The Great Quest
Tommy Boone, PhD, MPH, MAM, MBA Board Certified Exercise Physiologist
Fellow, American Society of Exercise Physiologist Professor, Department of Exercise Physiology The College of St. Scholastica
Duluth, MN 55811
he ASEP leaders have been on “The Great Quest” from the very moment they started promoting the profession of exercise physiology. No doubt some of them were constantly searching from one organization to the next for something that would help them and their students. Some achieved fame in the other organizations. Still others stayed outside of the popular organizations. These people felt that something was missing in joining organizations that differed from what they are at heart. These people have found their way in ASEP. They know what they want and have been able to grasp it (1).
T
In some sense whether they know it or not, many exercise physiologists have been crying out for guidance and peace with what they believe is important to their students. The ASEP path is the right one (2). Intuitively, they get that ASEP will get them where they want to go. Others, the non-ASEP colleagues, are still seduced by the science of sports medicine more so than exercise physiology. They can’t get past publishing one more article without taking time to think about the importance of embracing their own code of ethics and/or standards of professional practice. So, they pretend that none of it exists with ASEP, and that their nuclear weaponry for success is more and more research (3).
Journal of Professional Exercise Physiology
ISSN 1550-963X
If it is true that “research cures everything,” then exercise physiologists must be walking around blind to reality. Their floundering around for decades has produced a lot of research but very little else when it comes to the students’ success in the pubic sector (4). In fact, research has sky-rocketed during the past several decades while leadership in exercise physiology has hardly been discovered (5). But, this attitude will change. In time, it will be obvious that the artificialities of supporting personal trainers in a sports medicine organization are meaningless.
Professionalism finds all its doctrines stated in “What is a profession?” and “What is professional development?” Truth is timeless. Truth in professionalism does not differ from one profession to another (6). Ideas may differ, healthcare professionals may differ, but the great all-prevailing truth of altruistic behavior stands for time. Hence, the message of this article is the story of the “Great Quest.” It is all about not being afraid to invest in the ASEP organization. Knowledge of the “professional-specific” organization is essential to a rich and meaningful means of fulfilling one’s destiny. There is hope (7).
For those who, at this crucial point in history, are wondering “What is ASEP?” Well, in short, it has been with us since 1997. Just because it is small doesn’t destroy it or render it unimportant (8). Who among us has a double (aside from twins) in 300 million or more people in the United States, and yet each person is as important as everyone else. If exercise physiologists are unwilling to learn this point, then, they simply cannot comprehend the importance of power and responsibility that comes with one person making a difference!
The old spiritual says, “Everybody talkin’ ‘bout heaven, ain’t going there,” and the same thing is true of every person who talks about exercise physiology professionalism and yet do not belong to ASEP. Exercise physiologists who promote sports medicine miss the mark. They fall short of the goal that true professionals have set for themselves. In fact, it is unbelief in the work of the ASEP leadership that causes them to reject ASEP. It is unbelief that causes them to turn a deaf ear to the ASEP message of professionalism and to deny the importance of ASEP (11).
Don’t doubt for a moment the importance of profession-specific organization such as ASEP for exercise physiologists. Switch on your listening skills and note that physical therapists, occupational therapists, and athletic trainers (as an example only) have their own profession-specific organization. To think about it, who is responsible for each organization? The answer is simple. The sports medicine mind may discard this point, but reality is the truth (12). The exercise physiologist who has distant him- or herself from this truth is missing out. They are truly victims of a failed rhetoric (13)
It is the distortion of what is exercise physiology by the non-exercise physiologists that keep many exercise physiologists from seeing and experiencing the truth (14). It is the exercise physiologists’ failure to think for themselves that leaves them in despair of surrendering their future to the frozen wasteland of sports medicine and exercise science. In fact, recently, someone was heard to say, “The only certain thing about exercise physiologists supporting sports medicine is that nothing is going to change unless they want to survive.
converted exercise physiologist understands the importance of ASEP and stop putting all of his/her energy into sports medicine.
The question is this: Are you ready to forsake your past life as a supporter of sports medicine and exercise science? If so, then, you must be determined that the ASEP effort to professionalize exercise physiology is going to take place. The obvious method of doing just that is to join ASEP and promote the professional development of exercise physiologists. The ASEP leaders understand there will be a tug at the heart to think differently, but a little faith goes a long way.
Why not believe in your right to your own professional organization? It is the way out of what is to be “The Great Quest” of helping to build the profession of exercise physiology. It is nothing short of a new generation of thinking like the professional you desire to be.
References
1. Boone, T. (2008). The Path of Professionalism. Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline. 11:9 [Online].
http://faculty.css.edu/tboone2/asep/ASEP_Professionalism_Path.html 2. Boone, T. (2008). The Power to Managing Your Future. Journal of
Professional Exercise Physiologyonline. 6:7 [Online].
http://www.exercisephysiologists.com/JPEPJuly2008PowertoManage/inde x.html
3. Boone, T. (2008). An Invitation to Think Outside the Box.
Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline. 11:10 [Online]. http://faculty.css.edu/tboone2/asep/InvitationToThink.html
4. Boone, T. (2008). The Power to Managing Your Future. Journal of Professional Exercise Physiology. 6:7 [Online].
http://www.exercisephysiologists.com/JPEPJuly2008PowertoManage/inde x.html
5. Boone, T. (2009). Leadership: Encouraging the Change Process. Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline. 12:1 [Online]. http://faculty.css.edu/tboone2/asep/Leadership2009.pdf
6. Boone, T. (2007). The Price of Chance in Exercise Physiology. Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline. 10:9 [Online]. http://faculty.css.edu/tboone2/asep/PriceOfChange.html
8. Boone, T. (2004). The Cost of Destiny. Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonnline. 7:4 [Online].
http://faculty.css.edu/tboone2/asep/CostOfDestiny.html
9. Boone, T. (2011). The Development of Professionalism in Exercise Physiology. Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline. 14:6 [Online].
http://faculty.css.edu/tboone2/asep/Professionalism_In_Exercise_Physiolo gy.doc
10. Boone, T. (2009). The Professionalization of Exercise Physiology: Certification, Accreditation, and Standards of Practice of the American Society of Exercise Physiologists (ASEP). Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press.
11. Boone, T. (2011). Contemporary Exercise Physiology: The Big Picture. Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline. 14:3 [Online].
http://faculty.css.edu/tboone2/asep/Contemporary_Exercise_Physiology_T he_Big_Picture.docx
12.Boone, T. (2010). Getting Serious About a College Major. Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline. 13:8 [Online]. http://faculty.css.edu/tboone2/asep/Kinesiology.docx
13. Boone, T. (2004). Victims of a Failed Rhetoric. Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline. 7:9 [Online].
http://faculty.css.edu/tboone2/asep/FailedRhetoric.html
