Who
Will Step Up and Take Action?
Aliisa Seppala,
MA, EPC, ATC
President
of NAEP affiliated with ASEP
Kearney, NE
68845
THIS IS A
QUESTON I HAVE been asking myself for about one year now. Who will
step up and take action? I am referring to professional exercise
physiologists, professors of exercise physiology, and students. Yes,
I said students. Who is going to take a stand for this profession
and for the only organization that is pioneering the forefront of the professionalization
of exercise physiology?
A History
is in Order
Frankly, I
did not get it. For the longest time, I did not understand why I
should belong to ASEP and why ASEP was important to exercise physiology.
To make that statement and also graduate from the College of St. Scholastica,
under the education of Dr. Tommy Boone is ironic. He one of the founding
visionaries who created ASEP.
Let me further
explain myself. As a junior, beginning my undergraduate exercise
physiology major, I was clueless. I thought that all I needed to
do was pick my major and, when I got my degree, everything would be as
it should. I would find a job. I would have respect of my fellow
medical profession colleagues. Everything would simply fall in place.
Even under
the teaching of Dr. Boone and how he talked about the profession, the whole
matter seemed far away and distant, as if it would not affect me.
What could I do about it anyway? I was just a junior in college.
It was not
until I got further into my athletic training courses that I realized the
importance of a title. How a title created boundaries so that other
professions could not impede on what you do. Also, it sets standards
for professionals to abide by and, in turn, gain respect from other professions.
If you haven't read the following articles (What's in a Name? and
What's
in a Title?), you should do so. Go to the ASEPNewsletter
(February, 2002).
I learned that
just because you have the education of an athetic trainer does not mean
that you are an athletic trainer. You need to pass the national certification
to become a certified athletic trainer and acquire all the rights and privileges
that are allowed to those professionals. I learned also about how
people call themselves athletic trainers and, yet they had not passed the
certification. The latter totally undermines the profession and is
very offensive to those who put in the time and effort to become certified.
Fortunately for athletic trainers, they have progressed with both course
work and certification to be a respected profession in the medical field.
After I had
realized the importance of having the title “Certified Athletic Trainer”,
I looked at the profession of exercise physiology. It has always
been my other focus in education and a career path that I was spending
a lot time, energy, and money. There was no structure. All
I found was chaos. People called themselves exercise physiologists
who do not have a degree in anything close to it. Also, let’s face
it. How many people really even know what an exercise physiologist
is or have even heard of it?
Graduate
School and Reality
Reality really
started to hit when I decided to go straight into graduate school at St.
Scholastica. I longed for a better understanding of exercise physiology.
I wanted more. Along with the increased knowledge came the increased
awareness of the state of our profession. The words Dr. Boone had
been speaking were finally sinking in. I believe it was my awareness
of the professionalization of athletic trainers that helped spur on my
understanding. But, it does not take that much critical reflection
to understand is issues before the student in an exercise physiology program.
It begs the question: Why are we the only profession in the medical
field, besides athletic trainers, who are not licensed? I demand
more than just a discipline. I did not spend five years of my life and
thousands upon thousands of dollars to just to be compared to people who
do not even have a degree. I refuse to have a meaningless degree.
So, where does
this leave me? The passion to fight for exercise physiology as a
profession is very much alive in me. But, at time, I was only a graduate
student. What could I do or say? Who would listen? Then,
out of the blue, as though it took time for the ideas to come together,
a classmate and I started asking questions. We tried to throw some
things together, but the year ran out before anything could be done.
It did not
stop there, however. My classmate and I both tossed around the idea
of starting a "state association" wherever we would end up. But,
to me, it was only an idea or more like a dream. How could I start
something like that? Who would listen to a fresh-out-of-school master-prepared
exercise physiologist?
After Graduate
School
Well, here
I am, six months out of graduate school and one state association started.
It is officially registered with the state of Nebraska. In short,
what inspired me to start the Nebraska
Association of Exercise Physiologists (NAEP)? The only logical
answer is because I love this profession. I want it to be respected,
to have the privileges that other well-developed professions have.
I do not want to see this profession die, and I did not see a lot of other
people stepping up to the plate to fight the good fight. And I do
believe we are fighting the “good fight”. We are doing the right
thing. ASEP is doing the right
thing.
The Challenge
to You
If you feel
that desire inside to do something. If you find yourself asking the
same questions that I have asked. Please listen to your heart.
Exercise physiologists across the country need you. ASEP needs you.
I challenge you to take stand, regardless of whether you are a student,
a professional in the career field, or a person with the PhD degree.
It is up to all of us to stand up for our profession.
Copyright
©1997-2007
American Society of Exercise Physiologists All Rights
Reserved.