Course Syllabus

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Human Health and Disease:

A Clinical Approach Section 

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Semester & Location:

Summer 2021 Session 2 - DIS Copenhagen
Type & Credits:

Core Course - 3 credits
Study Tour:

Denmark
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:

 Andreas Fenger, Isabel Engel, Kasper Gadsbøll
Program Contact:

Philippa Carey, shsuport@dis.dk  
Time & Place:

Time varies, refer to Canvas calendar for lecture times

Location: Classroom V10-D14

Faculty

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Andreas Qwist Fenger

M.D. (University of Copenhagen, 2016). First year resident in Urology at Herlev University Hospital. Previous experience in General Surgery with 14 months residency at Køge University Hospital, Dept. of General Surgery. Former employment as a clinical research assistant at the Centre for Perioperative Optimization, Dept. of Surgery Herlev Hospital. Responsible for the Emergency Medicine Course at CAMES, Herlev and previous Course Assistant for Human health & Disease. With DIS since 2015.
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Isabel Engel

M.D. (University of Copenhagen, 2017). Currently on maternity leave. Junior resident in General Medicine, at a clinic in Rødovre. Previous experience in Emergency Medicine, with employment for 2 years. Former employment as a research assistant at the Danish Headache-center, Department of Neurology, Rigshospitalet Glostrup. Responsible for the Emergency Medicine Course at CAMES, Herlev. Previous Course Assistant for Human health & Disease. With DIS since 2016.
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Kasper Gadsbøll

M.D. (University of Copenhagen, 2017). Resident at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Rigshospitalet Copenhagen. Previous six months stay during residency at the Department of Internal medicine, Glostrup Hospital. Second six months stay during residency at GP Finn Soegaard. With DIS since 2018.

 

Course Assistant

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Jessica Juntermanns

6th-semester medical student at University of Copenhagen Medical School (UCPH). Medical Assistant, Department of Oncology (team leader), Rigshospitalet and with FADL (The Association of Danish Medical Students). Volunteer at the National Association against Eating Disorders and Self-Harm (LMS) and at summer camps for children and adolescents with cancer. Teacher in dance and acrobatics at HoP Frederiksberg. Former physiotherapy student at University College Copenhagen (KP) and nursing student at Tallahassee Community College, Florida, USA. With DIS since 2021. 

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. Perform basic manual skills (suture, IV insertion, catheter insertion) and give a basic explanation of the techniques
  4. Discuss knowledge of human anatomy and physiology
  5. Describe medical practice in a social, international, and scientific context


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

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. The reading material has been carefully chosen and all of it is pertinent to your success in Human Health and Disease. 

Please make sure to read all the material assigned. In some cases, where noted, skimming the reading and picking out important points will be sufficient. 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). In the case that a meeting is needed, please feel free to set up appointments with them via email.  You can contact them or the course assistant to set up an appointment or to ask a question.


Evaluation

Theoretical Patient Case 

There will be a theoretical patient case presented in this Human Health and Disease course. Everyone will be introduced to the patient cases and each student will be required to hand in a written assignment detailing their ‘differential diagnostic’ process; this assignment will be graded.

 

Patient Case Project 

This session is meant to tie in the theoretical patient case which is a part of regular class and the field studies: Emergency Medicine Simulation Session (EMSS), session and Clinical Skills Session (CSS). Students work with a full patient case from beginning to end, including creating a report to pass along to a fellow physician for accurate continued care.

This is done under close supervision by an “Attending” (instructor), who helps the students in the right direction according to learning objectives, to think more like a real doctor.

 

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 the lecture that day may be on the test; so, make sure to pay close attention to the information discussed in the 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 2 hours in duration.

 

Study Tour and Study Tour Assignment
Study tours are an intense combination of discipline-related and cultural exploration and experiences, bonding with fellow students, and fun. You will visit course-relevant sites, meet important actors in health care delivery, and apply the classroom to real-world environments.

For the Study Tour Week, we will join some visits with the Public Health course called Healthcare Strategies: A Comparative Approach.  With this being said, the following are the objectives of the study tour are to:

  • Create an interdisciplinary academic program 
  • Showcase examples of clinical practice and health care systems in different sectors
  • To broaden the students’ view of the challenges that health care providers face
  • Discuss some of the “hot issues” regarding health care in Denmark and challenge your current knowledge ​
  • Get to know your fellow students, faculty, and DIS staff in an educational and social setting 

Before our week of visits, you will broken into groups to prepare questions and a fact sheet for a specific academic visit.  During the wrap-up session on the last day, the group will present their observations and insights from the academic visit within a comparative framework. The presentation will hopefully demonstrate your team’s ability to reflect on your experiences and observations and put them into a larger perspective such as the connection between the study tour, course material, and your personal learning. 

 

Participation

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. Active engagement in the study tour visits

 

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.


Participation                                                        15%

Test                                                                       15%

Patient Cases                                                       30%

Study Tour Assignment                                       20%

Final examination                                                25%

 

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