Knowledge is Power
Donald Rodd, PhD, EPC
Department of Human
Kinetics and Sport
Studies
University of
Evansville
Evansville, IN 47722
"Knowledge
is Power" -- Sir Francis
Bacon
Many of the
presentations at the 2004 National
Meeting of the American Society of Exercise Physiologists
(ASEP)
in Indianapolis, IN focused on professionalism of Exercise
Physiology.
These sessions were filled with passion and provided a sober and
realistic
description concerning the status of “professionalism” in Exercise
Physiology.
Indeed, much of the information presented during the professionalism
sessions
should be packaged and developed into presentations targeted toward
students
entering Exercise Physiology academic programs.
As eloquently
expressed in the PEPonline
by Nicole Beachman [1] and Jesse Pittsley [2], current undergraduate
students
who aspire to become Exercise Physiologists are not adequately informed
or prepared regarding the status of professionalism of the Exercise
Physiologist
post-baccalaureate. During the 2004 ASEP annual meeting,
questions
arose concerning the preparation of Exercise Physiology students toward
professionalism and whether we as "practicing professional" Exercise
Physiologists
have an ethical obligation to prepare and inform students regarding the
status of the professional Exercise Physiologist.
As an academician
teaching various courses
in an Exercise Physiology Program, I have the unique opportunity to
encounter
students at various points during their undergraduate
development.
During this maturation process, I have witnessed the intellectual
growth
and maturity of our students in the classroom as well as the
development
of competency in the lab. However, the students seem ill prepared
in the area of professional competency. Many Exercise Physiology
students are under the impression that upon graduation they will enter
into a competitive yet equitable health profession, receive a
respectable
salary and be held in high regard by their professional peers.
However, as
mentioned by Beachman [1],
upon graduation, students are faced with the reality that their
undergraduate
degrees are not truly equitable. In regard to salary, the Exercise
Physiologist
falls in the range of mid-$20,000, an amount below professions
requiring
a two-year associate degree or one-year of technical training
[3].
In regard to professionalism, according to information presented at the
2004 National ASEP meeting, it appears many in the Health Care
Profession
and in the general public do not consider the Exercise Physiologist as
a professional. This is not surprising since the Exercise
Physiologist
is competing for jobs with individuals who have only high school level
preparation. Many job advertisements for Exercise Physiologists
call
for some type of certification such as ACE or AFPA with no stipulation
for degree requirement. It appears that this competition among
high
school, associate, baccalaureate and masters level graduates competing
for the same jobs will keep salaries and the level of professionalism
low.
Can this situation be remedied? I believe it can, through
education,
particularly of students in Exercise Physiology programs and young
Exercise
Physiologists.
Some important
steps toward upgrading the
salaries and level of professionalism of Exercise Physiologists include
Accreditation of academic programs, Certification of Exercise
Physiologists
and Licensure of Exercise Physiologists. To achieve these goals
we
must educate our undergraduate Exercise Physiology students regarding
professionalism
of their future careers. Here at the University of Evansville, we
have developed an entry level class entitled Introduction to Human
Kinetics
and Sport Studies (HKSS) (HKSS 150). This class is designed to
introduce
students to the HKSS major and the various career choices that exist
within
the major. At the onset of the semester, “professionals”
representing
various disciplines visit the class to provide an overview of his or
her
career. Subsequently, students are required to interview a
“professional”
for a more in-depth opportunity to understand a particular
career.
Once the students are comfortable with the possible career choices
available
to them, the class then examines professionalism in Exercise
Physiology.
During this section on professionalism, students are required to
examine
and discuss the reality of life as a professional in the world of
Exercise
Physiology.
Since the class has
already explored career
choices and interviewed “professionals”, they feel very confident and
knowledgeable
regarding the role of “professionalism” in Exercise Physiology.
The
discussion begins with a definition of professionalism and each student
is invited to provide a definition of a professional or a
profession.
Subsequent to receiving some definitions by the students, the following
definitions are put forth. According to Merriam-Webster’s Online
Dictionary [4] professional is defined as “relating to, or
characteristic
of a profession; engaged in one of the learned professions.” A
profession
is defined as “a calling required specialized knowledge and often long
intensive academic preparation; a principal calling, vocation, or
employment;
the whole body of persons engaged in a calling.”
According to the
Social Care Association
[5] a professional is a “person whose work involves making judgments in
situations where even knowing all the facts does not make it clear what
would be the right course of action. Recognition of the
difference
between a profession and other forms of occupation is credited to the
Greek
doctor, Hippocrates, who lived 2500 year ago but the current range of
different
professions did not begin to emerge until the nineteenth century.
Professionals
normally have a code of ethics, take the trouble to keep their
knowledge
and expertise up-to-date and are paid to enable them to devote their
time
to using and improving their skills.” In addition to the above
definitions,
a profession typically has a main governing body with some type of
“legal”
control over its specialized body of knowledge. Since the body of
knowledge
may be complex, the governing body may be autonomous or self-regulating
governed by a code of ethics.
