Course Description
Explores clinical reasoning and structured analysis in the context of physiological and pharmacological disorders. Focuses on identifying, understanding, and solving complex clinical problems using structured analytic techniques and interpreting medical data through case studies.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
For graduate students enrolled in the Clinical Reasoning in Physiological and Pharmacological contexts course, additional requirements include:
1. Leadership in Team Projects: Graduate students are expected to take on leadership roles in team projects, guiding undergraduates and ensuring the quality of the final submission.
2. Additional Readings: Graduate students might be required to read and summarize additional scholarly articles related to clinical reasoning and metabolic disorders.
Athena Title
Clinical Reasoning
Undergraduate Pre or Corequisite
BCMB 3100 or BCMB 3100E or BCMB 3100H
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall and spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- Students will develop a comprehensive understanding of clinical reasoning and structured analytic techniques.
- Students will apply structured analysis to dissect clinical cases and interpret medical data.
- Students will understand and analyze metabolic, physiological, and pharmacological pathways and their implications in clinical settings.
- Students will compare and contrast different therapies for disorders using structured analytic techniques.
- Students will utilize primary literature to address complex and ill-defined clinical cases.
- Students will interpret figures and diagrams related to metabolic events at both whole-body and molecular levels.
- Explain Clinical Reasoning: Students will be able to explain how and why clinical reasoning differs from other forms of reasoning found in domains such as mathematics and philosophy.
- Identify Analytic Techniques: Students will be familiar with and able to identify specific structured analytic techniques and how they can be used to enhance the rigor of clinical reasoning.
- Understand Metabolic Pathways: Students will develop a basic understanding of presented physiological, metabolic, and pharmacological pathways to a degree that they can respond to case study questions.
- Compare Therapies: Students will use structured analytic techniques to compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of different therapies for a given disorder.
- Utilize Primary Literature: Students will identify and make use of primary literature as a means to address complex and ill-defined cases through written argumentation.
- Interpret Figures and Diagrams: Students will apply what they learn to interpret figures and diagrams of whole-body or molecular events related to metabolic topics.
Topical Outline
- 1. Introduction to Clinical Reasoning
o Overview of clinical reasoning
o Differences between clinical reasoning and other forms of reasoning
- 2. Structured Analytic Techniques
o Introduction to structured analytic techniques
o Application of these techniques in clinical settings
- 3. Metabolic Pathways
o Overview of key metabolic pathways
o Bioenergetics and biosignaling
- 4. Case Studies in Metabolic Disorders
o Analysis of case studies using structured analytic techniques
o Interpretation of medical data and clinical scenarios
- 5. Therapies for Metabolic Disorders
o Comparison of different therapies
o Advantages and disadvantages of various treatment options
- 6. Primary Literature and Research
o Identifying and utilizing primary literature
o Addressing complex and ill-defined clinical cases
- 7. Figures and Diagrams Interpretation
o Interpreting figures and diagrams related to metabolic events
o Whole-body and molecular level analysis
- 8. Practical Applications
o Practical applications of structured analytic techniques
o Real-world examples and case reviews
- 9. Midterm and Final Projects
o Midterm exam focusing on structured analytic techniques
o Final team-based project on a metabolic case study
- 10. Review and Integration
o Review of key concepts and techniques
o Integration of knowledge through discussions and presentations
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
