Empathy
Larry Birnbaum, PhD., EPC
Associate Professor
Department of Exercise Physiology
The College of St. Scholastica
Duluth, MN 55811
The American Heritage Dictionary defines
empathy as
“understanding so intimate that the feelings, thoughts, and motives of
one are
readily comprehended by another.”(1) So
what does empathy have to do with exercise physiology, particularly the
professionalization
of exercise physiology? It is really
quite straightforward. If academicians
had empathy for students majoring in exercise physiology or a related
field,
they would work on behalf of the students to help them secure good jobs
upon
graduation. It should be much easier for
students to find gainful employment in the field once they earn a
bachelor’s
degree in exercise physiology. There are
a number of reasons for the current situation.
To begin with, too many undergraduate programs are not
truly exercise
physiology programs. They may include
only a couple of exercise physiology courses.
Obviously, this is woefully inadequate to prepare students
for a
professional career. The typical health
science profession requires two years of discipline-specific course
work,
including a significant period of time spent in a clinical setting
where
students acquire skills through supervised hands-on practice.
Another factor contributing to
the current dilemma is that employers
need competent employees. When hiring
recent college graduates, they want some assurance that the graduates
are
qualified to do the job. Unfortunately,
in far too many cases, all the employer has to assess competency is a
transcript, which may list a couple of appropriate courses, but cannot
assure
that students have mastered a set of knowledge and skills that define a
qualified exercise physiologist. The
hundreds of weekend warrior certifications only add confusion to the
situation. Only a rare employer can
decipher which certifications
are legitimate. When competency of
exercise physiologists can be assured, the number of available
positions will
increase and salaries will do the same.
The primary reason exercise
physiologists have difficulty
securing good paying jobs may be the failure to recognize exercise
physiology
as a health care profession by both academicians and employers. Exercise physiologists have much to
contribute to the overall health of people of all ages and all walks of
life. If a majority of academicians
would embrace this concept, they would develop and implement suitable
curricula
as defined by an agency that accredits exercise physiology programs,
guide
students to appropriate certification and/or licensure, and work with a
professional exercise physiology organization to enhance the profession.
Fortunately, all the pieces are
in place. The American Society of Exercise
Physiologists (ASEP) was founded in 1997 and is the only organization
that
works solely for the advancement of the exercise physiology profession.
ASEP has achieved major
accomplishments in the
professionalization of exercise physiology.
One critically important accomplishment was the
development of the
Center for Exercise Physiology as a separate entity that is responsible
for
accreditation and certification. The Center for Exercise Physiology oversees
the Board of Accreditation and the Board of Certification, which are
responsible for accrediting exercise physiology programs and certifying
exercise physiologists, respectively.
Given that the tools are in place for
professionalization,
why aren’t more academic programs accredited?
Why aren’t more exercise physiologists certified (as
exercise
physiologists)? Could it be due to a
lack of empathy for students by academicians?
Are academicians unconcerned about their students once
they
graduate? If so, what can be done to
help academicians acquire sufficient empathy for undergraduate students
to motivate
them to pursue appropriate accreditation of their programs and
encourage their
graduates to sit for the Exercise Physiologist Certified (EPC) exam? Perhaps if they would attend ASEP meetings
and discuss these issues with the ASEP leadership and hopeful students,
they
would begin to comprehend the gravity of the situation.
With that comprehension, motivation to take
action would likely follow.
Possibly the best means for
acquiring empathy for others is
to try to put yourself in their shoes.
Imagine yourself as a senior enrolled in an exercise
physiology-related
program (i.e., one of those programs with only one or two genuine
exercise
physiology courses). You are excited
about graduating soon and looking forward to starting a career. You have significant expectations and
aspirations. Life is good.
Then you actually begin seeking employment
and reality hits you like a speeding Mac truck.
You realize you are only qualified for mediocre jobs, jobs
that are not
challenging and do not lead to any career.
Even more disappointing are the salaries of these jobs. You would be further ahead if you started
working as a custodian right out of high school instead of going to
college. In desperation, you may pay for
and acquire one or more weekend warrior certifications only to find
they are
worthless, meaningless. They do nothing
to advance your career. You are
stuck. You have invested four or more
years in a college education and have little to show for it. You may go to your academic advisor or one or
more faculty for advice. They may tell
you to pursue a graduate degree, most likely a Ph.D. How
do you suppose that makes students
feel? They have just spent a bundle on
an undergraduate education and have nothing to show for it, and now
they are
being told to spend another bundle and, no doubt, wondering what good
it would
do. If you honestly put yourself in
their place, you would be very angry, frustrated, and/or depressed. You have nothing to look forward to. How sad!
How unnecessary! If only
academicians could see what they are doing to their students, and then
give a
damn and start working on their behalf.
Have empathy for your students!
References
1. Davies, P. (Ed). (1980)
The American Heritage Dictionary of
the
English Language. New York, Dell
Publishing Co., Inc.