially when it helps in analyzing the value of
a new idea. After all, just one reason can stop an excellent idea.
Imagine the impact of several negative reasons working in synergy.
If we are to understand the resistance to the implementation of new ideas,
we need to know the barriers to change. This is to say, if we can identify
the barriers, we can increase our understanding of the resistance to change.
Silversin and Kornachi [1] have identified several reasons
for resisting change, such as status quo, no reason to change, no shared
vision, and skepticism. Collectively, the barriers constitute what
may be defined as “institutional inertia” [2]. What has always been
the way of doing something is hard to give up even if it doesn’t make sense
anymore. This is referred to as inertia (i.e., the resistance to change).
It is a powerful force because familiarity doesn’t require a person to learn
new skills or to think differently. Also, as a result, status quo keeps
colleagues from considering new ideas. Change is regarded as risky,
especially by those who built the system. Without a shared vision for
the new idea, they do not want to change. The end result is skepticism
and failure to change.
The ASEP Organization
The ASEP vision is the crux of the ASEP organization.
It is the reason members are working so hard to empower the students.
The vision is also the path to professionalism for the members of the organization.
In turn, members get credibility, control, and influence over the profession.
Of course, college professors can either build positive esprit and teamwork
or keep new ideas from maturing as quickly as they should. In time,
in matters like this, the faculty will eventually get on board. Obviously,
it requires replacement of the old establishment with the new establishment.
Until then, it is logical if members from both camps would work consciously
to develop trust between each other and demonstrate mutual respect for the
professionalization of exercise physiology under the direction of ASEP.
The shared vision will help incorporate new ideas into the academic programs
and benefit everyone interested in helping the public sector.
But, it seems that a certain number of our academic colleagues
see no reason to change. That is, from their perspective, “if it isn’t
broke, why fix it?” What they are really saying is that we have plenty
of students wanting to major in our exercise science, so what is the problem?
Of course, their lack of understanding of the “problem” is a major part of
the overall problem we face when proposing new ideas. They just don’t
get it. Or, they just don’t care, which is a sort of shared blindness
to the reality before them. A few are skeptical, and they would probably
be that way regardless of the proposed idea. It is simply easier to
argue for status quo than to get involved in a new idea. Everyone is
already working hard with little free time for recreation and financial-growth
investment activities. Right!
Just think though, “What if a person was to write a “first-ever”
proposal for an absolutely new doctorate degree?” By new, it ought
to be clear that I’m referring to the “Doctor of Exercise Physiology” (DEP)
degree. It might be considered as the parallel step to what physical
therapists have done (i.e., the Doctor of Physical Therapy). Think
about. It just might also be viewed as one of the most significant
advancements in exercise physiology as a healthcare profession second only
to the founding of ASEP. Oh yes, I understand that it is a new
idea. It will meet resistance. The status quo personalities will
stand up and dictate the religion of no change. Those who haven’t had
a new idea in decades will argue that there is no reason to change.
Still others are likely to be too caught up in the shared existence (not
vision) of yesterday’s thinking. And, finally, yes, there are always the
skeptics. By this, I don’t mean skeptic as in critical thinking.
Rather, I’m referring to the person who gets enjoyment from arguing against
anything new or different.
Without getting into an engaging historical perspective on
the evolution of the DEP at this time, this article will serve as a brief
example of how exercise physiology has evolved concurrently with the professional
developments triggered by the ASEP organization. Educational standards,
in particular, have progressed in accordance with the ASEP Accreditation
Guidelines and with the Board of Directors intent to keep the regulation
of exercise physiology by exercise physiologists. When examined in
context with the efforts of the ASEP Boards of Certification and Licensure
along with the ASEP Standards of Professional Practice, Code of Ethics, and
definition of exercise physiology as an evolving healthcare profession, the
DEP is the next logical progression in the evolution of the ASEP organization.
Is the DEP idea irresponsible? Will it create more
confusion than its worth? What if consensus can be reached to create
the DEP degree? Will it be accepted as the professional doctorate degree
of the exercise physiology profession? How will it compare to the other
professional doctorate degrees? How will the Doctor of Education (EdD)
degree or the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree compare to the DEP degree?
How will the knowledge that psychologists have two different degrees (PsyD,
which stresses clinical practice, and the PhD, which stresses research productivity)
influence exercise physiology? Will there be continued interest in,
for example, the PhD degree versus the DEP? Will exercise physiologists
come to recognize the DEP degree the equivalent of the PhD degree, or consistent
with the entry-level degrees like Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Dentistry
(DDS), and Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) with respect to the exercise physiology
as a healthcare profession.
A basic assumption of the DEP degree is that it will provide
the essential connection to the public sector. A doctoral degree with
title specificity stands to increase the development and acceptance of exercise
physiologists as having an autonomous practice. It should also help
elevate both the exercise physiologist’s title and professional position
in the healthcare community. Perhaps this is sufficient reason itself
to get started in making the DEP a reality. We have the power to act,
or we can throw away the gift to transcend and exceed our past accomplishments.
The extent to which we think with unity will communicate our passion to realize
the ASEP vision.
“We become what we think, what we talk about, and what we
do. If we think our work is for the right reason, if we think that
our actions will bring forth positive results, and if we start living as
professionals, we will become our vision.” – William Boone, Jr.
References
Doctor of Exercise Physiology
[A Proposal]
Required Course Work
A minimum of 48 credit hours of registration in graduate
level courses beyond the master’s degree is required. The course of
study can be achieved in 3 years if the student enters with an appropriate
knowledge base in the field of Exercise Physiology. Although students
from unrelated fields may be admitted, students are expected to have an undergraduate
degree or a Master’s degree in exercise physiology, exercise science, or
related academic work. Otherwise, the course of study would likely
be extended to complete requisite coursework. The required doctoral
course work for the DEP degree and the basis for the comprehensive examination
that will test the knowledge base of the student in Exercise Physiology include:
First Year
Fall Semester
EXP ---- Professional Development of Exercise Physiology
[3 credits]
EXP ---- Cardiorespiratory Physiology [3 credits]
EXP ---- Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health
[3 credits]
Spring Semester
EXP ---- Advanced Research Methods [3 credits]
EXP ---- Exercise Physiology Across the Life Cycle
[3 credits]
EXP ---- Energy Metabolism and Systemic Exercise [3
credits]
Second Year
Fall Semester
EXP ---- Advanced Statistical Methods [3 credits]
EXP ---- Physiology of Fitness and Athletic Development
[3 credits]
EXP ---- Gross Anatomy [3 credits]
Spring Semester
EXP ---- Advanced Statistical Applications [3 credits]
EXP ---- Environmental Exercise Physiology [3 credits]
EXP ---- Exercise Physiology Seminar [3 credits]
Third Year
Fall Semester
EXP ---- Dissertation Proposal/Data Collection [6 credits]
Spring Semester
EXP ---- Dissertation Defense [6 credits]
Copyright
© American Society of Exercise Physiologists. All Rights
Reserved.