Physiology & Biophysics (PBIO)

Biomedical Career Explorations is a two-semester experiential style course (with some seminar-style lectures). There are sessions on study and interview skills as well as presentations by representatives from different medical schools. The main focus of the course revolves around structured weekly clinical and volunteer experiences in the DC metro area. Evaluation of students will be based on participation, class discussion and homework assignments, including reflections on their volunteer work.

This graduate course will provide foundational material in gross anatomy that will be used going into the systems-based medical curriculum starting in January. Topics include anatomical terminology and respectful treatment of donor bodies. The course will be in a predominantly blended classroom. Prerequisites: for SMP students only. Jennifer Whitney, PhD and Marina Castilla, MD, Course Directors

This graduate course will give an excellent foundation for the understanding of nutrition in health and disease. The course will combine lectures and experiential sessions and reflections. Prerequisites: for SMP students only. Thomas Sherman, PhD, Course Director

This graduate course covers the fundamental mechanisms of disease and the pathophysiologic basis of major human diseases. This course complements the basic physiological principles covered in medical blocks 3 and 4.

In this independent study zero-credit, pass-fail course, the SMP will work a minimum of 30 hours in a volunteer, service capacity, at a minimum of at least 3 different service sites. Students will be given all information for the service opportunities and can schedule with the sites on their own. Students will record and reflect on their experiences in a blog-type format, both individually, as well as with classmates and instructor. Class is limited to 30 SMP students. Instructor: Holly Frost, MS

This graduate course will provide foundational material in the physiologic sciences as well as reinforcement of concepts learned in the medical courses; it will also cover the physiologic basis of nutrition in health and disease. The course will combine lectures, self-directed study, in a predominantly flipped/blended classroom. Prerequisites: for SMP students only. Marina Castilla, MD and Ryan Downey, PhD, Course Directors

Biomedical Career Pathways is a seminar-style course taught by Prof. Adam Myers and staff, consisting of presentations on study and survival skills for students pursuing biomedical careers and alternative pathways for careers in medicine. Students attend study skills workshops, interviewing skills workshops, and presentations on military medicine, primary care medicine, osteopathic medicine, and complementary and alternative medicine, as well as presentations on career pathways for specialty and subspecialty medical training. Evaluation of students is based on participation and homework assignments.

This course is designed as an elective for graduate students in Medical Center MS and PhD programs and is also offered to the Master’s in Learning Design Program (enrollment requires permission of the faculty). It will focus on learning design and educational technology for teaching in the sciences, through a combination of seminar and studio classroom sessions designed to provide hands-on, team-based experience in learning design. Students will gain experience in the use of learning management systems, audience response technology, blogging and discussion boards, hybrid learning and flipped classroom strategies, as well as other methodologies and platforms. In the studio portion of the course, groups of students will employ these methods and platforms to design a short course. They will also work toward articulating their personal teaching philosophies and establishing a teaching portfolio. Each student must have a laptop or tablet capable of running Canvas and other resources.

The aim of this course is to explore the ways in which women’s health is presented in the Americas and especially in Brazil, the most populated country in Latin America, with an estimated 215 million inhabitants. A brief history of women’s health will include maternal mortality; precariousness of obstetric care; abortion under risky conditions; the particularity of health for black, lesbian, indigenous women; sexually transmitted infection, HIV and AIDS; women with chronic diseases and gynecological cancer. This course will bring awareness to the historical contexts, such as: the Brazilian health system since 1500 until the nineteenth century; the military dictatorships; the new constitution in 1988; the creation of SUS – the Brazilian public health system; the National Broad Health Policy for women and the National Broad Health Policy for lesbians, gays, bisexual and transsexuals. Particular attention will be paid to gender and sexual violence in Brazil, including: the national policy to combat violence against women; legal abortion for pregnancy after rape, and conscientious objection to legal abortion. No knowledge of the Brazilian language (Portuguese) is required.