Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each Wednesday MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Prairie Farms.

By Kyle Terwillegar

Perhaps the most commonly cited phrases from the Hippocratic Oath -- a code of ethics for medical professionals that dates back to the ancient Greeks -- is to "do no harm."

But for Kayla Keane, a redshirt senior on the University of Michigan women's track and field and cross country teams, and aspiring doctor, it's not enough to "do no harm."

She wants to do good by her future patients.

Keane is in the homestretch of an undergraduate career that will culminate this spring in degrees in both movement science and psychology. She has been applying to medical schools with the intention to begin her studies next year and put herself on the path to the healthcare profession, potentially in paediatrics.

"I've always been interested in medicine," Keane said. "Instinctively, I've always just wanted to help people. I love seeing people smile and feel better."

Her studies in movement science -- which broadly include understanding the control, mechanics and physiology of human movement, according to the School of Kinesiology -- and her future medical school endeavors will give her the ability to help people in their hours of need.

The second part, "seeing people smile and feel better," is where her psychology coursework comes in handy.

"Empathy is a big part of working in healthcare," she said. "As a patient, you feel like you don't have control. You're already hindered if you're injured or have some type of medical situation, so you don't need to also feel like a doctor is talking down at you."

That sentiment is personal for Keane, whose mother had what she described as "a cancer scare" when she was younger. She and her family understandably had innumerable questions, but were frustrated by the indirectness of the answers, both in terms of substance and delivery.

"My mom had an experience with a doctor who had dealt with patients that had these problems all the time, so he was kind of immune to the emotional side of things," said Keane. "But for us it's scary that it's happening right now in our lives."

While her mom would ultimately end up being OK, the experience crystallized Keane's understanding of what a good doctor could -- and should -- be, and how to achieve that ideal.

"The big thing is communication, that's where my studies in psychology have helped," she said. "Trying to understand diverse perspectives is key. Intersectionality is what we've been learning a lot about in psychology. For example, you can have two women in the same medical situation, but a white woman and a woman of color could have completely different experiences. When you're working with patients, realizing that everyone is different and has different life experiences is so important."

Another foundational experience she has had in her time as a psychology student was in a "Positive Psychology" class, in which the instructor tasked students on a weekly basis to put positive spins on situations in their own lives.

"One week the assignment was 'do something nice for your neighbor.' So that week you had to do something nice for your neighbor and then you'd reflect about it in a journal. Another week, we would every night say three things you are grateful for in the day. Even long after I completed the course, doing things like that helps me build a healthy and happy lifestyle, especially in college. I think everyone should take that class."

Her coursework in psychology has come in parallel with her work in the field of movement science, which has included personal favorites like anatomy and biomechanics.

Among her accomplishments is research on wearable technology that she, along with a faculty advisor, presented at an annual Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program symposium. The project involved a device worn on a runner's leg that sought to measure ground reaction force while running on various surfaces such as grass, a track or cement.

"Knowing the different surfaces and their impacts is really important for runners because of the high frequency of stress-related injuries," she said. "Ultimately, the device wasn't super accurate, but I thought it was interesting just being able to know about ground reaction forces and how they might impact runners, then also finding new technology and applying that to a research setting."

Stress-related injuries have also served as another personal intersection between movement science and psychology in Keane's life.

After a decorated high school career and a successful first few cross country races her freshman year at Michigan in 2015, the injury bug bit Keane. She has since raced somewhat sparingly on the track in between stress fractures in her hip and bouts of tendonosis, and not at all in cross country for the Wolverines until this season.

That changed in a big way at the season-opening Michigan Open at Hudson Mills Metropark in Dexter, when she ran 17:39 for third place overall. After the race she found teammate and roommate Maddy Trevisan for an emotional embrace.

"She understands almost more than anyone else because we've both gone through some injuries," Keane said. "But that was my first cross country race since freshman year and it was just the feeling of being like, 'I did it. I've finally learned, I've been able to complete my first race.' We did it and she knew that and we were just celebrating how far we've come."

The road back to that point was not an easy one, but she was helped along the way by a naturally positive attitude that was boosted by her psychology studies.

"It's hard when you first start running again. You're just like, 'What? What's a mile like?'", she joked. "Every day can be a struggle. But once you eventually have that base of miles under you, it finally starts to feel so natural. I look forward to my runs every single day. I'm not tired every single day. I was just like, 'I can get out there and I can get in the zone and I can have fun.' And at that race I feel like I did that. I was having fun again."

Now in her final year of eligibility, Keane is in a position to battle for a spot on the Wolverines' postseason roster -- one of the toughest to make in the country due to the depth of talent in the program. And she is ready to do whatever it takes to get there.

"When we sat down and had our goal talk, it was 'stay healthy'," she said. "That's my No. 1 goal. So you'll see me a lot in the training room. And then lifting, focusing on the small muscles that tend to be overlooked, and I'm not overdoing it.

"And then another one of my goals is to score and be top seven. That's a personal goal. Even if I'm not actually top seven, I'm going to train like I'm top seven and have that mentality that I'm going to help this team do something special."

• Scholar-Athlete Stories Home