DATE | Summer session. June 1-July 30, 2009; see Time Limits below. | |
INSTRUCTOR | Dr. Joseph R. Coelho, Associate Professor of Biology. Office hours: by appointment, NCA 207. | |
TEXT | Nowak, T. J. and A. G. Handford. 2004. Essentials of Pathophysiology: Concepts And Applications for Health Care Professionals, Third Edition. McGraw-Hill, 737 pp. | |
COURSE OUTLINES | These are intended to provide a basic outline of the lecture as it would be given. The outlines should provide a guide to reading the book and to which material will be emphasized on exams. These notes provide something of a study guide. They are a kind of digest of part of what?s in the book. The exams generally will not have any questions that arise from areas of the book I don't cover in the notes (and there are lots of them). | |
COURSE DESCRIPTION | A study of the disease process along with the normal physiology of the body systems and the clinical relationships which are appropriate. Pathophysiology is the study of abnormal function in living tissue. Physiological principles underlying the causes, signs, symptoms, and pattern of development of human disease will be examined. The course is designed and intended for, but not limited to, sophomore and junior level nursing majors. | |
COURSE OBJECTIVES | First, the student should develop an understanding of fundamental processes underlying pathophysiology, such as cell injury, inflammation, fever and healing. The student will then develop an understanding of the malfunctions of physiological systems, including hematology, hemodynamics, endocrinology, immunology, cardiovascular, renal, respiratory, hepatobiliary, pancreatic and reproductive physiology. Finally, the student will develop an understanding of pathological processes which may affect or involve multiple organ systems, such as neoplasia, circulatory shock, fluid and electrolyte imbalances, pain and trauma. | |
Prerequisite | Bio 382 and Bio 383 (Human Anatomy and Physiology I & II) or equivalent or consent of instructor. | |
| REQUIREMENTS | The student must have ready access to the World Wide Web, either through their employer or at home. The student must complete all assignments and exams before the end of the term. |
| Item | Value each | Total points | |
| 5 exams | 100 | 500 | |
| 5 webquest exercises | 20 | 100 | |
| TOTAL | 600 |
Examinations |
Exams must be taken online. All exams will be open book with a fixed time limit (2 hours). You must finish an exam completely once you start it, so make sure you have adequate time available and that you are quite prepared before beginning. You will not have time to look up the answer to every question. You will see only one question at a time, but backtracking is allowed. If an exam seems very difficult, do not be alarmed. All exam scores will be curved based on a long-term average. An exam must be taken from each of five segments of the textbook: chapters 1-5, 6-9, 10-14, 15-19 and 20-24. By breaking the book into 5 parts, the course is designed to make each exam a manageable experience. |
Webquest exercises |
Each student must complete 5 webquest exercise reports. 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 the textbook within chapters 1-5, 6-9, 10-14, 15-19 and 20-24. 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 the textbook? 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. Reports must be submitted on Moodle. The webquest should be finished for each segment of the course before the exam is taken for that segment. |
Time Limits |
Although the course is normally offered during the 4-week "A" summer session (begins June 1, 2009), registered students are encouraged to start earlier. All of the course requirements must be submitted to the instructor by the last day of the B session, July 30. The instructor will be travelling out of state and largely unreachable for much of the remainder of the summer and into the fall. |
GRADING SCALE | A: ³92% | A-: 90-91% | B+: 88-89% | B: 82-87% | B-: 80-81% | C+: 78-79% |
| C: 72-77% | C-: 70-71% | D+: 68-69% | D: 60-67% | F: £ 59% |
***This is not a binding contract. Syllabus subject to change with notice***