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Editorial
The Fate of Exercise Physiology
Tommy Boone, PhD, MPH, FASEP
Where is Exercise Physiology going? What will happen to the students if the efforts to professionalize exercise physiology are unsuccessful? If ASEP members aren't successful, then non-ASEP exercise physiologists will have won! Will they and the students be in the same discipine? And what will the discipline be called? Exercise Science? Exercise Physiology "only" if you have the doctorate degree. As an exercise physiologist with considerable concern for the students and the fate of exercise physiology, I'm concerned about the answers to such questions. But, as you can see the subject of professionalism is not a closed book. There is no crystal ball available to just make things happen. The fate of exercise physiology lies in our hands. The answer to where we are headed lies within us, and our determination to realize professionalism. The biggest misconception is that "what we are is what we are always suppose to be". Hello, wake up exercise physiologists and think about possibilities, and about raising our profile to "what we can be" if only we would collaborate in areas of professional awareness, education, standards, and ethics. We can still learn from each other while keeping our hope alive. Yes, we can debate and share our views while seeking every opportunity to improve access for our non-PhDs in the public sector. Hence, we must not forget the reason for the 1997 incorporation of the ASEP organization. That is, to empower our students by advancing the academic base. The fate of their future as professionals should be in their hands and not in the hands of others who have gone before them. The ASEP Goals and Objectives represent the heart of the struggle to professionalize exercise physiology. They are about giving control back to those who want "To set the agenda, determine the direction, and make the decisions about the future of the exercise physiology profession." Finally, to dispel yet another misconception, it is absolutely American to exercise your own right to believe in your dream and to work to fulfill that dream. I believe it was Dale Carnegie who said, "Keep your mind open to change all the time. Welcome it. Court it. It is only by examining and reexamining our opinions and ideas that we can progress."
“Never cease to pursue the opportunity to seek something different. Don’t be satisfied with what you’re doing. Always try to seek a way and a method to improve upon what you’re doing, even if it’s considered contrary to the traditions of an industry.” --- Howard Marguleas
Return to the PEPonline, June Issue 2000
