Course Descriptions - Interprofessional
The School of Health Professions is dedicated to education of health professional students in an interprofessional environment, to better prepare them for working with an interprofessional team upon graduation. The physical therapist student is required to take a number of interprofessional courses, as noted below.
ANAT 3010 Human Gross Anatomy
This course is designed with three separate but overlapping Anatomy formats for you to learn from: 1: laboratory dissection, 2) correlated lectures, and 3) text-graphics (print or electronic). At the crux of this learning triangle is the laboratory. You will readily see that each presents information and perspectives that parallel your dissection. These different resource formats are designed to clarify and amplify your dissection experience. The congruency of this format then becomes like a pair of 3-D eyeglasses, creating a vivid three-dimensionality of Anatomy that energizes your study and maximizes your knowledge and understanding.
The laboratory and other activities in this course are carried out in a dyad arrangement of students. A list of dyads, randomly paired by the staff, will be presented on the first day of the course. The natural inter-/intra-dependent learning units form the infrastructure of this instructional approach in this Human Anatomy course. Dyads share learning responsibilities and develop their own process for maximizing the use of all resources both those identified here-in and those that may be discovered by each team in the access and acquisition of knowledge and skills pertaining to this course. The dyad approach extends far beyond this course by developing a team approach to problem-solving, presentation techniques, in-depth reasoning; expanded use of resources; built-in feedback and pacing; and a broad repertoire of school and workplace behaviors and skills.
Palpation laboratory (Part of the requirement for Human Gross Anatomy): In this palpation lab class, students will learn to locate soft tissue and bony structures on live subjects which will supplement learning in the Human Gross Anatomy course. Students will also learn the different ranges of motion of specific body segments and basic muscle function for human movement.
Lecture/laboratory. Summer. 6.0 credits
INDI 3110 Kinesiology
An analysis of human motion including kinematic and kinetic analysis, muscle action, arthrokinematics and osteokinematics, and the biomechanical principles of human motion. The information presented in this course builds upon the knowledge gained in Human Gross Anatomy. This course forms an important foundation for the students' analysis and synthesis of how the body moves through space, and the specific internal and external constraints on the body. This foundation will be essential for all clinical courses in physical therapy. Classroom instruction includes traditional lecture, interactive lecture, and demonstrations of biomechanical principles.
Lecture. Fall. 3.0 credits
PHTH 3303 Research Methods and Evidence-Based Practice
Introduction to designing, critiquing and understanding quantitative and qualitative research designs and studies to inform practice. Lecture includes the fundamentals of designing a study, measuring variables, selecting a sample and analyzing data. In separate program seminars, students design research proposals, apply research concepts and begin to understand the evidence base of their individual professions.
Research Methods seminar (part of the requirements for Research Methods and Evidence-Based Practice): In a separate program seminar, students critique literature and apply general research concepts to the physical therapy profession. This course forms the research foundation for the capstone project which will be undertaken in Capstone Project I-IV. The students use their knowledge gained from Human Gross Anatomy, and Professional Development I, as well as from courses taken concurrently, such as Kinesiology, Physical Therapy Examination I, and Patient/Client Management I and II, to understand concepts gleaned from the physical therapy literature.
Lecture/seminar. Fall. 2.5 credits
PHYS 3110 Principles of Human Physiology and Biochemistry
A study of basic physiological and biochemical principles governing the properties of living tissue and their participation in the coordinated function and control of various organ systems of the body with emphasis on the underlying unity of biological processes in response and adjustment to environmental change.
The emphasis in this course will be on normal functions, but to some extent we shall consider the consequences of disease and injury, and deal with the body's potential for recovery and for compensation. Behavioral responses to environmental conditions will be considered, but in this area our chief concern will be with the regulation and control of fundamental reflexes or neuro-endocrine mechanisms.
Lecture/laboratory. Fall. 6.0 credits
ANAT 3210 Human Neuroanatomy
This is a lecture and laboratory course in Human Neuroanatomy. There will be 17 two-hour lectures, 4 two-hour lab sessions, and one lab review session (practice practical) distributed throughout the semester. Lecture material in the first half of the course covers regional descriptions of brain organization, and additionally, covers such topics as the blood supply of the central nervous system, neuronal development and neurohistology, fine structural organization of selected brain regions and the organization of transmitter systems. Lecturers will provide handouts and assign required readings from the textbook. The midterm and final written exams will include both lecture material and assigned readings.
The laboratory sessions use whole and sectioned brain material in exercises on brain and the vascular structure. In the second half of the course, neuroanatomy is taught with emphasis on how an intact nervous system leads to perception and behavior and how a damaged nervous system fails.
Lecture/laboratory. Spring. 2.5 credits
MSCI 3211 Medical Sciences
Study of patients with medical, neuromuscular, musculoskeletal and cardiopulmonary conditions across the lifespan. Lecture, case-study presentations and discussion of etiology, symptoms and medical management of patients by faculty from the School of Health Professions. This course is divided into four modules: Pediatrics, Medicine, Neurology, and Orthopedics. Each module is worth one credit.
The Pediatrics module will provide Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy students with a basic understanding of several developmental disorders of children. The etiology of these conditions will be discussed, as well as their treatment. The role of the Occupational Therapist and Physical Therapist in recognizing these conditions and how they may affect rehabilitation, as well as further development of children in adolescence, will be discussed.
The Medicine module is one of four course modules that constitute Medical Sciences. Using case-based learning, students will become familiar with the etiology, pathophysiology, symptoms, signs, and medical management of selected medical diagnoses.
The Neurology module is one of four course modules that constitute Medical Sciences. Using case-based learning, students will become familiar with the etiology, pathophysiology, symptoms, signs, and medical management of selected neurological diagnoses.
The Orthopedics module is one of four course modules that constitute Medical Sciences. Using case-based learning, students will become familiar with the etiology, symptoms, and medical management of selected orthopedic diagnoses.
Lecture. Spring. 4 credits.
PHYS 3212 Neurophysiology of Motor Control
This course expands upon the Neurophysiology presented in Principles of Human Physiology and Biochemistry, going into greater depth in aspects of sensorimotor control of movement, especially relevant in understanding patients.
The approach to sensorimotor control will usually initially stress the importance of studying human neurological disease in providing the first clues as to the function of brain structures. Subsequent understanding of structure-function relationships has usually depended heavily on animal experimentation. Such animal experiments have led to explanations at progressively finer structural levels, especially membrane function. The intellectual challenge is to reverse the reductionist trend and deploy the membrane mechanisms that have been elucidated to explain motor behavior - the integrated expression of the sensorimotor areas and nuclei.
In recent years, technical advances, both non-invasive and invasive have transformed our ability to investigate the mechanisms operating in human sensorimotor control. Where appropriate, these will be discussed in lecture, or demonstrated on human subjects during lectures. Thus, our understanding of human sensorimotor control now rests on the study of human disease, animal experiments and experiments on humans, which serve to test and validate the applicability of the animal research to humans.
Lecture/discussion. Spring. 1.5 credits