Preparing kinesiologists and exercise physiologists: what does this mean for arthritis care?
Scientific Study Title: Implementing a practical curriculum in Kinesiology: Preparing students as kinesiologists and clinical exercise physiologists
Study Start Date: 2026
Study End Date: 2029
Why Do This Research?
There is a growing need to better prepare kinesiology graduates for emerging roles in healthcare, especially following the British Columbia Ministry of Health’s recognition of Kinesiologists and Clinical Exercise Physiologists as part of the allied health workforce. Even though many students express their desire for building exercise professional careers, these students have reported feeling unprepared to meet designation requirements upon graduation. This gap noted by students may limit their integration as working professionals into healthcare settings, which is a problem as they are critical in supporting patients living with chronic conditions like arthritis, for which exercise is a known effective management.
What Will be Done?
This project aims to implement a ‘practical curriculum’ to help students gain the hands-on experience needed for professional standards and healthcare needs. This project, based on UBC Teaching and Learning Enhancement-funded professional pathway, will also support instructors in effectively delivering this new curriculum.
The goal is to strengthen the pipeline of practice-ready graduates who can contribute meaningfully to interdisciplinary care teams. This includes expanding access to evidence-based, non-pharmacological interventions for chronic disease management, including various forms of arthritis.
Who is Involved?
Students, professional associations (BC Association of Kinesiologists, Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology), employers, kinesiologists, clinical exercise physiologists, faculty, staff, and individuals with lived experience.
How are Equity, Diversity and Inclusion addressed or taken into consideration?
To ensure equitable participation in this project, our team upholds a strong commitment to partnering with those who the projects are intended for; students are involved from problem identification through to implementation (i.e., students are partners). This is reflected in having student representation in our Professional Pathway Advisory Group and the proposed establishment of the Student Experience of Experiential Learning Advisory Group. To guide ‘meaningful’ engagement (i.e., the avoidance of tokenism and ensuring partners are actively engaged in decision-making) we subscribe to the Integrated Knowledge Translation guiding principles (https://ikt.ok.ubc.ca) to hold discussions around shared benefits of participation, support needed for full participation, compensation, and preferred communication approaches.
How will/have patients contribute(d) to this research?
Patients have co-developed content that is taught in the curricular pathway (e.g., I START toolkit, ProACTIVE SCI toolkit). Patient partners have also co-developed work integrated learning courses that provide hands-on learning experiences and given their time as guest lecturers, sharing their lived experiences.
The Research Team:
Principal Investigators:
Jasmin Ma, PhD, P.Kin, Clinician Investigator, Arthritis Research Canada (University of British Columbia)
Co-investigators:
Boushel, R.,
Brandt, W.,
Carpenter, M.,
Cesari, C.,
de Gracia-Patten C.,
DuManoir, G.,
Forneris, T.,
Gallo, M.,
Gelinas, J.,
Han, A.,
Hurd, L.,
Ismaeil, N.,
Koehle, M.,
Leahy, M.,
Mitchell, C.,
Nguyen, V.,
Noble, M.,
Pascoal, A.,
Pelletier, A.,
Pohang, I., Sasso, J.,
Sheel, B.,
Shafiq, N.,
Soto Quintero, C.,
Stelling, S.,
Tipping, J.,
Varao-Sousa, T.
Who Funded This Research?
UBC Large Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund
