Copyright ©1997-2006 American Society of Exercise Physiologists   All Rights Reserved.


        Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline        


         ISSN 1099-5862   Vol 9 No 4 April 2006 
 


 

Editor-in-Chief:   Tommy Boone, PhD, MPH, FASEP EPC
 

The Exercise Physiology Mindset

Tommy Boone, PhD, MPH, FASEP, EPC
Professor and Chair
Director, Exercise Physiology Laboratories
Department of Exercise Physiology
The College of St. Scholastica
Department of Exercise Physiology
Duluth, MN

Here is the question I am challenged to answer:  “How can we create a new healthcare profession if we are not in agreement on what is the definition of exercise physiology?  Some think that nothing matters more than research.  Others think that it is all about athletics.  Still others think it is 100% cardiac rehab.  All of these definitions are incomplete and problematic. 

This does not mean in that research, athletics, and rehab are not important.  But, we cannot build a profession on any one of them.  If you have not thought about it before, you should.  The ASEP definition has “three” parts to it:  First, exercise physiology is the identification of physiological mechanisms underlying physical activity.  Second, it is the comprehensive delivery of “treatment services” concerned with the analysis, improvement, and maintenance of health and fitness, rehabilitation of heart disease and other chronic diseases and/or disabilities.  Third, exercise physiology is the professional guidance and counsel of athletes and others interested in athletics and sports training.     

The definition encompasses all three: research, rehab, and athletics.  And, because “exercise” is central to our health and wellness, exercise physiology has important healthcare qualities.  We know this because the definition of “a healthcare profession” is the prevention, treatment, and management of illness.  Exercise physiology is therefore a healthcare profession because “exercise” helps to prevent, treat, and manage illness!   “Exercise” should be the foundation of our healthcare system.  But, the truth is that healthcare is a technology-driven growth industry.  Meanwhile, as doctorates we engage in more research, build our resumes, and attend conferences that make us feel good.  Many of our colleagues without the doctorate degree remain as fitness instructors and personal trainers, not as healthcare professionals! 

There are at least “three” reasons why exercise physiologists are not referred to as allied health professionals.  The first is that we are 43 years late in defining exercise physiology as a healthcare profession.  The second reason is that we are equally late in developing our own professional organization.  The third is that we haven’t figured out how to deal with the mega organizations.  Much like the town hardware store that doesn't exist anymore, they would prefer that small organizations would go away.   

Failing to challenge the key assumptions underlying these reasons has set the stage for major mistakes in professional judgment and missed career opportunities.  Also, rather than being encouraged to engage in new thinking, to know when to change horses, and to support the ASEP organization, many colleagues remain uncommitted and confused.  Why is that? The answer is simple.  Because too many of us continue to allow yesterday’s assumptions to manage our thinking.  The problem is that these assumptions are slowing the transition from the old sports medicine reality of a fitness instructor or exercise specialist to our new reality of a healthcare professional.  

Please remember that “transition” from one thing to another is not automatic.  We can’t become what we want to be with our minds on the past.  The first requirement is that we must let go of the way things used to be.  However disconcerting or uncomfortable it is to put the past behind us, we must do so because we are at least 80 years behind the professional thinking of other healthcare professionals.  We must learn to think as healthcare professionals.  We can make a difference.  After all, it is our future!   

Roger Bannister made a difference.  He did the impossible.  He ran the mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds.  Because of what he did, within three years, 16 other runners completed the mile in less than four minutes.  Because of Bannister, I believe in the impossible.  I believe that exercise physiologists will come to the conclusion that change isn’t optional.  It is essential.  I believe it is possible to update the academic courses and hands-on laboratory experiences.  It is possible to expect students to sit for the ASEP board certification exam to earn the right to practice exercise physiology.  I believe it is possible to hold exercise physiologists accountable to their own Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Practice. 

All we need is the heart of Bannister, and we would have the conviction that Exercise Physiology is more than students hired to work in gyms as part-time fitness instructors at $7.00/hr with no possibility of benefits.  With an ASEP mindset, and with action that is founded on courage and conviction, the impossible is possible.  All we have to do is take control and speak up.  Don’t be afraid to be different.  Don’t be afraid to be a leader.  When others express skepticism, stay strong in your beliefs.  It is especially important that we learn to stand for each other.  Look for reasons that can drive the change process, and share those reasons at every opportunity possible.

