ABSTRACT
The price exercise physiologists are paying to change (i.e., to think of themselves as healthcare providers) is time. It takes time to get into shape, to get rid of extra pounds of body fat, and to think differently. It is a big responsibility when it comes to professional changes, ethics, work, and the realty of an accurate representation of what is exercise medicine and what is exercise physiology? If the academic exercise physiologists would change their thinking, they could change their future and that of their students. If that happened, the well-being of their students would be improved. All it takes is one person with the desire to think as an ASEP exercise physiologist does. This means thinking about professionalism and the importance of a profession-specific organization versus a generic organization. This thinking is no different from the present-day physical therapists who decided to become healthcare professionals on their terms. The ASEP leaders believe that they can do the same. All that is necessary is to follow the lead of the ASEP perspective regarding “who we are” and “what we do.” Their beliefs and thinking contribute to their decisions and behaviors and to their actions. The simple truth is that exercise physiologists can transcend their limits if they are willing to think as healthcare professionals all day long day-after-day. They can transcend the limits of failed rhetoric by not spending thousands of dollars on degree programs that are worthless when it comes to locating credible jobs after college? Exercise physiologists can do better at creating credible and ethical academic programs. After all, the purpose of earning a college degree is to increase the students’ chances of success.
