Copyright ©1997-2005 American Society of Exercise Physiologists   All Rights Reserved.


        Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline    


         ISSN 1099-5862   Vol 8 No 9 September 2005 
 


 

Editor:   Tommy Boone, PhD, MPH, MA, FASEP, EPC
 
 
The Cost of Not Knowing
Tommy Boone, PhD, MPH, FASEP, EPC
Professor and Chair
Director, Exercise Physiology Laboratories
Department of Exercise Physiology
The College of St. Scholastica
Duluth, MN 55811

“You cannot separate your identity from your perspective.” – John C. Maxwell

 What does it take to know the future?  Can it be taught in college courses?  Can someone who is good at speaking before others guide us?  My personal belief is that the answer to each of these questions is “yes.”  However, our interaction with professional issues and concerns is almost non-existence.  Some colleagues may wish to disagree, but the result is the same.  If you aren’t prepared for the future, you are not likely to know what to do.  Not knowing is a huge problem.  There are costs of not knowing  

What kind of price would you put on knowledge?  Ask college professors what is most needed for success as an exercise physiologist?  Interview employers to find out what separates exercise physiologists from fitness professionals.  Talk to those who are working in the field.  Sit down with them and discuss the problems they face on a daily basis.  Such information is extremely valuable to avoid the “exercise science” trap.  Why professors aren’t more aware of just how meaningless is the degree is largely a matter of our collective failure to grow as professionals.

If the reader can understand my comments, we are likely to turn things around faster than some might imagine.  If the reader can’t or is not willing to understand the purpose of this article, we are doomed to the same thinking that has existed for decades.  Again and again, I’ve written about our neglect and our failures.  The bottom line is this:  students can’t be successful if the undergraduate programs of study are a complete mess.  None of them can expect to achieve their potential, financially or otherwise.  This is becoming an increasingly irrefutable fact.

I must admit that I would rather not be the person writing this article.  But I am the author of these comments, and I stand by them.  I’ve learned a lot about professionalism and the required infrastructure of a profession.  I’ve read countless number of books on the subject.  By now it is common sense that we have been on the wrong path too long.  Why others are slow in coming around to this understanding is troubling.  I must admit I’m frustrated with just how slow the professors are reacting to the need to change.  But I can tell you that change is inevitable.  All we can do is “stay the course.” 

I spent the first twenty years of my career as a sports medicine exercise physiologist.  It never crossed my mind that the “exercise science” degree was (and still is) the darkest hour of our existence.  The degree or, in many cases, the concentration in exercise science is a painful marker our lack of leadership in exercise physiology.  Individuals who have written textbooks are authors of their books only.  They have not been leaders in teaching, guiding, and counseling necessary academic and professional changes to ensure our respectability and professionalism. 

Over the years, I met a few of the authors and researchers who have helped create the exercise physiology body of knowledge.  Their work is important.  No one would disagree.  But, the sad thing is that leadership is not synonymous with authorship.  Not everyone who publishes a scientific paper understands or even cares about the intricate components of professional development.  As a result, many students have taken the wrong academic paths.  Many have focused on the wrong certifications.  Still others simply don’t know what to do after graduation.  And because of the historical failures, students think of themselves as personal trainers, instructors, and fitness professionals and not as exercise physiologists.

But of course the truth is they aren’t exercise physiologists anyway.  It takes either an academic degree or board certification in exercise physiology to earn the professional title exercise physiologist.  And yet, given this 21st century view of exercise physiology, it isn’t the view of the majority.  That is, for decades students have been encouraged to think of themselves as exercise physiologists because they are taught by doctorate prepared exercise physiologists and they take exercise physiology related courses.  In other words, students have been led to think that exercise science is exercise physiology.  This has happened so many times that no one has had a reason to question it.  The result is that this kind of thinking has caused us a lot of problems.      

