PEPonline Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline An international electronic journal for exercise physiologists ISSN 1099-5862 Vol 5 No 5 May 2002   Overcoming Barriers by Working Together Steve Daugherty, MA, EPC _______________________________________________________________________  AS A STUDENT in an ASEP accredited exercise physiology program I get to hear every day about many of the things and/or people that are holding back the Exercise Physiology profession and ASEP. First we hear about the battles with sports medicine in determining who is an exercise physiologist and what are the criteria for being an exercise physiologist. Then we hear about the physical therapists that are trying to pass laws that will allow them to practice and take over exercise physiology. Are the physical therapists really interested in our job market or are they helping to keep some of the unqualified personal trainer types out? Then there are the doctorate level exercise physiologists working as professors and researchers that are shy from embracing the forward movement of exercise physiology because they are already sitting just fine where they are. Many of these exercise physiologists are in a great position to help out the progression of exercise physiology by they are doing nothing, with exception of a few. The last main concerns for the exercise physiologist that gets a lot of attention is the countless number of “personal trainer” certifications that allow unqualified people to perform exercise physiologists’ duties [1]. Although we do have many problems to face and barriers to overcome, we need to only focus on the ones that we can have control over. From being at the ASEP National Convention and talking with several professionals, it sounds as if sports medicine is not going to embrace ASEP, and will always be pushing its certifications. Physical therapy is the other thorn in the side of ASEP, but they too will always be there fighting to cover as many areas of the health field as they can. As of right now battling against these Goliaths for a piece of the pie seems to be more of a waste of valuable time and energy. The best way to deal with the organizations that are already deep rooted is to concentrate on the development, improvement ,and advertisement of the ASEP product. Show everybody that ours is better than theirs. Good products will sell and I believe that ASEP has a good product.  It just needs to sell it. According to Dr. Pittsley it is important that ASEP sells its “product” by showing that there is a difference between what ASEP has to offer and what other organizations and their certifications have to offer.  We have to show that ASEP is better. [2] If ASEP can show that its product is the best, professionals are going to start jumping on the bandwagon moving towards exercise physiology expansion. What are some of the things that ASEP can do for the development of practicing exercise physiologists in the public sector? What are they doing right now? I don’t know the answers to this question, I am hoping that ASEP can answer these questions for me. Just about everybody in the United States could use an exercise physiologists. Everybody wants to be healthy, most people just do not know how and most do not know that exercise physiologists exist. It is about time we step in and make our services available to them. The future of exercise physiology depends on the abilities of certified exercise physiologists to share their knowledge with the public [3]. Personally, I believe that one of the main problems that exercise physiologists have to face is that most people have no idea who we are or what we do. When I tell people that I am going to school for exercise physiology I get one of three responses (none of which is correct); “Oh so you are a physical therapist." “So, what is a good exercise to make my biceps look bigger?” Or, “What is exercise physiology anyway?” Since people have no idea what exercise physiology is, then there is no real demand for it in the public sector. We need to get our name advertised in the public sector. One of the main reasons that no one knows who we are is because our services are not readily available to the general public unless the clients are heart patients. Why is the public sector so important? Well, right now, exercise physiologists (that are working within the field) are mainly working in cardiac rehabilitation, exercise research, or corporate wellness with very few working with the general public. It seems that exercise physiologists are stuck in the fields that hospitals have allowed them to work in. Exercise physiologists can profit considerably by breaking away from the fields that have been already laid out for them (which do not consist of very much money unless you are a professor). As I have stated before, with the overall health of this country going down hill just about everybody could use an exercise physiologist. In the future, exercise physiologist should be running their own fitness facilities including stress-testing, cardiac rehabilitation, personal fitness, weight loss management, research, and sport specific training [1], which would be a great opportunity for the entire field of exercise physiologists. The fast-food chain restaurant McDonald’s is a great example that shows a business exploding throughout the public. McDonald’s started off as a single hamburger restaurant in San Bernadino, CAowned by two brothers [4]. They provided a product that people wanted and turned it into one of the largest businesses in the world. ASEP has a good product.  