ASEP Always Seeing Endless Possibilities

After graduating with a degree in biology from The College of St. Scholastica, I made the long journey down the stairs to the Department of Exercise Physiology where I began my master’s degree. So little space separated the two different departments, yet they are so different in countless ways. My undergraduate days were spent earning a quality education. However, the real learning didn’t catch up to me until I began to study exercise physiology.

I remember walking by the display in the hallway with the EP related goodies in it, yet I never stopped to examine its contents. An ASEP tee shirt hung within the glassed-in contents along with a very old bicycle ergometer. There were books and numerous other items usually found in an exercise physiology laboratory. I would soon get to know the importance of the letters, ASEP, and the importance of the organization to my future professional life.

While running on the treadmill, I had a fellow running enthusiast start up a conversation with me. He seemed to be sweating quite a bit, and his non-aerobic capacity let me know this would be a quick conversation. He casually asked me what brought me to Duluth, and I informed him of my studies at The College of St. Scholastica (CSS). “Oh, so you want to be a personal trainer? Maybe you can help me get in shape for a 5K?” I immediately gave him a disconcerting look, and decided it was much better to listen to two DJs banter back and forth about traffic situations on I-35 than deal with his gym stereotypes.

This was something I realized I would have to explain to those I met along my way. Not many people know what exercise physiology is about. Thinking back, it never occurred to me that I would have to define and explain what is exercise physiology and what they do. I figured it would be as obvious as someone off the street knowing what a nurse does. I was even more discouraged when I read my family’s yearly Christmas letter to our family and friends. My dad explained my life in about three sentences, one being: “Betsy is working on her master’s degree at St. Scholastica, where she is specializing in sports medicine and cardiac rehab.” Later, I told my father, a electrical engineer, that his explanation of my life was like me telling people “My father is a light bulb salesman.”

Job opportunities in exercise physiology are very diverse. Pigeonholing EPs into cardiac rehab and sports medicine is unfair for many reasons. There are a wealth of career opportunities in the public sector. My interest lies primarily in cardiac research with Medtronic or Guidant. Another classmate is planning to interning at the Olympic Training Center. Another will do obesity research, and still another will focus on prosthetics. The list goes on and on. Exercise physiology is not just about cardiac rehab or helping athletes run faster. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t excellent jobs in cardiac rehabilitation and sports medicine. They are not the “black sheep” of exercise physiology. They are very rewarding and fulfilling career options. However, they are also two areas that are trying to be taken over by other medical disciplines, such as nursing and physical therapy.

This is where Always Seeing Endless Possibilities comes into the picture, Otherwise known as the American Society of Exercise Physiologists (ASEP). When I make a nice meal for myself (not from a box), and do not wish for my roommates to help themselves, I will place it in Tupperware with my name affixed in a visible location. This is what ASEP is doing for exercise physiologist. It has placed exercise physiology on the professional map. We now have a defined scope of practice, code of ethics, and board certification. A true exercise physiologist is the person who has a degree in exercise physiology, and who has taken the “Exercise Physiologist’s Certified (EPC) exam. It is only logical that this person, not others, will be able to legally practice exercise physiology. Those who have a degree in exercise science do not have the same background as those with a degree in exercise physiology from an ASEP-accredited school.

“The mission of exercise science is to provide a general science education (such as health science) for students who don’t know what particular professional field of work they want to do and, thus they are generally unprepared to find employment after graduation. It is clear that the vision for exercise physiology is pivotal to the design of entrepreneurial thinking. Nothing is more obvious than the work related directions stated in the ASEP Standards of Professional Practice (Boone, 2003).”

The student who graduates with a bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology from an ASEP-accredited college or university is prepared to go into the workplace and contribute to society in a rewarding role. The student with a degree in exercise science will be forced to explore more schooling, such as a master’s degree or PhD. The differences between the two academic degrees, that is, exercise physiology and exercise science, are nicely defined on the ASEP website:

Exercise science is a diverse field of study that may include sport psychologists, exercise physiologists, biomechanists, physical educators, and kinesiologists.
Exercise Physiology means the identification of physiological mechanisms underlying physical activity, the comprehensive delivery of treatment services concerned with the analysis, improvement, and maintenance of health and fitness, rehabilitation of heart disease and other chronic diseases and/or disabilities, and the professional guidance and counsel of athletes and others interested in athletics, sports training, and human adaptability to acute and chronic exercise.

Exercise physiologists need to protect their professional title by board certification (specifically, the ASEP-EPC certification). ASEP is the vehicle which will take exercise physiology to a new level. Although there are only 200+ members, they are active and strong. The lesson of quality versus quantity comes into play here.

If I were teaching an optional class and needed a certain number of students to secure my teaching position, I would much rather have 10 students with a passion for learning than 55 with a poor attitude. ASEP has more universities interested in becoming accredited and more EPCs produced each year. The trend is on the upswing.

At its roots, ASEP will spread by word of mouth. The current members in the working realm will pass the word to their fellow colleagues. Soon, there will be more people interested in the ASEP organization. As membership increases, budgets will increase, and ASEP can be fully marketed to all colleges and universities. The faculty will realize that their curriculum is incomplete or needs updating. They may even understand that more hands-on laboratory experiences (such as cadaver dissection) should be added to the curriculum. Students will get an education that is worth going into debt over, since they will have a niche in the job market.

“Decades from now exercise physiology will have a completely new look. It will be the healthcare profession of the future. Students will go to accredited programs of study. They will not only understand the importance of ethical standards and professional development, there will take courses about legal issues, professionalism, and leadership. The ASEP paradigm shift for change will be studied in textbooks written by exercise physiologists. Our title and what we do in the public sector will be common knowledge written all across cyberspace (Boone, 2003).”

We are in a field which is in high demand. The baby boomer generation is aging, while medical costs skyrocket. Prevention and maintenance will be the panacea to rid ourselves of large medical bills and pharmacy costs. The exercise physiologist will help detect a future healthcare problem, and prescribe a lifelong exercise plan to keep healthy. That is what healthcare should be about -- prevention. This is a much more holistic way to approach healthcare issues and concerns and a much more cost effective way to maintain good health.

In retrospect, the formation and progress ASEP has made is amazing. The organization was formed in 1997. Since then, exercise physiologists have had a code of ethics, scope of practice, certification exam, six accredited schools, and countless advancements in the public sector. ASEP has made so much progress over the past 7 years; it is unbelievable to think where exercise physiology will be in another 10 to 20 years. With our progress already as quick as it has been, we will see huge changes for the better in the following years. It is up to us as the future exercise physiologists to ensure that our organization remains as strong as it is and to foster continued growth.