Faculty of Kinesiology

Caitlin Doyle (BScKIN ‘11)

This month, the Faculty of Kinesiology welcomed a new Contract Academic Instructor to our teaching team. Caitlin Doyle is teaching KIN 5481 Advanced Exercise Prescription for Chronic Diseases. While we are welcoming her to this new role, she is not a stranger to Kinesiology. She is a graduate of our BScKIN program and a Clinical Exercise Physiologist working in REDS Recreation on campus. The teaching assignment is a great fit because of Caitlin’s responsibility for running REDS Recreation’s specialized programs that are aimed at supporting and maintaining the health of individuals with chronic diseases and her experience working with Kinesiology students in delivering these programs.

At the beginning of my conversation with Caitlin, I asked what drew her to Kinesiology when she was considering her post-secondary options. She said, quite simply, ‘I did not see any other option’. She had always ‘been drawn to helping people in living healthy lives’ and describes herself in high school as ‘that friend who was always encouraging my friends to be active and make healthy choices.’ ‘Kinesiology was my North Star’. Because UNB was not too far from her home at the time, Rexton, N.B., it seemed like an obvious choice. After Caitlin completed her BScKIN degree, she decided to work toward her Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology (CSEP) Clinical Exercise Physiologist (CEP) designation. She returned to UNB for an extra year of coursework in Kinesiology which helped prepare her to take the CSEP-CEP exam. Now, she is teaching a course that can support students in the BScKIN program in preparing for that same exam.

In talking to Caitlin about her work with REDS Recreation, it is evident that she is passionate about the programs she has had a hand in developing and running. She also clearly enjoys and gets fulfillment from interacting with the people that the specialized programs serve. Working as a member of the REDS Recreation team has supported Caitlin’s career growth – something she places high value on – because she has autonomy to create, collaborate with others in creating, and lead programs that utilize her knowledge and skills. For example, Caitlin worked with a Horizon Health respiratory therapist and then took the lead in developing a pulmonary rehab program. The program is designed to help people who have, for example, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), with activities they encounter in their everyday lives. The REDS Recreation Programs are opportunities for Caitlin to work with and mentor students who have become an integral part of the program delivery. Students contribute to programs being a multi-generational experience and they add to the social element as they interact with participants to help ensure they are doing activities properly. Students also help with pre- and post-program assessments. Working as a member of the REDS Recreation team, Caitlin enjoys the ability to connect with members of the local community and ‘realize the impact of programs on the population it targets – to see the programs help manage the symptoms of their disease and help them maintain their independence’. It is rewarding to see members of the community be drawn to the specialized programs to support their health. Caitlin’s connection to the participants and organizations associated with the target population has resulted, as one example, in a REDS Recreation partnership with the local Parkinson’s support group to host the Parkinson’s Superwalk in Fredericton. Caitlin feels these types of partnerships are important ways to give back to the community.

Although Caitlin has been interacting with Kinesiology students for years in the programs she leads and has watched them apply what they were learning, teaching KIN 5481 is another growth opportunity and challenge that Caitlin sees as important to her career development. Engaging with students in a class setting gives her the chance to ‘really dive into everything I’ve learned’. As Caitlin discusses her teaching experience, her enthusiasm is evident and reinforces how fortunate the Faculty of Kinesiology is to have her leading one of our upper-year elective courses.