The organization has more than a couple of people dedicated to the cause of improving the exercise physiology profession. By no way am I saying that ASEP should turn into a huge multi-billion dollar organization, or that it is even possible. I am just giving an example that shows that ASEP can help exercise physiologists move forward significantly by starting small in the public sector, sharing the knowledge of exercise physiology, showing the value of our product over others related to exercise, and allowing the public demand for our services aid in carrying our profession over the obstacles toward a better future. It is hard to find people that want to put forth the effort that is needed in order to make change. Those who are deeply involved in ASEP have shown that they are willing and are putting forth the effort needed. Now, we need to add to the numbers. It is currently the “student nature” to want to go to college to get a degree and have that degree automatically place them into a good paying job. This is not an unreasonable expectation, since most degrees cost a pretty penny, but with the current state of the exercise physiology profession it is definitely not always a possibility. So, what can the “new faces” in the exercise physiology crowd do to help the profession? We need to know that in order to be successful, we may have to scratch and claw and stray from the norm. There are other career possibilities other than research, cardiac rehab or corporate wellness.  It is just a matter of finding them and selling ourselves and our professions. When we leave college with our degree in exercise physiology, we have a vast understanding of how the body works.  It is time that we use that knowledge to set a professional standard instead of just funneling into one of the few career opportunities that are already set up for us that may not even require us to have the depth of knowledge that we do have. Many graduates come out of college with much enthusiasm and drive to improve the profession however, according to Dr. Tommy Boone, there are several main points that many of these new exercise physiologists fail to understand about the progression of exercise physiology: The forward movement of the profession requires strong, committed leaders that can demonstrate clear visions and actions that need to be taken. Exercise physiology need to look at the opportunities beyond sports medicine            research. The negative thinking done by exercise physiologists about the profession needs to be replaced by desire, ambition, determination and dedication aimed towards the improvement of the profession for all exercise physiologists. ASEP is needed to demonstrate the values of change as well as a tool to combine the efforts of all exercise physiologists with exercise physiology degrees. Working together with ASEP cannot be emphasized enough. [3]              New graduates from exercise physiology have to take on the responsibility themselves to go out and sell their profession! There is a need for them with ASEP, along with other exercise physiologists who are already in the working world. Although ASEP is dedicated to improving and creating the exercise physiology profession, it still needs the new exercise physiologists straight out of college to be ambitious and passionate toward the progression of exercise physiology. By working together with other professionals, we can achieve more [1]. Although it is apparent that many of those who are in position to help facilitate the progression of exercise physiology are not going to, they will when they see it becoming successful. So the new exercise physiologists straight out of college need to: “Get up and get on with it!” We cannot sit back and wait for someone else to start everything for us so that we can just fall into place. The new faces in the exercise physiology crowd need to get things done and use their effort and ambition to work with ASEP to create new opportunities for exercise physiologists. No more do I want to hear graduates complaining that there are no opportunities.  Go out and create one! No matter what life or our profession throws at us we are still the masters of our own destiny.   References 1. Gordon, C. (2005). Unemployment-the steps necessary for change. Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline. [Online]. http://www.css.edu/users/tboone2/asep/UEMPLOYMENT.html 2. Pittsely, J. (2005). The new marketing of ASEP. Professionalization of Exercise         Physiologyonline. [Online]. http://www.css.edu/users/tboone2/asep/ASEPMarketing.doc 3. Boone, T. (2001). Professional development of exercise physiology. Lewiston, New York: The Edwin Mellen Press. 4. McDonald’s Corporation and Affiliates. (2005). [Online].  http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/about/mcd_history_pg1.html Copyright ©1997-2007 American Society of Exercise Physiologists   All Rights Reserved.