BooneThink

The article I wrote, Indifference to Professional Standards is Irresponsible Behavioral, continues to dominate my thinking in the professional development of exercise physiology. Students have asked me about the article. They wonder if I’m my writing is too strong. I wonder the same myself. I’m not interested in making enemies. Instead, all I want is a profession of exercise physiology. I want something better for my students and others who want to be an exercise physiologist. The challenge is great. It is also both rewarding and frustrating. There are many misunderstandings about my articles. Some colleagues think that I hate sports medicine. Nothing could be farther from the truth. What is different is the stereotypical image of the exercise physiologist without a professional organization. Gone is the image of sports medicine as having control over exercise physiology. We must not only determine who we are, but also what we can become as healthcare practitioners.

If you are a student considering the career options in exercise physiology, the profession offers you many options. Unlike sports medicine thinking that is a title for many different degrees, most with doctorate or medical degrees, an academic degree in exercise physiology does not trap you in a job with no way out except through research and publication. Although creating new information through scientific work is important, there are many other options too. One career option is that of exercise physiologists who create their own. This new role as a healthcare professional has opened a door of opportunities.

With an exercise physiology degree, board certification, and the professional title, students have numerous career opportunities. In fact, the possibilities in exercise physiology are limitless. Opportunities for exciting work in health, fitness, rehabilitation, athletics, and many other awesome careers are driven by the scientific research that has demonstrated “exercise is medicine”. Because of this understanding, the role of exercise physiologists is expanding into many different fields of work without compromising their traditional involvement with sports and athletics. In this new healthcare role, the sky is the limit. If you want to learn more about exercise physiology and what exercise physiologists do, you can obtain information from the students, ASEP websites and career sections of the different websites.

Exercise physiology does more than teach athletes to jump higher, run faster, or lift more weight, although all three are important. Exercise physiologists are educated to objectively evaluate the role of different conditions (mind, body, heat, verbal, massage, shoes, and so forth) that may alter normal cardiovascular function. Exercise physiologists are educated to the right way to keep the mind and body connection strong. That is why they like to obtain pre- and posttest measures in laboratory settings to inform the client exactly the benefit of a particular product or to reduce the risk of recommended exercise products that are not validated for safety and productivity. In other words, the exercise physiologist is educated to make sure that bad things don’t happen to the body when exercising.