Professionalism in the Exercise Physiology Curriculum
Larry Birnbaum, PhD, MA, EPC
Associate Professor of Exercise Physiology
Department of Exercise Physiology
The College of St. Scholastica
Duluth, MN 55811
AS EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY advances toward professionalization, the need
to teach professionalism at the undergraduate and graduate level becomes
increasingly apparent. For the most part, students do not understand
what professionalism is about, let alone the need for it in exercise physiology.
If you ask students to define or describe a professional, they may respond
by naming professional football players who make a lot of money or by referring
to medical doctors who also earn substantial incomes and are generally
highly respected by the public. Their reference to medical doctors
would be correct, but what distinguishes medical doctors from NFL players
as professionals? That distinction is critical. It is that
distinction that imparts public trust by insuring competency of practitioners.
Fans admire their sports heroes, but they do not have to trust them.
Patients have to trust their medical care providers. They are putting
their lives in the hands of these professionals. They trust that
the surgeons operating on them know what they are doing and do it well;
that nurses dispensing meds are dispensing the correct med in the correct
dosage; that exercise physiologists prescribing exercise are prescribing
the most appropriate exercise regimen. Students need to realize how
important this public trust is, and they need to understand how it is achieved
and maintained.
There are a number of processes in place for health care fields that
have long been professionalized. These processes have only recently
been incorporated in the field of exercise physiology. It is important
for students to know what these processes are, their purposes, and their
impact. With this knowledge students will gain an appreciation for
the hard work that is required for achieving and maintaining professional
status, and they will be able to distinguish strong academic programs from
laissez faire programs and true professionals from weekend warriors.
They will learn that accredited academic programs have to meet minimum
criteria that are designed to assure competency of graduates. They will
appreciate the essential nature of certification and/or licensure.
In other words, they will realize that becoming certified through a legitimate
professional agency is really not a choice. It is a requirement for
employment in a professional field. It will become clear to them
that by assuring competency of practitioners, the public interest is being
served. Certified or licensed practitioners who have graduated from
accredited programs are considered safe practitioners. It is through
the processes of program accreditation and certification or licensure of
practitioners that public trust is acquired and preserved.
It is certainly worth mentioning that employers will recognize the quality
of practitioners who have graduated from accredited programs and are certified
or licensed. Not only will the employers be more inclined to hire
graduates from the same programs, they will also be more willing to pay
them more. Of course, salary should never be the motivation for pursuing
professionalization. Serving the public good has to be the primary
goal of health care professionals, but compensation is an inherent issue
that needs to be discussed in a course on professionalism. Students
should be asked what they consider to be a fair salary in light of the
services provided. Salary issues should be discussed with respect
to the cost of health care, the benefits of services provided by different
health care professionals, and of course legislation that impacts the field
of practice. It is through this discussion that students will realize
how professional associations influence legislation, and subsequently,
their practice. With this discovery, students are more likely to
join their respective professional association and become actively involved
in determining the future of their own profession.
The need to professionalize exercise physiology has been expressed by
a host of members of the discipline who are passionately committed to exercise
physiology. Part of the professionalization process is teaching students
about professionalism. It is not a content area that is learned on
the job. In fact, graduates may be exposed to negative attitudes
on the job. Individuals who have found employment in the field may
remark that they got a job without being certified and without graduating
from an accredited program. They may be quite content with their
present situation, but they are not cognizant of the future, and it is
unlikely that they have compared themselves in terms of salary, status,
employment and advancement opportunities to other health care professions
(e.g., physical therapy, nursing, occupational therapy). They simply
do not appreciate what professionalization does for a discipline, nor do
they understand the consequences of the failure to professionalize the
field. Professionalism and issues surrounding professionalism need
to be taught to students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels
to help assure a future for all exercise physiologists. The time to incorporate
professionalism in the curriculum of exercise physiology programs is now.
Tomorrow may be too late.
