BooneThink

Without question, the United States is a religious nation. Organized religion is commonplace and, thus the role of religion (and, perhaps, more specifically, spirituality) is evident in most areas of our lives. It is also clear that religion plays a major part in disease and recovery. Members of the nursing profession, in particular, understand this point very well. Spirituality, for example, is used as a coping strategy in dealing with stressful events and experiences in life. It is integral to health and positive mental well-being. You may not know that I’ve written about this relationship before in PEPonline: (1) The Spiritual Care of Patients in Exercise Physiology, and (2) Spirituality, Faith, and Exercise Physiologists as Healthcare Professionals.

Understandably, given the growing religious diversification in the United States, most healthcare professionals are not prepared to address the specifics of each. Maybe that is okay, given also the fundamental truth that spirituality will very likely prevail over religious diversity. Clients seek meaning and a sense of connection between themselves (and others) and of course life and everything we think life means now and later. This need to be spiritual is related to health, work, people, and all the relationships thereof. As exercise physiologists, we should consider spirituality as an important trend that will impact each of us as healthcare professionals. Hence, it seems to me that in addition to professional development issues and concerns, the existing view that spirituality falls outside of the field needs examining if we are to collectively stay at the edge of change and critical reflection on our shared practice of exercise physiology.

The question thus becomes: “What does it mean to be an exercise physiologist?” Unfortunately, for most of us (especially, those who have been thoroughly indoctrinated by decades of sports medicine thinking), the answer is not a mystery. Even now it is terribly troubling to imagine good students who pay for years of education at the college and university level living their lives as “personal trainers.” I for one will state before all others that it makes no sense except for the obvious of which the winner is the organization itself. Once again, the student comes out not the short end of the stick, as in the health and fitness instructor certification, but without a stick at all to lean on or to benefit from (i.e., the personal trainer certification).

The questions and concerns are so obvious, yet no one at the college level seems to care! I believe it was Dave Brown who wrote, “The future does not have to be something that happens to us.” I agree. I believe we can choose what we want to be. Why so many of us are comfortable with the sports medicine and exercise science image speaks to our collective failure to feel the pain and hardships of our students. Their failure to achieve and to benefit from their college degree is our failure to plan and vision the future as other healthcare professionals have done and continue to do.

The ASEP leaders have built a boat (i.e., the infrastructure for professional development), driven by an awareness of our problems and their quest for the professionalism of exercise physiology. As we look to the future, why not get in the boat and help? You can it by joining the American Society of Exercise Physiologists. Become a member and help of us to realize our true potential, however unaided or hindered by those who don’t get it.