The Responsibility of Exercise Physiologists
As I’ve read, it was 2500 years ago, the Greek statesman Pericles described the culture that produced Greece’s golden age. The secret of Athens’ success?
“Here each individual is interested not only in his own affairs but in the affairs of the state as well: even those who are mostly occupied with their own business are extremely well informed on general politics — this is a peculiarity of ours: we do not say that a man who takes no interest in politics minds his own business; we say that he has no business here at all.”
Perhaps the comments by Pericles should be a reminder that without support and/or engagement in the ASEP organization to help develop professionalism in exercise physiology, then, students, faculty, and all others leave what they are and what they can become to the decisions of those who may not have their best interests at heart. The exercise physiologist’s role in a democracy is to make the profession of exercise physiology a better place for all members (including student members). That can happen only when they are engaged in the ASEP efforts, speak on its behalf, and become part of the problem-solving process to build the first-ever sustainable and credible infrastructure for professional development.