Greetings:
Being a member of a profession involves
a greater level of responsibility and involvement than being in an academic
discipline. No longer may the one approach working a traditional
9-5 job without critically reflecting upon the role of the profession in
our society. Professions, like individuals, have obligations to the
culture and it people. Several of these obligations include the maintenance
of ethical standards and conduct, dissemination of a specific knowledge
base to the public, requiring it’s members to remain current with changing
information, and encouraging it’s members to be active in the profession’s
evolution. Professions do not stand alone and stagnant in our society.
As society evolves, the professional organizations lead their respective
professions to stay vital, relevant, and current.
It was this concept, my interest in undergraduate
curriculum development, and reading a wonderful book by Leon Botstein titled
Jefferson’s
Children: Education and the Promise of American Culture that
inspired me to write an essay for PEPonline
this month. Surprisingly, but purposefully, the essay refers to exercise
physiology very little. The purpose of the paper was to remind others
that just discussing health, exercise, disease, and many other obvious
topics is not the sole purpose of a exercise physiologist. The exercise
physiology curriculum should not stand alone in an EP’s undergraduate training.
Far too often, general education course are perceived to be in a separate
class or not relevant to one’s major. Unfortunately, it is exactly
this connection, from our society to our profession, which exercise physiology
needs. For without and a holistic understanding of American and international
culture, political science, sociology, psychology, and philosophy, the
establishment of a profession would be futile. Simply stated, without
truly attempting to understand a society it is impossible to establish
a relevant profession in one. I invite you to read my essay regarding
Dr. Botstein’s book and the value of general education courses in this
month’s issue of PEPonline.
Also, please take a few minutes and look
at the steps taken by the ASEP leadership to continue work on your behalf.
For example, recently, Dr.
Robert Robergs, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal
of Exercise Physiologyonline was notified
that the electronic journal is listed among other scientific publications
in the Directory of Open Access Journals.
The DOAJ covers free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly
journals. The aim of the service is to increase the usage and impact
of such periodicals. It was launched 12 of May this year, and it
has created a lot of positive reactions already in this short time.
DOAJ is provided by Lund University, Sweden, and is supported by OSI (Open
Society Institute) and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources
Coalition). How would this benefit the authors who publish in JEPonline?
In short, it increases visibility (i.e., dissemination of published articles
worldwide free for reuse by other search services) of the JEPonline
articles. Researchers get a one stop shopping site, where they access
to open access articles. Increased access/usage lead of course to
more citations, and with increased visibility, easier access and more citations,
JEPonline
can get higher a"impact factor". I should point out that there are
other listings of the ASEP electronic journals. As an example, click
on the FreeMedicalJournals.com
site, the NewJour list of electronic
journals, The
University of British Columbia Library, and the Electronic
Journal Miner.
Dr. Tommy Boone indicates that Exercise
Physiology is now listed among other Healthcare Professions in the "Health
Professions Network". The Health Professions Network is a gathering
of health care provider organizations, educators, accreditors and administrators
all concerned with exploring current issues and advancing allied health
professions. This organization was established as an interactive, cooperative
group where the needs of allied health, in general, are put before the
needs of an individual organization. No other group has existed with the
goal of bringing the varied allied health groups together. In order
to appreciate the opinions of each member of this very diverse organization,
The Health Professions Network has strived to be an all inclusive and non-restrictive
group. That goal has been the basis of HPN's structure and meeting format.
The Health Professions Network is a uniquely designed organization in that
there are no officers or board members. HPN has intentionally maintained
a loose structure so that all members have equal voice and "vote"; no member
organization is more powerful than any other is. This structure encourages
the interaction and group thinking that has been hallmark to the Network.
Click
on this page to see the listing of the American Society of Exercise
Physiologists among other healthcare professions. Dr. Boone indicates
that documents are presently being developed to highlight ASEP as one of
the "professions of the month". For example, take a look at the listing
by months. "What is Music Therapy?" is particular well done.
It will serve as a template for "What is Exercise Physiology?" Of
course, all of this takes time.
The Wisconsin
Association of Exercise Physiologists has a new website. Jason
Young, MA, EPC, ATC is the President of WIAEP. I understand that
he is in conversation with the Board of Certification about the steps to
offer the Exercise Physiologist Certified (EPC) exam in Wisconsin.
Within the next several months, information about each of the ASEP state
organizations will be posted regarding their yearly meeting and presentation
content (and speakers). The Minnesota
Association of Exercise Physiologists is sponsoring a three-hour conference
at The College of St. Scholastica to discuss career opportunities for master-prepared
exercise physiologists in Minnesota. The date for the conference
is September 25, 2003. Mr. Nathan French and Erin Rademacher of Arete
Healthfit are the primary speakers.
Mr. Matt Lehn, board certified exercise
physiologist of the state of Indiana
Association of Exercise Physiologists has just recently been added
to the ASEP Board of Directors as has Mr. Matt Wattles of the Idaho
Association of Exercise Physiologists. Congratulatons to both
men for their contribution to the ASEP organization. Dr. Lonnie Lowery
of the Ohio Association of Exercise Physiologists
has been added to the Board of Directors, too. The ASEP organization
is true to its vision to empower all exercise physiologists, not just those
with the doctorate degree. That is excellent news that has been consistently
demonstrated with the founding of ASEP in 1997.
Of particular importance is the upcoming
6th
ASEP National Meeting and Conference. The ASEP
President, Mr. Steve Jungbauer, board certified exercise physiologist,
is this year's President. He is the primary person responsible for
the meeting protocol. Just this past week, he instructed the National
Office to mail several thousand postcards to help market the meeting in
Indianapolis. Knowing Steve, his MBA degree is at work figuring out
the inroads into getting the 6th annual meeting before the public.
It is important that each of us do our part. Where the opportunity
arises, speak about the national meeting and conference. If you are
a college teacher, make plans to attend the meeting and bring your students
along with you. If you are in the clinical or corporate fitness setting,
do the same. Your employees would benefit greatly from the networking
possibilities, educational lectures, and get-togethers with other exercise
physiologists.
This conference will also provide an opportunity
for exercise physiologists to honor one of our professions great contributors,
Dr.
David Costill. Nearly, every exercise physiologist has been influenced
by Dr. Costill’s research and publications. Dr. Costill will receive the
Society’s
Lifetime Achievement Award. The 6th Annual Meeting and Conference
will be held in downtown Indianapolis. Indiana is home to ASEP’s first
affiliated state association, the Indiana Association of Exercise Physiologists,
which has graciously agreed to plan and host the meeting. With their
help, this meeting will undoubtedly be the largest and most highly attended
ASEP meeting to date.
I look forward to your participation and
seeing you in Indianapolis April 1-3, 2004. Be sure to click on the
national meeting page for addition information about conference objectives,
call for abstracts, conference exhibition information, the EPC
exam, and hotel
information. More will be posted during the next several months.
I understand that several thousand post cards were mailed from the ASEP
National Office on September 10. Tell your friends about the meeting,
and plan to attend.
As all of you know, with the upcoming of
a new year, there will be the opportunity to give a little of your money
to the ASEP organization to help with the expenses. The contribution
I'm referring to is the "membership fee". Now, you can pay your membership
fee by credit card. Click on the Membership
Application page and see what I mean. Please remember to send
a new updated membership application and/or renewal to the National Office.
Should you have questions, don't hesitate to contact tboone2@css.edu
You
can also use the ASEP
Public Forum.
With respect,
Jesse Pittsley
The "ASEP
E-mail Updates" of this newsletter is
an important connecting point with the ASEP organization. You can
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