HP450

Preliminary Course Syllabus Fall 2012

Course Outline & Readings Updated 3/13/112

TRADITIONAL EASTERN MEDICINE AND MODERN HEALTH

Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Studies

Monday/Wednesday 10:00-11:50am

Faculty:

Julia George Borovay, Dr.P.H.

Office hours: by appt.

Email office hours: Monday/Wednesday 4:00-5:00pm

COURSE OUTLINE AND READINGS

Please complete all readings and be prepared to discuss them on the day for which they are assigned.

Textbook: Kaptchuk TJ. The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine. 2000. New York: McGraw-Hill.

NOTE: The following schedule may be subject to modification in response to availability of guest speakers and to student interests and needs. Students will receive notice of any modifications.

Course Description: This course introduces traditional Eastern medical views of health and illness and their relationship to Western biomedical practices. Topics include the concepts of balance between the human body and the natural environment, causes and diagnoses of disease, Qi, and specific Eastern medical practices such as acupuncture, moxibustion, herbal medicine, and Qi Dong. Differences between Eastern and Western health belief systems and practices are examined, including issues related to culturally effective medical approaches, communication, and patient satisfaction and adherence to medical treatment plans.

Course Objectives: Upon course completion, you will be prepared to approach professional interactions with patients who incorporate traditional Eastern and alternative medical values into their personal health care with a strong foundation in the theories and practices upon which Eastern medicine is based. You will have an understanding of Eastern perspectives about the causes and symptoms of diseases and their diagnosis and treatment. You will be able to approach patient-practitioner interactions with culturally-based knowledge about the ways in which patients with Eastern and alternative medical beliefs maintain health, interpret disease episodes, seek health care, and integrate traditional Eastern medical practices with Western biomedicine.

Course Expectations: The course will follow a lecture and discussion format, with small group work in classroom activities and student presentations. There will be one class field trip and one small-group collaborative project field trip. You are expected to attend class consistently, arrive on time, participate in discussions and projects, and come prepared to discuss assigned materials and readings.

Required Course Text:

  1. Kaptchuk TJ. The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine. 2000. New York: McGraw-Hill.
  2. Supplemental readingswill be cited in class or otherwise made available

Evaluation Criteria:

Class Group Activities:There will be an assortment of randomly scheduled, unannounced class group activities during the semester. The activities will include impromptu role plays, small group readings activities, interactive games, and other active learning strategies. One of these activities will be the field trip, which will be scheduled for a time and day so that as many students as possible can participate. Each class activity is worth between 2 and 25 points. There can be no make-ups of the class group activities, because they must be conducted within the structured group during class time. (*Partial points will be offered for making up the class fieldtrip—see below)

Collaborative Project: You have the unique opportunity to work with your fellow class members on a collaborative project investigating elements of Eastern and alternative medicine. You will form a group of three to five [preferably four] students. Each member of the group is expected to contribute equally to its success while you work together to complete the assignment.

  1. Choose a Topic. Decide together on elements of Eastern or alternative medicine that you would like to explore. For example, you might decide to look into the practice of acupuncture, yoga, meditation, herbalism, or fengshui for health. You might make an appointment to interview a health practitioner, or arrange to interview someone who participates in alternative health practices. You will turn in a brief written description of your research topic and plan of investigation.
  1. Investigate: Find out where in the local area you can go to gather data on your topic. Tip: there are many alternative health resources in the immensely diverse tapestry of human life that we have in Los Angeles. You will also compile and turn in a list of six to ten academicjournal research articles addressing the topic of your choice, and later in the semester each member of the group will write an annotated review explaining how at least two of the articles address your group’s topic.
  1. Quest: Plan an investigatory quest to this source of information. For example, you may all decide to take a yoga or Qi Gong class together, or to visit a botanica. Note: use common sense in planning your field trip. Take into consideration costs, transportation, timing, and safety. Be sure the field trip is physically and financially accessible for everyone in your group. Be courteous to the professional health practitioners with whom you interact. Also note: no one is expected to participate in any practice with which they are physically uncomfortable, such as acupuncture. Plan your investigation with sensitivity for the concerns of the members of your group. However, keep in mind that this is an opportunity for you to approach with a mind as open as possible the gloriously rich and amazing complexity of the human experience. Bring to it a sense of wonder.
  1. You will work together to report your findings in a presentation to the class. Each member of the group will participate equally in presenting data to the class about the health practice you investigated. You may use PowerPoint, video or other media, dance, music, or simply talk to the class. You could even lead a demonstration of the practice you investigated and ask the class to join in. For a discussion about herbal teas, for example, you could bring some non-lethal samples to share with the class.

