Pathophysiology
S. Bristow, EDU, BSRN
Palestine High School
Conference Period: 7:30-8:00am or 3:30-4:00pm
Phone 903-731-8005 Please schedule ahead of time as I may already have a meeting planned.
Pathophysiology Syllabus
Students examine the phenomena that produce alterations in human physiologic function and the resulting human response. Upon completion of this course, students will understand basic medical terminology, state normal body findings and locations, pathophysiological changes, including how pathological processes are manifested, progress in the body and the adverse effects on human body systems.
Course objectives:
- Know the foundation and functions of a basic Pathology lab setting
- Describe what normal body structure and functions are
- Utilize correct medical terms and abbreviations while describing case studies
- Understand and apply basic concepts of cell injury, metabolism and division and its importance in the field of pathophysiology.
- Outline the basic physiological mechanisms leading to diseased state.
- Outline the important pathological processeswhich affect the organ systems of interest.
- Describe clinical characteristics of diseased state of the organ of interest.
Course goals:
This is a rigorous course containing an enormous amount of information that is covered during two semesters. It will require a great deal of time and effort on the part of the student. In order to understand the dysfunctions of a system it is essential to understand the normal structure and function of that system. Hence, only students who completed a course in human anatomy/Biology should enroll.
Class notes/power points will contain an overview of normal structure and function to aid in self-directed review. Students should go to my website often for extensive aids and review guides to help in reviewing each chapter.
Topics Covered:
Unit 1 History, Trends and the Future
• Introduction to Pathophysiology
•Issues in Organ Donations
• Recombinant DNA
Unit 2 Laboratory Safety and the Tools of Investigation
•Laboratory Safety
•Laboratory Basics
Unit 3 Fundamentals of Pathophysiology
•Pathophysiology Basics
*Virology Introduction
•Naturally Acquired vs. Artificially Acquired Immunity
•Inflammation
•Dialysis
•Impaired Senses
Unit 4 Mechanisms of Pathology
Unit 5 Process of Pathology
•Infectious Diseases and Microbial Agents
•Cardiovascular Pathology
*Skeletal Pathology
•Blood Diseases and Disorders
•Concepts of Neoplasia
*Skin Diseases and Disorders
•Toxicology
Unit 6 Epidemiology
•Epidemiology
Unit 7 Pathology Across the Life Span
•Genetic and Developmental Disorders
•Late Adulthood and Disease
Unit 8 Disease Prevention
•Wellness and Preventative Health Care
WebQuest Reports
Each student must complete 4webquest exercise reports each semester. This will be considered a major grade. This exercise involves performing a search in the World Wide Web for information relating to a particular pathological condition. A topic must be chosen from a condition mentioned in lecture or preapproved. For each report, the student must summarize, in writing, the following as obtained from the web sites under subheadings: signs and symptoms, etiology, therapy, recent developments, critiques. At least two web sites must be documented for each topic, but more is better. If adequate information is not available for a particular section, especially recent developments, find additional sites. List all web sites at the end of your report, but not on a separate page. Information from all web sites should be combined in the first four parts of your summary--don't write a separate summary of signs and symptoms, etiology, therapy, and recent developments for each web site. Each web site should be critiqued separately, however. Was the information accurate and current? Did it match the information in a textbook or database ? How could the site be improved? Were therapies recommended that are not supported by scientific research? Do not critique the mechanics of the web site, just the content. The level of detail is up to you, except that the etiology should be down to the cellular level. Avoid plagiarism; do not CUT from the website and PASTE into your webquest document. Two pages should be about right, just make sure you include all that is required, including the URLs of the sites. The webquest should be finished for each two week period of the course. The following website will be invaluable to you in finding legitimate peer-reviewed research.
Due dates:
Webquest 1: January 24
Webquest 2: February 28
Webquest 3: March 28
Webquest 4: April 25
Required materials:
Pens
Pencils
Large spiral notebook for note taking or approval from instructor
Grading policy: Refer to file named ‘Grading Policy’ for details.
No extra credit is offered in any classes. If you are having trouble, come to me. The time to come in for help is early in the grading period. Do not wait until the day of your final exam to ask me if there is anything ‘extra’ you can do. It is also unfair to those students who have worked hard and have come in early for help to pass while some other student can wait until the last minute to do one assignment and maybe pass the course because of that one assignment.
The HST program is also designed to familiarize a student with what is required to succeed in college and post-graduate work. There is no ‘extra credit’ in medical school, nursing school, etc.
My grading policy
1. Grades are Product Criteria. Graded products are those that can be evaluated and focus on what students know and are able to do at a particular place in time. This includes daily work, worksheets, quizzes, and homework. Unit reviews and unit tests are the best way to provide this. Researchers recommend Product Criteria exclusively in determining student grades.
2. I do not count Process Criteria. Effort and work habits are too subjective to be graded effectively.
If there is ever a case of something not being done (student has a bad day, absent, loses paper, etc.) every effort will be made to give the student an opportunity to make the work up. As an example, if a student is absent on a lab day, obviously, the lab will need to be made up before or after school depending on the lab and the time needed. I also will not give a grade of 0 for a missed assignment as I believe this artificially deflates a student's grade.
Retests
Any student who makes below 70 on a major grade, may take a retest if the following requirements are met:
- The student must attend 2 tutoring sessions.
- The retest must be taken at least 2 weeks from the date of the original test AND be completed before the end of the grading period.
The maximum grade that can be earned on a retest is 70.