Making Professional
Choices
Tommy Boone, PhD, MPH, FASEP,
EPC
Professor and Chair
Director, Exercise Physiology
Laboratories
Department
of Exercise Physiolgoy
College of St. Scholastica
Duluth, MN 55811
When other exercise
physiologists ask me “What do you do in ASEP,” I generally
say that I write articles on professionalism and maintain the organization’s
web site. They look at me for a moment, usually with a funny look
that suggest a laugh behind the eyes, and then they ask again but differently,
“What does that mean?” The problem is that so few exercise physiologists
write about professional issues that doing so is a dilemma for some people.
They seem to realize that it must be good to write about professionalism,
since the topic itself is a noble one. Yet, what is the point?
What does the topic have to do with exercise physiology?
The sad fact of the matter
is that most of the history of exercise physiology has been executed without
a professional foundation under it. Students aren’t equipped with
the right information to understand this point. The professors who
teach exercise physiology courses do so regardless of the lack of attention
to professionalism. The tragic results of the lack of prior planning
have surfaced in recent years with increased confusion about career opportunities.
Nothing has changed, however. Exercise physiologists continue to
move along doing whatever as though everything is great. They continue
to let others make choices for them.
“It’s much easier to ride
a horse in the direction he’s going.” – Werner Erhard
The sports medicine horse
is an easy ride! But, are you satisfied with where it has taken you?
Does it really represent the exercise physiologists? Is it an exercise
physiology organization? Would you like to belong to an organization
of exercise physiologists? Have you examined the benefits of belonging
to your own organization? All of these questions have something to
do with decisions and making the right choice. It is time that we
learn to ride a different horse; one that helps to develop satisfying careers.
An organization of exercise physiologists for exercise physiologists is
important to realizing professionalism. After all, is this idea really
all that unnatural or off the wall? Of course not. Throughout
your life, you have seen or heard of countless organizations and the need
of each to make the right choices to help its members. The fact is
that ASEP is no more a bad idea than any of the countless thousands of
other organizations that empower its members with the opportunities to
take control over who they are and what they do.
Actually, a number of my
colleagues understand this point and would like to join ASEP. Some
of them have the PhD degree, and for most of them I was their dissertation
advisor. Like all others, they too are cautious. The
risk of joining ASEP is real, particularly if others can use it against
you. Still, I’m told by some friends that they just can’t decide.
They think it sounds like a good idea, but….! They fail to understand
that by avoiding to make a decision to join, the end result is the same
as staying with sports medicine. By not joining and by helping other
exercise physiologists who understand the risks but also the reasons, they
give up the opportunity to make exercise physiology better for everyone.
My question to anyone
“who is thinking about joining ASEP but hasn’t” is “When will
you come to understand what is important?” Taking action now not
later is the only step to freedom in directing the future of exercise physiology.
Oh yes, you understand but making the decision isn’t easy. Everyone
knows that with freedom there is some risk. But, isn’t the risk worth
it, that is, to step forward and become who you are versus staying linked
to a list of members, many of whom have their own professional organization.
There really aren’t a lot of choices to make; either sports medicine or
exercise physiology. The purpose of this article is to encourage
you to make the right decision.
Why not decide today to join
ASEP. The outcome of your decision will be a better profession for
all exercise physiologists. This is an expected outcome. It
is logical and predictable, especially when increasingly more exercise
physiologists commit themselves to the restructuring and rethinking of
exercise physiology. Today is a good time to join. In fact,
you may want to set a time period for making your decision. Why not
do so, for example, by the end of March 2000? You may also want to
think for yourself. Stop depending on others to make your decisions.
You may ask, “Why is it critical that I decide by the end of the
month?” In short, because making a decision is a big deal to a lot
of people. There must be time for worrying, confusion, and seeking
the advice of countless others. Once you have made the decision,
you don’t have to go through the symptoms of indecision.
Naturally, you have choices
to consider, risks to ponder (such as ‘what if’), and pressures from colleagues.
You also have the right to decide for yourself what is an important and
responsible action as an exercise physiologist. It all begins with
your decision, based on your thinking. You have a choice! Anything
can happen. The most likely result will be your certainty that the
decision to join ASEP was a good one. Keep an open mind and avoid
falling in the trap of believing sports medicine is exercise physiology.
Don’t be afraid to leave such thinking behind you as well as the relatively
safe and familiar existence.
In Gordon P. Miller’s (1978)
book, there is “A Decider’s Bill of Rights” that is a logical
ending to this appeal to anyone reading this article. You have:
-
The right to decide something
for yourself even if there is nobody else who thinks you should decide
that way.
-
The right to express your feelings
to others in the context of explaining your choice.
-
The right to say “no” without
feeling guilty.
-
The right to decide about the
use of and the way you commit your resources, including your time.
-
The right to ask others to consider
you when they make a choice or when to have all the answers.
-
The right to use emotions in
the decisions you make.
-
The right to share your opinion
with the expectation that others will listen.
-
The right to admit you made
a poor decision, to do something about it, and to continue to make more
decisions.
-
The right to do what is important
to you, including being nice to yourself.
