The Raw Stuff of Possibilities
Tommy
Boone, PhD, MPH, FASEP, EPC
Professor
and Chair
Department
of Exercise Physiology
The
College of St. Scholastica
Duluth, MN 55811
Strangely enough, why
would someone write an article about “the raw stuff”? For one thing,
the title is important. If the reader’s attention is lost to another
title, there goes the message and the opportunity to market an idea.
The “raw stuff of possibilities” is not about one thing. Rather,
it is about the waiting, marketing, and the all-important spirit of entrepreneurial
behavior. To my knowledge, there aren’t many exercise physiologists
writing about their fellow entrepreneurs. It occurs to me that maybe
the normal person with a morsel sense of what is exercise physiology will
at first glance click yet another website.
Now, you know the rest of the story.
Publishing articles isn’t all that easy. Then again, since I created
PEPonline,
it is easier for me than for other exercise physiologists. The more
I think about it, the more convinced I am that more exercise physiologists,
if not anyone in general, should start their own journal. I’m amazed
that PEPonline is
the only journal (print copy or electronic) that publishes articles about
exercise physiology professionalism in the United States, if not the world.
I’m still stunned and overwhelmed with the responsibility of insuring that
the electronic journal makes it.
For certain, it has not been a roller-coaster
of publications by a diverse number of exercise physiologists. I
prefer, out of necessity, to point out the incredible moments of frustration
with so little participation from the members of ASEP. Besides
the difficulty in understanding why they have so little to nothing to say
about the professional development of exercise physiology, it has caused
me to feel that I’m pretty much alone my effort to write about professionalism.
My only comfort is knowing that, in all likelihood, it is simply a matter
of time.
Without wanting to come across incredibly
too obvious or too “all knowing”, I actually don’t have an alternative
answer except to write and publish my thoughts until somebody picks up
the ball and does the same. If you listen carefully, you can hear
my heart beat and mindset in the variety of articles that I publish online.
I guess, in short, I am a publisher, although the PEPonline
journal is part of the ASEP organization. The reality is that I gave
the journal to ASEP at the request of Dr. Robert Robergs. My early
thinking was that the journal would help market ASEP and the professional
develop of exercise physiologists.
Yet, however mind-boggling as it
might seem, there have been only a few publications about exercise physiology
professionalism by someone other than myself. This is true even though
I have requested members of the organization at several national meetings
to send articles to PEPonline.
My statement has been and is still the case, that we need more exercise
physiologists publishing their thoughts and ideas about professionalism,
accreditation, licensure, and certification. As I reread some of
my articles, and as I sit back and look at the archives of PEPonline,
my dream for a electronic journal that would benefit all exercise physiologists
has essentially fallen to the side.
It is not that I haven’t wrestled
with this issue. In many ways, I’ve addressed it everyday.
Motivated by the hope of seeing something different for exercise physiologists,
I have written article after article and, even tonight, I continue to write.
Why? I’m not sure. I can’t explain it. For certain, I
am close to the edge of over-doing it. But, what can I do?
If I should not write yet another article about exercise physiology, who
will? So today, in a world of totally dominated by research articles,
I submit another pulse on the thinking of what could be. If you are
finally bored, click to another website for new ideas and excitement.
I can identify several for you.
As I examine my thoughts tonight,
my attention is probably distorted by my work at the college. All
one would have to do is see my office to know of my distractions, disorganization,
the loss of time and difficulty to stay on track, the impulse thinking
of possibilities, and the daydreaming that is absolutely essential to my
work. I’ve wondered at times what I could do better to serve
ASEP, but like most of my friends, my freedom is held captive by the sheer
magnitude of my work. When I think of what I could do if I were not
teaching, trying to do research, advising students, marketing a graduate
program, and chairing the department, I cringe at the possibilities.
But then, as I have explained to
my wife, it is about doing something to benefit all exercise physiologists.
If you are married, you can appreciate that I’ve said such a statement
more than once. As a matter of fact, my work with ASEP has become
a “fine walk on the edge” where the question keeps coming up, “You do remember
that you work for the College, right?” Walking on the edge has become
a way of life for me. There are options, however. They take
the risk out of the ASEP experience, but it is vitally important that we
“the members” create something special. I’m part of that going for
broke mentally. So, however frustrating and challenging, my wife
and those who know me understand my passion, drive, and motivation.
The whole business of ASEP is about
exercise physiologists. It should, therefore, come as no surprise
that those who can’t get the picture should move on. Hello, whether
you have a master’s degree or a doctorate degree with a concentration in
exercise physiology, if you can’t figure out that the entire effort of
ASEP has been about the welfare of exercise physiology, get out of town.
Here lies the bottom line, either get with ASEP or call yourself something
altogether different. Perhaps it is best that those who think they
are clinical exercise physiologists versus exercise physiologists should
go on about their business.
