American Society of Exercise Physiologists :: Home
Journal of Professional Exercise PhysiologyISSN 1550-963XJanuary 2013 Vol 11 No 1The Paradox of Exercise Science Tommy Boone, PhD, MPH, MAM, MBA Professor of Exercise Physiology Department of Exercise Physiology The College of St. Scholastica Duluth, MN 55811 Failure to change in face of not recognizing a problem is a morally hazardous activity, especially when the exercise science degree isn't just disappointing, but impotent.Whether or not students, faculty, and others get the importance of the American Society of Exercise Physiologists (ASEP) is both a personal measure of their insight and their willingness to consider the facts.? Without question, it is a signal either that they recognize the value in taking the time to read an essay on exercise physiology versus another article on the physiology of training soccer players.? Imagine, the alternative, that is, the day when exercise physiologists take the time to talk about their own code of ethics, standards of practice, and professionalism.? No doubt such conversations will be among the first-ever in exercise physiology as an emerging profession of healthcare.?? Imagine by 2050, "exercise physiology therapy” will be provided by Board Certified exercise physiologists who are doctors of exercise physiology. That would be a good thing, right?Whether exercise physiologists get that exercise is medicine and, therefore, exercise physiology is equally important to healthcare as it is to athletics, one must wonder!? Indeed, they are (i.e., the academic exercise physiologists) extremely slow in coming to terms with their professional reality.? No, they are not “physiologists.” No, they are not “exercise scientists.”?Honestly, it is not complicated.? If they have a degree in exercise physiology, they are exercise physiologists.? If they have a degree in exercise science, kinesiology, or human performance, then, they cannot use the professional title "Exercise physiologist" unless they sit for the ASEP Board Certification exam and pass it.? That’s it, and nothing else.? Get serious!?? While it is reasonable at the present time to provide non-exercise physiology majors the opportunity to work as exercise physiologists via the EPC exam, it is natural to expect this ASEP approach to uphold the change process will over time come to an end.? Meaning, there must come a major change in thinking when all exercise physiologists graduate with an exercise physiology degree.? Anything less than this thinking is simply crooked thinking.? Thus, for now the point is this:? Practically speaking, the way forward out of this mess of academic lack of insight and professionalism is to look backward into how and why exercise physiology got this way.?? The truth is that a degree in exercise science is essentially 95% the same as a degree in physical education without the coaching courses.? Most college teachers know this point all too well and yet, they act on the surface as though it is something different.? While it may have been okay to change the name from physical education to either kinesiology or exercise science in the 60s or 70s, especially with the discontent that was centered against physical education programs, it is wrong to continue the misrepresentation to the public sector.? For certain, neither major is exercise physiology.? Similarly, sports science is not exercise physiology.? Human performance is not exercise physiology.?? An academic degree has value only when it makes things happen and only when it gives control over one’s life.? Exercise science does not make things happen.? It has to go.? Why?? Because the rite of passage imposed on all college graduates requires them to demonstrate independence, financially speaking.? This is a big thing, as it should be.? College is supposed to make it happen financially.? It is suppose to help students assume the responsibility for ordering and controlling their world.? It is their path and opportunity toward personal freedom and success. Exercise physiology is such an academic degree!? It is the right step to freedom because it is inseparable from healthcare. This is certainly not the case with the related degree programs.? There is nothing more urgent than thinking straight, thinking differently from the sports medicine rhetoric, and changing directions to avoid continuing the waste of time with the meaningless degree programs.? Well-educated men and women in academia appear completely unaware of what this point and why it is important, and yet every one of them, as parents, would not want their children in college wasting time and/or money majoring in exercise science.? Their failure to see the problems is unacceptable.? Just because things have always been done a certain way does not make it right.? The very idea of continuing "as is" makes no sense.? As one example among many, the following statement from a university web page illustrates this point:? The major in Exercise Science focuses on the study of human performance within a biophysical context, including aspects of anatomy, physiology, chemistry, physics, biology, nutrition, and computer science.? The study of human performance is thus a cross-disciplinary subject field and is referred to as the academic discipline of Exercise Science.? For the major in Exercise Science, courses taken outside the department include: physics, chemistry, math, and computer science. These courses provide the foundation for the Exercise Science courses that apply the basic scientific principles to the study of movement.?The first sentence begins with the statement: "The major in Exercise Science focuses on the study of human performance."? The truth is that the term "human performance" means everything and yet nothing!? Without the will to define it with precision there is no target or focus to its meaning.? To press the point, what does the term "biophysical context?" Actually, it is meaningless (given the context in which it is used).? To avoid beating a dead horse, it has relatively little if anything to do with exercise science.? Of course the authors of the exercise science paragraph are not that interested in clarifying the context.? They simply want to keep the students majoring in exercise science so they can keep their college jobs.? It isn’t complicated at all. No doubt what they are implying is the mind-body connection to exercise, health, and well-being.? But, if that is the case, why not say it in a concrete form?? Here, is another part of the commercialization of academic majors.? The paragraph is dressed up in fancy words, such that the students will be impressed with what they are going to study.? For example, the paragraph mentions: "?various aspects of anatomy, physiology, chemistry, physics, biology, nutrition, and computer science."? What does "various aspects" mean?? At first glance, this sounds a little strange.? Is this sentence even true? "The study of exercise science is thus a cross-disciplinary subject field and is referred to as the academic discipline of Exercise Science."