Marilyn Abraham

Philosophy of Exercise Science Carroll Universitys Exercise Science programs mission is to develop exercise professionals who can conduct assessments as well as prescribe exercise prescriptions for various populations. My philosophy of Exercise Science incorporates the outcomes of the Exercise Science program at Carroll University, the importance of this field, of walking the talk, and of the concepts of Exercise is Medicine. Carroll Universitys Exercise Science program has eight outcomes which include the following: 1. Will demonstrate fundamental and applied scientific knowledge of human movement and performance in preparation for certification, entry-level employment, or advanced degrees in health-related graduate programs. 2. Will demonstrate competency in appropriately screening and assessing the health status of individuals across various populations and abilities. 3. Will be able to appropriately select, design, implement, and modify individualized health and fitness interventions for clients across various populations and abilities. 4. Will be able to educate, instruct, and motivate individuals in lifestyle modification in diverse settings across various populations and abilities. 5. Will be able to appropriately select, implement, and interpret health and fitness assessments across various populations and abilities. 6. Will possess strong communication and interpersonal skills to interact and collaborate effectively with professionals and peers. 7. Will be able to read and interpret scientific research and utilize the scientific inquiry process to collect appropriate data, analyze data, interpret results, and present conclusions in suitable oral, written, and technology formats. 8. Will display a strong sense of responsibility/accountability, initiative, and professional engagement. Carroll Universitys outcomes for students in the Exercise Science program ensure that we will be able to conduct assessments and be able to prescribe exercise interventions for various clients. Within the first year of the Exercise Science program students have already begun to lay a basic foundation for many of these outcomes. Through classes such as Human Anatomy and Physiology, Chemistry, and Exercise Science students have gained a small glimpse of what future years will have in store. During the first year, we have gained a basic understanding of various areas of science. We learned about the human bodys anatomy and physiology and how these aspects work at a molecular level. Furthermore students, although not yet competent in this ability, have a general understanding of what plays into certain disorders/such as family history,

blood pressure, age, weight, exercise test results, as well as self-reports. Nonetheless, we have a general ideas of normal standards for aspects such as heart rate, volumes, and pH. We have also practiced designing, following, and modifying individualized F.I.T.T. plans by using ourselves as the subjects. Furthermore, we gained an understanding as to why exercise is important and what benefits it can provide the population. This knowledge can help us begin to motivate and educate individuals about how exercise can reduce the chances of many mental and physical disorders/diseases and how despite the current healthcare systems take on treatment exercise is indeed medicine. In addition, through projects, assignments, and labs students had to work with other students to get tasks done. Through these experiences, students have started to develop if not further their communication and interpersonal skills to interact with their peers and teachers. Students are also in the process of developing skills on how to read and interpret scientific research. We also had to utilize our interpretive skills to process and analyze data from other scientific research. This will help us in the future by providing us with an idea of how to present and structure questions, introductions, data, results, discussions, and conclusions in studies or research that will conduct or review. Through research students also gained an idea of what our responsibility and role as exercise professionals are and how we can engage and further our role in the healthcare field by supporting and promoting the idea that Exercise is Medicine. In regards to the importance of this field, there are four major concepts that define Exercise Science. These concepts include the progress this field has made through history, the vast amount of connections it has to various parent and sub-disciplines, as well as the communication aspect of this field. I believe that understanding the historical background is important for various reasons. By knowing what was discovered in the past and how it works we can further advance many techniques if not use the same ones. Techniques, methods, and discoveries made in the past serve to be foundations for the future. History has provided a lot of knowledge about how the body works. This information can now be used to create methods that assist, strengthen, or even help the body recover. By using knowledge gained through history as well as understanding the information from various parent and sub-disciplines, that Exercise Science incorporates, an exercise professional can have a good understanding of this field. Not only are there many sciences linked to this field but they are all interconnected. Using them together one can use their knowledge to help clients effectively, efficiently and treat them as a whole. The last major concept is communication. I believe that this is a key aspect due to the fact that it is important to be able to understand and communicate with a client in order to work with them. Verbal skills will assist an exercise professional by allowing them to successfully discuss short and long-term goals as well as treatment plans with their clients. The idea of walking the talk is also very important in the field of exercise science. I believe that it is important so that exercise professionals can become role models for their clients. By practicing what we teach, exercise professionals can also benefit from ideas such as exercise is medicine both physically and mentally. Nonetheless, these methods will help individuals perform better at their jobs by showing less sign of fatigue early on, having increased concentration levels, and being able to instruct and provide safety for clients. These as well as

many other benefits can be experienced by exercise professionals if they simply follow the advice that they ask their patients to follow. Nonetheless, through this exercise professionals will be able to better connect with their own clients due to their own experiences which can lead to the instructor having the ability to empathize with their clients. Furthermore, by walking the talk exercise professionals can also help cut healthcare costs and provide better claims for why exercise is medicine due to personal experience. In addition, I believe that by understanding why and how Exercise is Medicine exercise professionals can play a larger role in healthcare. By understanding that exercise can be used in the treatment of a large range of mental and physical disorders/diseases one can further support the claim that exercise is medicine. Nonetheless, by understanding this concept one can find out how exercise science needs to evolve so that it can meet the demands of Exercise is Medicine. By achieving this, exercise professionals can also play the role as an advocate for their clients and use their entrepreneurism skills to further this idea into healthcare so that it is widely established. Advocating for patients is important because we become their voice in the healthcare field. The only way to effectively advocate is by having a vast amount of knowledge about the field as well as by having communication, teamwork, and other entrepreneurial skills. In conclusion, my exercise science philosophy is largely centered on the outcomes of the Exercise Science program at Carroll University as well as key concepts, connections to other sciences, and communication. By completing the Exercise Science program, students will be able to fulfill all of these outcomes as well as understand all of these concepts. Despite the fact that we are in our first year in the program we have been able to begin to develop and provide a basic foundation for many of the skills and abilities we will acquire in the following five years so that we will meet our ultimate outcome of being licensed physical therapists.