Perfection? Get Real
It seems that everytime I turn my head, somebody is trying to point out the obvious weaknesses of the ASEP leadership. And, yet these same individuals are followers — not leaders. Take, for example, the fact that the American Society of Exercise Physiologists was founded in 1997. Hello, get real people. There isn’t any reason that the leadership has to break its back to be perfect with every idea, plan, strategy, or program. Why not talk about the good things the leadership has done in just seven years! Just think, the national organization for occupational therapy was created in March 1917. I believe it was 1968 before an official definition of occupational therapy was adopted for the first time. The ASEP leadership agreed on an official definition of exercise physiology within the first two years of operation. All a person has to do is check into the history of nursing, physical therapy, and other healthcare professions to find the same thing. Each of these professions has decades, if not, nearly a 100 years of time to get it perfect, and they haven’t done so yet. So, why not give the ASEP leadership a break. After all, they have accomplish many good things since 1997. Even if parts of the package remain less than perfect, time is on their side. In fact, if you are an exercise physiologist, why not get involved with ASEP? No one is asking you to be perfect. Anyway, it isn’t a good idea to wait until every little thing is worked out, even if possible. Ideas should be implemented and, when necessary, evaluated and implemented again. The truth is, no one really has all the answers. The ASEP leadership knows that it makes mistakes, but they are trying to make exercise physiology better for all exercise physiologists. Oh, by the way, I should point out that the Board of Accreditation does not exist within the ASEP organization. It is located in The Center for Exercise Physiologists-online. The Center is a sister organization that deals with accreditation, certification, and licensure. The URL is different from the ASEP organization, and it is on a completely different server. Yes, seveal members of the Board of Accreditation are members of ASEP, but that is where less than perfect will be corrected when friends and colleagues stop being negative and join in to help.