?? In other words, the "cross-disciplinary subject" matter constitutes the "discipline of exercise science."? Why not meditate over this point just for a second?? "Discipline" versus "Profession."? The "profession of something” is always career-driven.? This is not true for the "discipline of something," such as exercise science.? For one thing, there are no financially credible career for exercise science graduates by title in the public sector.? Remember, it is a discipline.? There are physical therapy jobs for physical therapists in the public sector because physical therapy is a profession.? There are nursing jobs for nurses in the public sector.? There are jobs for other professionals as well.? This is not rocket science.? Emerson said:? "What is the hardest task in the world?"? His answer might surprise you.? "To think," Emerson said.? Without question this must be true as it is clear that so many exercise physiologists are not thinking.? Most of their students are victims of the mass failure of their faculty to take up the importance of "how to think about exercise physiology."? Why not take up the challenge to change exercise science to exercise physiology?? In fact, it makes all the sense in the world to do so.? If the reader is troubled by my comments, why not sleep on them?? Maybe tomorrow it will be easier to wake up with the willingness to go a different path.? After all, as Winston Churchill said:? "The price of greatness is responsibility."?Okay, how about the following statement?? "For the major in Exercise Science, courses taken outside the department include: physics, chemistry, math, and computer science."? It makes sense, right?? Well, not really, at least not in the belief that the students are getting something special for their tuition dollars.? Guess what?? All students in college take the same courses.? It is simply the repetition of the same dogma.? It is not new or important.? In fact, it is simply part of the advertisement to make the students believe they are majoring in a degree program that will get them a "real" job.? Students (and their parents) have no idea that the product they are buying is faulty, problematic, and in most cases, worthless.? Read the last sentence again, "These courses provide the foundation for the Exercise Science courses that apply the basic scientific principles to the study of movement."? In other words, the emphasis is on the "study of movement" and not the collective academic content organized to promote professionalism and career-driven opportunities.? To move this along, even when department websites use the words -- career opportunities -- note how it is used.? ?Career opportunities include athletic training, biomechanics, exercise physiology, fitness management, medicine, and pre-physical therapy. One doesn't have to be a lawyer to read the fine print, which is very important.?? Opportunities for employment exist in athletic training.?? No, this is not true unless the college graduate is accepted into an athletic training major and successfully completes it.? It is the same for biomechanics, exercise physiology, medicine, and physical therapy.? The bottom line is that the sentence and the advertisement itself is deceptively written and completely false.? Therefore, the intent of the sentence is to mislead students (and parents) into thinking there is value to the academic major of which there is none. Failure to change when a problem is recognized is a morally hazardous activity, especially when it isn't just disappointing, but impotent.?There are actually "three" types of jobs the exercise science major is likely to locate.? They are exercise leader, exercise technician, and Wal-Mart.? Unquestionably, this should spark huge concerns.? First, why would a student pay thousands of dollars in college tuition today to be an "exercise leader" and often times without full medical benefits?? Second, with the existence of thousands of weekend warrior certified trainers throughout the United States, the pay per hour is not sufficient to raise a family.? No wonder they want to call themselves an exercise physiologist to get an edge on all of the non-college graduates.? Students are daydreaming to think that jobs in exercise rehabilitation centers are logically connected to the major in exercise science.? Also, as much as I rather not bring out this point:? The idea that there are "exercise technician" jobs died years ago with the sports medicine exercise technology certification.? Students ought to be living in the moment, not in the failed rhetoric of yesterday! Okay, so what is the answer to this failed degree program?? Knowing that exercise science is not a profession and that it is not a career-driven degree, and knowing that students and parents will be frustrated and even mad, it is important that the chair and faculty update their thinking. They must start living in the 21st century.? The way to do that is to support the ASEP perspective. Exercise physiology is a healthcare profession and, therefore, those responsible for the degree program must embrace the following points:?? Exercise Physiology is the identification of physiological mechanisms underlying physical activity, the comprehensive delivery of treatment services concerned with the analysis, improvement, and maintenance of health and fitness, rehabilitation of heart disease and other diseases and/or disabilities, and the professional guidance and counsel of athletes and others interested in athletics, sports training, and human adaptability to acute and chronic exercise.?Exercise Physiologist is a healthcare professional who either has an academic degree in exercise physiology or who is certified by ASEP to practice exercise physiology [via the Exercise Physiologist Certified exam (EPC)], or who has a doctorate degree in exercise physiology from an accredited college or university.Establishing and implementing standards of practice are major functions of a professional organization. The purpose of the standards is to describe the responsibilities for which exercise physiologists are accountable. The Exercise Physiology Practice involves four important areas: (a) promoting health and wellness; (b) preventing illness and disability; (c) restoring health; and (d) helping athletes reach their potential in sports training and performance.ASEP is important for many reasons, but one in particular is to promote the professionalism in exercise physiology. Hence, implicit within the ASEP web pages is the notion that exercise physiology is a healthcare profession. The bulk of the epidemiologic evidence and the scientific papers by exercise physiologists support the health benefits of regular exercise. Moreover, it is clear that an active lifestyle protects from many diseases. Now, with the ASEP Board Certification as the gold standard for exercise physiologists the supervision, safety, and care of clients are increasingly evident throughout the public sector. ................
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