Evaluation. The evaluation of the presentation of the collaborative project is divided into two segments adding up to 100 points: an individual grade [up to 60 pts] and an overall group grade [up to 40 pts].

Segment #1: For the individual grade, each member of the group is responsible for presenting one of the following components to the class, and for annotations for two of the research articles. NOTE: * If there are more or less than four people in your group, we will work out a customized plan for dividing up the responsibilities for the presentation among the people in the group.

  1. An introduction to the practice,with an in-depth description of the practice and what it means to the people who practice it. Explain how people feel about it, how they believe it works, and what they feel are the benefits of the practice. Then give a thoughtful and detailed explanation of why each member of your group chose to research it. [up to 30 individual pts]
  1. A description of the investigatory quest taken by your group. Describe how you as a group decided upon and set up the quest, and what your experiences were while you participated in the quest. If you have interviewed a health practitioner, give an explanation of his or her perspective on what the practice means.If you participated in a class or some other aspect of the health practice, describe the personal experience each member of the group had with the health practice. Explain any difficulties you may have encountered, and discuss the positive aspects of your investigatory quest as well. [up to 30 individualpts]
  1. A discussion presenting the cultural and medical issues associated with the health practice from the biomedical viewpoint. Present the benefits and any disadvantages of the health practice you have investigated. Explain how you would prepare a Western physician or other health professional for working with patients from populations in which the health practice is common.[up to 30 individual pts]
  1. A thoughtful, detailed summary of your topic that reviews at least three main points about your presentation, with an excellent and memorable finish. Express also each group members’ personal opinion here, including any doubts or reservations she/he may have about the practice, her/hispositive and/or negative impressions of the practice, and any revelations or changes of opinion they may have experienced. End with a strong summarizing statement. [up to 30 individual pts]
  1. Each member of the group is also responsible for turning in two well-written, comprehensive but concise annotations of the academic journal research articles your group chose as part of your investigation.[up to 20 individual pts]

Segment #2: The overall group grade, for which every member of the group will earn the same numbe3 of points, will be evaluated on the following components: [up to 40 group pts]

  1. Overall quality: the incorporation of creativity, inventiveness, energy, and originality into the presentation, and media excellence [up to 20 group points]
  2. A professional approach to your presentation: speakers share equally in the presentation; any media equipment is operational; presentation stays within the prescribed time guideline of 20-30 minutes. [up to 20 group points]

*Special Issues with Group Projects: If you have worked on group projects in the past, you will be aware of some of the dynamics involved. While group work offers the intense motivational advantages of peer interaction and personal control, it can also be fraught with interpersonal issues. We are all human and when engaged in collaborative activities, both in college and in the professional world, some people tend to be take-charge types, while others prefer to drift along in the wake of powerful personalities. This can and lead to frustration, anger, and wrathful protests to the professor. Be aware that this is an issue with which the professor is well acquainted, and that it is taken into account as one of the most challenging aspects of the assignment. Try to find ways of working together productively by discussing each member’s strengths and arranging for an equitable division of labor. Plead with the professor for intervention only as a last resort.

Midterm Exam. There will be one midterm exam.

Final Exam. TheUniversity requires that all instructors adhere to the final examination schedule. The final exam is mandatory for all students. The exam will be cumulative and will cover the material addressed during the entire course. At least a portion of the final exam will be in multiple-choice format. Essay questions will be scored according to a grading rubric that will be distributed and discussed in class.

Grades: Letter grades are assigned according to the following formula:

98-100% = A+93-97% = A90-92% = A-

88-89% = B+83-87% = B80-82% = B-

78-79% = C+73-77% = C70-72% = C-

68-69% = D+63-67% = D60-62% = D-

<60% = F

Participation: You are expected to arrive on time, remain for the entire class period, and to engage in active, thoughtful, respectful class participation.