After I had accepted the chair position at St. Scholastica, I had many conversations with parents and their college-age children about “what is exercise science” and “what types of jobs they get after graduation.”  At first I didn’t get it.  Regardless of what I said, the parents’ comment was the same.  “What you’re saying is that when my son graduates with a $60,000 plus in tuition loans he can work in fitness facilities for $10 an hour or, at best, as a technician in cardiac rehab for not much more.”  When I would come back with something like: “No, it’s better than that.  Many of my students at other places I’ve worked found jobs.”  The only problem with my comments is that they didn’t ring with a strong sense of conviction. 

These comments may be a little exaggerated, but they point to the truth just the same.  Each of us has his or her own understanding of exercise science and job opportunities.  Parents see through most of the comments!  That was certainly the case with me.  The only way I was going to survive was to change things for right reasons, which is exactly what I did.  I changed the academic degree from exercise science to exercise physiology.  I changed the department from exercise science to exercise physiology.  The changes made a better person out of me.  I’m more compassionate for students, and the parents see me as more trustworthy.  It’s a choice that all professors must make on behalf of their students.  The cost of not doing is our self-respect. 

How can college professors continue doing what they have done and hold their heads high?  This is the issue for me.  We must be willing to look in the sports medicine mirror of decades of wasted opportunity and get honest about our faults and problems.  If you are a college teacher, how about taking a good look at our collective shortcomings?  In short, I think we need to stop doing a second-rate job of teaching our students.  What do you think?  If we want our students to have a better shot at serious healthcare careers in the public sector, then, we must be willing to change, to admit our failures, and to learn from others.  We must get a sense of purpose for the undergraduate degree.  I know that may sound like common sense, yet not everyone gets it.

The cost to our students is just too high to ignore them.  This is exactly why we must get over ourselves as college professors and learn to put our students first.  The big picture includes what happens to our students.  It’s not just about us.  But, first, take an Internet moment and read what different schools say about the Exercise Science major: 

  1. This program, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is designed specifically to prepare students for advanced study. About 98 percent of exercise science students do graduate work in the professional health care sciences such as medicine, physical therapy, physician assistant, dentistry, and others. – The University of Iowa
  2. This major is designed to help prepare students for further study in the allied health/medical field. – Capital University
  3. The Exercise Science major serves as the academic foundation for careers in such burgeoning fields as physical therapy, occupational therapy, athletic training, cardiac rehabilitation, chiropractic medicine, sports medicine, and physician's assistance. – Skidmore College
  4. The purpose of the Exercise Science major is to prepare students for the entry-level master's degree program in Physical Therapy. – Samford University
  5. The exercise science program at Indiana University is a science-based undergraduate curriculum designed to provide a background in the exercise sciences for those students who wish to further their education at the graduate level. – Indiana University
  6. Students who major in exercise science often pursue such diverse fields as physical therapy, medical school, sport medicine, corporate fitness and cardiac rehabilitation. – Seattle Pacific University
  7. A degree in exercise science enables a student to enter a career in sports management or physical education. – Ball State University
  8. The Bachelor of Science in Movement Science degree prepares students for graduate study in areas such as exercise physiology, biomechanics, wellness and physical therapy. It also prepares students for careers in preventative and rehabilitative exercise and wellness programs. – University of Evansville
  9. Currently being submitted for approval is a Second Option within the Kinesiology Major, to be titled, “Exercise Science.”  If approved, this option would serve as the foundation for Kinesiology students wanting to pursue related career fields and post-baccalaureate study in the fields of exercise science, sports medicine, pre-physical therapy and rehabilitation, biomechanics, dietetics/sport nutrition, exercise physiology, and pre-med. – Cal State San Marcos
  10. The exercise science and pre-physical therapy program is focused on preparing students for entrance to graduate programs in physical therapy. – University of Dayton


Now, what do you think?  Is it obvious to you that exercise science degree is going no where fast?  This understanding is so simple.  Did the 10 statements say that upon graduation, you will access a career in healthcare?  No.  The truth is that all of us know this is the case, but many of us are doing absolutely nothing about it.  As a result, irresponsible exercise physiologists and administrators have made the marriage between exercise science and careers in physical therapy and medical school (as if there is a connection).  Good leaders understand that many, if not most, of the healthcare professions require more engaging science courses and other prerequisites that are not required of the exercise science major.  In fact, when studied closely, it is apparent that the exercise science degree is not as powerful in securing a job as is the physical education degree. 