Ask yourself, “What can I do today that I didn’t do yesterday to promote, market, and transform our profession?  We are a profession!  Research is not a profession.  Cardiac rehab is not a profession.  There are many opportunities for transformation if only we would seize them today, tomorrow, and everyday thereafter.  If only we would start thinking creatively in the application of “exercise is medicine.”  We do not need licensure to apply sound exercise prescriptions. If only we would stop settling for mediocrity.  If only we would capture “exercise” as our niche market, and if we would be satisfied with nothing less than full success in our professional development.

Imagine the possibilities:  personal respect, professional credibility, and financial stability.  Speak with passion about ASEP.   Don’t be embrassed by our size.  Don’t let it concern you when others look at you disapprovingly, when they purse their lips, or when they pull down the corners of their mouths and say, “It will never happen.  It has already happened.  There is never a good reason to throw in the towel.  If you want your Society of Exercise Physiologists to be successful --- remember what Winston Churchill once said - "Never - Never - Never give up!"

But, I’m a student or a first year teacher.  What can I do?  To begin with, you are free to make your own decisions.  It is the believer’s privilege to rest in the assurance that he or she is doing the right thing for the right reason.  It is as simple as that.  When you engage in a conversation with your coworkers, friends, students, and colleagues about ASEP, you are working for your professional organization.  When you communicate your values, beliefs, and feelings about ASEP, you are working to build a new healthcare profession.  When you publish your thoughts in the ASEP Forum, the PEPonline journal, JPEP online journal, JEPonline, or the ASEPNewsletter, your are helping to define the future of all Exercise Physiologists.

Think about the people with whom you have a connection with --- people you see on a daily basis --- share what you know.  Share what you value.  You may be bold and outspoken; you may be reserved or subtle.  The important point is that you should be honest about your feelings and beliefs.  Refuse to let another day go by without doing something to change what is to what can be.  Faith in something becomes real when you begin to believe in the idea! 

The truth is that we all dreams of success.  The reality is that all we need to do is create it.  This means getting involved and supporting the ASEP mindset. Begin by believing that you have what it takes to reach out to others to plant the ASEP seed.  Nourish it and it will bear fruit.  We can do anything we want to if we are willing to work for it.  So, why not decide right now to make your dreams of success a reality?  Why not decide to do what it takes to spread our message?  Why not write down your dreams and expectations as an exercise physiologist? No one really wants to be an ECG tech forever, personal trainer alongside a high school athlete, or a part-time employee with no hope of medical benefits?  The fact is that all anyone really cares about is a career like other college graduates?  You deserve a salary that will allow you to buy a home, raise a family, and send your children to college? 

Imagine what is possible when we come together with one voice for all.  Imagine what we will be able to accomplish when we have one mindset; one force for all of us.  Just imagine the impact of 1000s of students who stand up and tell the academic exercise physiologists -- “it is time to switch horses.”  It is time to embrace the ASEP mission.  Students, faculty, and colleagues in the public sector must “dare to make a difference in face of indifference.”  We, in particular, must say to everyone that we are no longer ïnterested in another certification that only helps to ensure that exercise physiology ends up structurally defective.    

A certification without a credible professional foundation is foolish.  The health and fitness certification or any non-ASEP certification cannot position students on the same level with physical therapy or nursing students.  But, laying the foundation for a “profession first” is the right mindset.  It frees us to find “the” right certification, such as the EPC; one that has professional and philosophic underpinnings to support new career opportunities in the business of healthcare and athletics. 

These are just some of the reasons why we must change the way we think, what we do, and who we are.  So, why not email your friends, colleagues, or teachers and tell them about ASEP?  If they don’t get it, email them again.  It is time say to cardiac rehab directors that our credibility must precede program accreditation.  It is time to admit that the ASEP organization is the organization of exercise physiologists, regardless of its size.  Size, in fact, has nothing to do with quality and straight thinking. 

So that’s what I mean by “the Exercise Physiology Mindset.”  I appreciate your attention today, and I want to leave you with the following quote: “We become what we think, what we talk about, and what we do.  If we think our work is for the right reason, if we think that our actions will bring forth positive results, and if we start thinking as healthcare professionals, we will become our vision.” 

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Note:  This paper was presented
at the 8th ASEP National Meeting at the
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM.
March 29 - April 1, 2006


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Exercise Physiology: Professional Issues, Organizational Concerns, and Ethical Trends by Tommy Boone.  The Edwin Mellen Press at http://www.mellenpress.com/mellenpress.cfm?aid=5727&pc=10