"Knowledge
is said to be power,
and it is power in the same sense that wood is fuel. Wood on fire is
fuel.
Knowledge on fire is power." -- Henry MacKenzie
Typically the students
are satisfied and agree
with the definitions previously presented. At this time the
students
are content and believe that upon receiving their degree (in Exercise
Physiology)
they will be considered “professional” Exercise Physiologists. To
bring the hard reality of life back to the classroom and to stimulate
discussion,
the following information is offered to the class regarding
professionalism.
According to codebookcity.com [5], “To keep things clear and prevent
misunderstandings,
use the noun professional in reference to white collar folks who are
licensed
by the state. If you want to compliment someone who is not in
that
group, use the adjective form.” Following the presentation of the
previous statement, the question is raised whether Exercise
Physiologists
are really professionals, since they are not licensed. This
typically
stimulates some discussion regarding professionalism of Exercise
Physiology
and some of the students begin to question the veracity of the Exercise
Physiologist as professional.
In an attempt to
provide some type of reference,
the students are then invited to provide examples of occupations, other
than Exercise Physiology that are considered professional.
Typically
the students name medicine, nursing, physical therapist assistant and
physical
therapy to name a few. The aforementioned occupations conform to
the definitions presented previously. Each occupation requires
specialized
knowledge, long intensive academic preparation, requires judgment
calls,
they live by a code of ethics and they are credentialed by the
state.
Therefore, they are Professionals. How does the Exercise
Physiologist
compare to those occupations accepted as professional? The students are
given the assignment to compare the “professional” Exercise
Physiologist
to a professional Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) and Physical
Therapist
(PT) in regard to professional organization, credentialing,
credentialing
agency, name of credential and entry-level degree. The results of
the assignment are discussed during the next class session.
Typically
the results are as follow:
|
Exercise Physiologist |
Physical Therapist |
PT Assistant |
Professional Organization
|
American Society of Exercise
Physiologists (ASEP) (6)
American
College of Sports
Medicine (ACSM) (7)
National
Strength and Conditioning
Association
(NSCA) (8)
American
Council on Exercise
(ACE) (9)
Aerobics
and Fitness Association
of America (AFAA) (10)
etc
|
American Physical Therapy
Association (11)
|
American Physical Therapy
Association
|
Credentials
|
Certification |
Licensure |
Licensure or Certification |
Credentialing Organization
|
ASEP
ACSM
NSCA
ACE
AFAA
etc
|
State
|
State
|
Name of Credential
|
ASEP – Certified Exercise
Physiologist
ACSM
– Health Fitness Instructor
NSCA
– Certified Personal
Trainer, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
ACE
– Clinical Exercise
Specialist, Personal Trainer
AFAA
– Fitness Practitioner
|
Licensed PT
|
Licensed or Certified PTA
|
Entry Level Degree
|
BS, MS in Exercise Physiology,
Exercise Science, Kinesiology, Movement Science, Human Kinetics, etc
|
MS in PT, Doctor of Physical
Therapy (DPT)
|
Associate-PTA
|
At the end of this
assignment the students
are usually taken aback concerning the plethora of credentials
available
to the Exercise Physiologist and very concerned regarding the confusing
state of the credentialed “Professional” Exercise Physiologist.
From
the chart above, it is clearly evident that the associate level PTA
conforms
more closely to the definition of professional than a MS level Exercise
Physiologist. It is at this time the students in the class
realize
that something is amiss in the field. Students begin to realize
that
they can empower themselves with knowledge and help change the system;
a change that can result in an unequivocal acceptance of the Exercise
Physiologist
as a Professional. The students can perpetuate the system as is
exists
now or they can participate in change by joining ASEP and become
advocates
for Accredited Academic programs, ASEP Certified Exercise Physiologists
and Licensure of Exercise Physiologists. Knowledge is Power.
"Knowledge
will forever govern
ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm
themselves
with the power which knowledge gives." -- James Madison
References
1. Beachman, N. (2004)
Abra Cadabra: The
Disappearning Act of Exercise Physiologists. Professionalism of
Exercise
Physiologyonline.
7(5):
[Online]. http://www.asep.org/asep/asep/AbraCadabraExercisePhysiology.html
2. Pittsley, J. (2002)
Are We Teaching
Professionalism? Professionalism of Exercise Physiologyonline.
5(6): [Online]. http://www.asep.org/asep/asep/AreWeTeachingProfessionalism.html
3. Wattles, M. (2004)
The Licensing of
Exercise Physiologists. National Meeting of the American Society of
Exercise
Physiologists.
4. Merriam Webster
Online. http://m-w.com/
5. Social Care
Association. http://www.socialcaring.co.uk
6. American Society of
Exercise Physiologists.
http://www.asep.org
7. American College of
Sports Medicine.
http://www.acsm.org
8. National Strength
and Conditioning
Association. http://www.nsca-cc.org
9. American Council on
Exercise. http://www.acefitness.org
10. Aerobics and
Fitness Association of
America. http://www.afaa.com
11. American Physical
Therapy Association.
http://www.apta.org