Reading: You are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the assigned reading for that day. During class, you are expected to be prepared to discuss important points from the readings, and to ask questions if there is something you do not understand from the readings or class discussions. It is your choice how much to contribute to active class discussion, but we have found that students who excel in their classes take the time to both read and think about the reading material assigned.

Field Trip. You will have the enchanting opportunity to visit the meditation grounds of the Self-Realization Center at the Lake Shrine in Pacific Palisades. We will schedule this field trip on a day and at a time so that as many students as possible will be able to attend. There will be one class activity that takes place at the Lake, and participation will be worth 25 points. Students who cannot attend the field trip on the scheduled date are encouraged to visit the Self-Realization Center by themselves at a different time and to submit a time-identified, non-Photoshopped (!) photograph of themselves in a recognizable section of the Center for 15 make-up participation points.

Controversy and Respect: This course covers a wide range of cultural issues, some of which may be controversial. You are expected to be courteous and respectful to fellow students, professors, and guest speakers. If you anticipate ethical or religious objections to any of the material covered in this course, please consult me within the first two weeks of the semester.

Distractions: Please do not take your class time to peruse the student newspaper or do homework from other classes. Cell phones/pagers/loud electronic devices must be turned off during class time.

Important Guidelines for Laptop Computers: In previous classes, some students have chosen to make inappropriate use of their laptops. Because of this unfortunate trend, laptop use will be restricted to use in the first row, central section of the classroom only. Most course lecture materials will be available on Blackboard, reducing the need for you to take copious notes on a laptop. Laptops may not be used during student or guest presentations, because it is a distraction to the speakers and to other students in the class. If you choose to sit in the center front row and take notes on a laptop, the notes you have taken must be shown to the instructor at the end of the class period, or further use of the laptop during class time will be restricted. You are expected to refrain from playing computer games, checking your email, browsing the Web, or working on homework from other classes. All of these activities can impede the learning process for yourself and for your fellow students.

Policy on late work and absences: Punctual attendance is strongly encouraged for this class. In real life, things happen and the occasional absence or tardiness may be unavoidable. However, please be aware that group activities take place in nearly every class, and these cannot be made up, no matter how dire the circumstances (because they are group activities). There are approximately 100 class points invested in these group activities, so missing one or two may not jeopardize your final grade for the course. Absences or tardiness that result in the loss of points for three or moregroup activities, however, start to accumulate and may ultimately impact your course grade.

Make-up of either exam will only be offered prior to the regularly scheduled exam, except in the case of documented personal/family emergencies. In these exceptional cases, appropriate documentation (for example, a note from a doctor or counselor) is required for a student to make-up a missed exam. All other work must be turned in on time, so please plan accordingly.

Also, once the date of your collaborative project presentation is scheduled, it is very difficult to change, as this will disrupt the schedule for the remaining presentations of your fellow students. In the case of a documented personal/family emergency, with appropriate documentation (for example, a note from a doctor or counselor), I have the option of assessing the feasibility of rescheduling your presentation.

Academic Integrity: Academic integrity is expected of every student in all academic work. You are held to the University’s Code of Academic Integrity. All USC students are responsible for reading and following the Student Conduct Code, which can be found at The USC student code prohibits plagiarism. Students who violate University standards for academic integrity are subject to disciplinary sanctions.

Statement for students with disabilities: Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations should be obtained from DSP and delivered to me as early in the semester as possible, preferably within the first two weeks. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.

Communication Policy: Iencourage you to talk to me if you would like to talk about your progress in class, or if you feel you are having issues or difficulties and need assistance. I will be happy to assist you with study tips and guidance on how to improve your performance to earn the grade you desire. You are responsible for keeping all your work until final grades have been assigned. In case of a discrepancy between my calculations and your own, you will want to have them to show your earned points. I take great time and effort to assign grades in a fair, impartial manner. If you wish to discuss your grades with me, I encourage you to schedule a meeting to do so. If I made an error in calculating your score, I will correct it immediately. NOTE: If you wish to offer an extenuating circumstance as a reason for less-than-ideal results on an exam, paper, or presentation, I will offer sympathy and, if requested, referral to student academic or support services. However, I will not change a grade because of these circumstances.