Let’s look at some facts. When
has any organization stood face to face to help the so-called clinical
exercise physiologist? In other words, is there an organization looking
out for exercise physiologists who work in cardiac rehab? The answer
is no, but still they refuse to join ASEP and they refuse to get involved
to help create change in thinking and possibilities. I heard you
can take a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. I believe
we have more than our share of horses in exercise physiology. Yet,
I’m still hopeful that anything is possible even though precious moments
are flying by like a winter storm in Duluth, MN.
The moment of truth is just about
to jump on us. The word is out. ASEP is “the” professional
organization of exercise physiologists. Sounds right, but who is
listening. It’s like the words have no meaning. Hello, hello,
as the expression goes, where are the exercise physiologists who are willing
to “let go” of the past. Where are they? It is time to make
the right decision for the emerging profession. It is time to, if
necessary, to swim upstream, to climb the tallest mountain, to bike the
toughest road, and in effect to do whatever it takes to discover the courage
to standup for exercise physiology. It is time to become a leader
by leading.
Let me see, have I said it plainly
enough. Are we going to continue to hock our profession for something
other than what we are? It is time to get rid of the consuming obsession
of sports medicine. It is time to stop being a sports medicine “wanna-be”
if you are an exercise physiologist. It is time to move on to the
startling discovery that we are profoundly as important as other professionals.
So, hear me now! ASEP is about your freedom as an exercise physiologist.
ASEP is about your freedom as a professional. ASEP is about the freedom
to turn your ideas into reality, not the reality of others. ASEP
is about helping you to become the very best professional, both in service
and commitment to the public sector.
If what I’ve said makes sense to
you, the answer is simple. Start walking and then sprint to join
ASEP. Become a member and begin to preach the message, and the dream
will unfold a day at a time. It will come to pass that those without
the entrepreneurial spirit will see the light. Understandably, they
will move aggressively to market themselves and, where possible, will create
new products and research opportunities. Now is the time to put our
foot forward and to collapse a thousand hours of wasted opportunity.
Now is the time, like none in history, that allows for the incredible opportunity
to market exercise physiology.
It would help if they were “exercise
physio-aholics” with an excess of energy and drive to bring exercise physiology
to the forefront of electronic and print copy publications. In every
sense of the word, they would be strangers to PEPonline.
Every time I’m positioning myself for yet another month of articles about
professionalism, I end up in a confrontation with myself. It starts
when I realize there really isn’t a lot of “belly fire” about the professionalization
of exercise physiology in the United States. The rest is history,
and so I write and I publish what I hope may be read by a few who will
have the ingenuity to commit to selling the profession.
Moving ahead, a word to the wise,
it is amazing that ASEP is alive and well. In the beginning, during
the writing of the bylaws and the constitution, I don’t think anyone was
listening except my wife. In the final analysis, it’s your gut feeling
that should have the final vote. There isn’t a better way at the
moment. So, even if you are likely to think something other than
ASEP, think instead what ASEP has already fostered. For example,
there is a magical level of thinking that isn’t comparable to pre-existing
conditions. I know, and I believe others know, that ASEP has made
a major difference in negotiating on the behalf of all exercise physiologists.
The wrinkle is slowness on behalf
of the academic exercise physiologists. They, in their world of promotion
and tenure, are unfortunately directed at trusting what they do based on
a slow to change way of thinking. However horrifying it may be for
them, it is nonetheless logical that the language of what they do as well
as the responsibilities they are indebted to teach will change. They,
too, will at some critical juncture realize the importance of freedom equal
to other healthcare professions. That means letting go of economic
and professional forces that have kept them captive. Is it right
to let go? You bet. It is time for a new way, better ideas,
and a sustaining philosophy of interconnectedness that asserts that there
is an answer to our public sector concerns. In the end, what we must
do is simply “agree” to the following challenge:
“To share the passion and
challenges of growing as the exercise physiology organization by contributing
to each other through ASEP committee, verbal and written support, to correct
the concerns of all exercise physiologists and to ensure the involvement
of exercise physiologists in the public sector throughout the United States,
in order to become the voice of the health, fitness, rehabilitation, and
athletic movement.”
If we do this, then we will continue
to move in the right direction, and when all is said and done, even should
the number of publications in
PEPonline
continue to be less than optimal, exercise physiologists will, indeed,
open the eyes of healthcare professionals world wide. Let’s face
it, the path is clear and straight. The job isn’t complicated.
In the end, it is a matter of our decision and dedication of what constitutes
competent management of healthcare treatment. By now, it should be
evident to all exercise physiologists that “Sports medicine is out and
exercise physiology is in.” Achieving the impossible is possible,
especially when all hell breaks loose with teams of exercise physiologists
who have decided to make decisions on behalf of their emerging profession.
Incidentally, it has been very gratifying
to see PEPonline
grow, even if it is by comparison to other journals still in its crawling
stage. For my part, I’ll keep on writing and speaking about exercise
physiology, the philosophy of exercise physiology, and the hope of ideas,
concepts, and insights that will encourage you to take an active part in
bringing together the exercise physiologists of America.