Course Syllabus

Human Health and Disease:

A Clinical Approach Section A1

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Semester & Location:

Summer 2018 Session 1 - DIS Copenhagen

Type & Credits:

Core Course - 3 credits

Major Disciplines:

Biology, Pre-Medicine / Health Science, Public Health

Prerequisites:

One year of biology and one year of chemistry at the university level

Faculty Members:

Sarah Diemar, Jack Xu, Patrick Brooks

Program Director:

Lisbeth Borbye 

Time & Place:

Time varies, refer to Canvas calendar for lecture times
V10-A14 & Glostrup Hospital

Faculty

Sarah_Diemar_2070.jpg

Sarah S. Diemar

M.D. (University of Copenhagen, 2017). Ph.D. student at the University of Copenhagen and at Rigshospitalet Glostrup within the fields of neurology and endocrinology. Pre-graduate research year at the department of Cardiology, Nephrology and Endocrinology at Nordsjællands Hospital Hillerød. Previous Course Assistant for Human Health & Disease.  With DIS since 2011.

 

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Jack Junchi Xu

M.D. (University of Copenhagen, 2018). KBU læge - Department of Emergency medicine, Holbæk Hospital. Student researcher at the Department of Clinical Genetics, Rigshospitalet. Board member, Synapse - Life Science Connect. Nurse Assistant, FADL (The Association of Danish Medical Students). Previous Course Assistant for Human Health & Disease. With DIS since 2017.

 

Patrick Terrence Brooks

M.D. University of Copenhagen, 2016). BSc in Biology (University of Copenhagen, 2010). Department of Clinical Immunology, Rigshospitalet (2018). Previous positions: Department of Urology, Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde (2017). Emergency Department, Zealand University Hospital, Køge (2016). Research interests: stem cells and regenerative medicine. With DIS since 2018.

Course Assistant

Filip

Filip Søskov Davidovski

6th semester medical student at University of Copenhagen Medical School (UCPH). Mentor, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences UCPH. Medical Assistant, FADL (The Association of Danish Medical Students). Teacher, International Medical Cooperation Committee (IMCC). B.B.A. Student, Georgia Southern University. With DIS since 2017.

DIS Contacts

Lisbeth Borbye, Program Director
Stephanie Clemente, Project Manager, scl@dis.dk
Bethany Cucka, Program Assistant, bcu@dis.dk
Science & Health Program Office, Vestergade 10-B12

 

Course Description

The clinical approach of the course implies studying symptoms, signs, diagnostic methods and treatment of the most important human diseases, writing patient case reviews based upon medical records, and patient interviews, visiting various clinical and diagnostic hospital departments, and performing physical examinations on phantoms or other students.

The course, however, does not provide regular medical training corresponding to that of medical students and does not include shadowing of doctors or physical examination of patients. Patient demonstrations are included in some, but not all, lectures.


Expected Learning Outcomes

The objective of the course is to introduce students to the most important human diseases, their diagnoses and treatments, and to the clinical working methods of physicians as practiced at a large, Danish University Hospital (Rigshospitalet) in Copenhagen.  Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

  1. Write a structured medical report
  2. Explain the rationale for choice of tests and treatments in clinical practice
  3. Copy basic manual skills (suture, IV insertion, catheter insertion) and give a basic explanation of the techniques
  4. Discuss knowledge of human anatomy, physiology, and scientific context
  5. Describe medical practice in a social, international, and scientific context
  6. Outline the epidemiology of major diseases in both the industrialized world and the developing world.


Required Readings

  • Hole’s JW: Essentials of Human Anatomy & Physiology, 13th WC Brown Publishers, London 2004: Hole’s.
  • Ford MJ, Hennessey, I, and Japp, A: Introduction to Clinical Examination, 8th Churchill Livingstone, London 2005: Ford.
  • O'Neill P, Dornan T, Denning DW: A Core Text with Self-Assessment. Churchill Livingstone, 3rd Edition, 2008: O'Neill.
  • Additional Readings will be posted on Canvas

NOTE: Not all reading assignments will be covered in class, but all reading assignments are absolutely necessary in order to follow what is actually covered in class. In some cases, where noted, skimming the reading and picking out important points will be sufficient.

Medical Practice & Policy faculty and staff have put many hours into selecting and organizing the readings for this course.  Please make sure to read all the material assigned; the reading material has been carefully chosen and all of it is pertinent to your success in Human Health and Disease.  You have an obligation to your fellow classmates and yourself to come prepared to class.  If you have questions or need clarification about a reading or lecture material do not hesitate to speak up and/or contact the course assistant (see contact information above).  This is very important as the professors for this course do not have scheduled office hours. However in the case that a meeting is needed, please feel free to set up appointments with them via email.  You can contact them, the course assistant, or program assistant Bethany Cucka (bcu@dis.dk) to set up an appointment or to ask a question.


Evaluation

Clinical and Theoretical Patient Cases

There will be two different types of clinical cases in this Human Health and Disease course. The first will be the Clinical Case Reviews (or Patient Cases). During the course, students will be presented with a real patient and everyone will write up their own case history about the signs, symptoms, ailments and treatments for the specific patients that are introduced to. More details will be given on this activity as the time approaches for the first Clinical Case Review.
The other activity is the Theoretical Patient Case (TPC). The Theoretical Cases are specialized to the concentration that the class is working on during that time (i.e., the disease will relate to that day’s lecture material).
Everyone will be introduced to the Theoretical Patient Cases and each student will be required to hand in a written assignment detailing their ‘differential diagnostic’ process; this assignment will be graded. In addition, the class will be split into groups and will present a TPC to the class, their instructors, and the Course Assistant.

Important Information:
It is mandatory to attend all classes in which clinical case reviews are presented. Missing a class would result in a 'fail' on that paper.

 

Tests and Final

There will be a total of 2 tests throughout the course including the final. These tests will consist of a mix of short answer questions and essay questions. Tests may be given at the beginning of class or at the end. If the latter, the material covered in lecture that day may be on the test; so, make sure to pay close attention to the information discussed in lecture that day. Tests in class will generally last a maximum of 30 minutes depending on the amount of information covered. The final for this course will be cumulative and will be written in the same manner as tests. The final will be two hours in duration.

 

Grading

Students will be evaluated based on participation, three theoretical patient cases, two small tests, and a final examination. There will also be a small assignment related to the study tours.  The grade on this assignment will contribute to your participation grade.


Tests (2 at 15%)                                                    30%

Patient Cases (3 at 10%)                                     30%

Final examination                                                 30%

Participation                                                          10%

 

Participation covers the following areas

  1. Attendance
  2. Level of preparation and ability to answer questions asked in class
  3. Involvement in class and group discussions
  4. Level of individual research and contribution to discussions

   

Policy on late papers

Late papers will be accepted, but your grade for the paper will be reduced by half a point for each day that it is late.

Electronics

Computer is allowed for class purposes. It is not allowed for other activities such as social networks, sending personal e-mails etc. If you use a computer for other purposes, it will affect your participation grade. Cell phone usage is not allowed in class. It is distracting to both your classmates and your instructors, so please keep them turned off. Otherwise it will affect your participation grade.

Academic Regulations  

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:

 

DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org

Course Summary:

Date Details Due