If we are to see the emotional suffering that comes with the exercise science degree, we must get out from under our own little world of importance.  We need a much larger perspective; one that takes into consideration the students’ feelings and aspirations.  The self-centeredness that guides the thinking of many professors is entirely inappropriate.  Our students require more and, frankly, we should deliver more!  The cost of not knowing (and acting on) this basic piece of information is huge and unnecessary.  For example, the consequences of teaching within an exercise science major with incomplete and/or imperfect information are numerous.  First, there is the increased risk of continuing to make the wrong administrative and/or teaching decisions.  Whether it is certification, a research idea, or an option to an existing program, buying into an already flawed way of thinking only makes the problems worse.  Second, without a vision to guide the decision makers and professors, incomplete programs of study and/or academically weak majors may set the stage for litigation and negative reports about the students and/or institution.  Third, losing students as customers is never a good reality.  

Although it is impossible to be 100% right, the reality is that the majority of the exercise physiologists who receives a doctorate should know better, should be more receptive to new ideas, and should be doing something to assess the costs and risks of having and not having information about the exercise science mess.  Okay, you say, then, “What should I do?” 

  1. One of many ways to help is to become interested in your students. 
  2. Become a good listener. 
  3. Ask about their difficulties after college.
  4. Look for the connection between professionalism and the academic degree.
  5. Talk with the ASEP leaders about accreditation and standards of practice.
  6. Believe that you can change the conditions at your institution.
  7. Develop an ASEP Student Chapter to build the spirit of networking and career development.
  8. Read about professional development in other healthcare professions.
  9. Start caring for students and, yes, the profession of exercise physiology.
  10. Learn to deal with the conflict between sports medicine and exercise physiology.
  11. Develop your own road map to success through seeking an understanding of accountability and credibility issues.
  12. Encourage the administration to work with the ASEP leaders in developing an action plan for new thinking at your institution.
  13. Build integrity into the new Exercise Physiology curriculum.
  14. Think healthcare, not fitness professional for your students.
  15. Invest yourself in your students and their future.
  16. Cultivation career opportunities with long-lasting respectability and security.
  17. Communicate growth within the profession through attending ASEP national meetings.
  18. Build positive and sustaining ASEP professional relationships that support your students’ future in the public sector.
  19. Accept the fact that the success of your students often depends on your support, thus celebrate their accomplishments.
  20. Build friendships by working together in a committed exercise physiology environment.

 
I think more and more that it’s necessary to organize around student needs.   What’s best for the student?  This is the question that should lead us to think more about professional development of exercise physiology.  In fact, it is the key to our success.  It is absolutely one of our top criteria.  In time, when systematically carried out, the low-value exercise science degree should be eliminated and replace with the high-value content of exercise physiology.  It should be promoted and publicized as a healthcare profession.  Ultimately the cost to every academic institution of not coming to grips with the exercise science degree as a problem of significant magnitude is very high indeed.

Chances are you may already know this.  So let’s build something important together, which reminds me of the following quote: “The thing man seeks is seeking him.”  That is, the profession of exercise physiology is seeking our students.  Perhaps, it can be concluded that our freedom as professors comes step by step through helping students fulfill their destiny as healthcare professionals.  But, to do this, we need to a vision!  The following quote is from Zen Guitar by Philip Toshio Sudo [1, p. 69].  It should strike a powerful blow for collaboration, a reason for our failures, and hope for our future.

“When your collaborator has a strong vision of where to go and you do not, follow the vision.  When you have a strong vision of where to go and your collaborators do not, invite them along and help them see it.  If no one in the project has a strong vision of where to go, develop a common vision before you start working, or at minimum find one before you finish.  A project with no vision yields mediocre results at best, and usually wastes everyone’s time.”

 

References

  1. Sudo, P.T. (1998). Zen Guitar. New York, NY: A Fireside Book.

 


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