Sports medicine is steadily and systematically chipping away at the freedoms that all of us have. The rights that we are guaranteed, as a function of our academic preparation, are being taken away by actions dedicated to the development of sports medicine. We see our lack of power as exercise physiologists in many areas. We see it in the jobs we do not get or the pay that is too little to buy food, clothing, utilities, and housing. In many cases, the cost of living is beyond the economic worth of the job.
Power is realized through the control of professional resources.
The answer is unfortunately not as many as we might think. Then, too, ownership of what we were prepared to do is all too frequently supplied by other healthcare workers. Interestingly, sports medicine did not just happen. The professionals who organized it held meetings, planned strategy, developed leadership, set up systems of communication, defined issues, raised funds, and built coalitions. They learned something about themselves and their strengths.