Career Exploration Module – DAY FOUR
Lesson Title
“Outbreak” –
Unwanted
invasions
Cluster
Pathways
Diagnostic
Services
Biotechnology
Research and
Development
Support
Services
Health
Informatics
Essential
Question
What careers
are within the
Heath Science
clusters?
TEKS
Career Portals:
1.A, 2.A, 2.B,
4.F
Prior Student
Learning
Students should
have already
been presented
the Career
Module
Introduction.
Estimated time
45 minutes
Objectives
- Identify and explore career opportunities within the Health Science
Cluster
- Investigate important areas of medicine that work behind the scenes
to ensure patient safety: Biomedical Engineer, Industrial hygienist,
Infection control/Quality control specialist, Pathologist and an
Epidemiologist
Materials/Equipment/Handouts Needed
- Outbreak Vocabulary List
- Outbreak Activity
- Computer with internet access
- Poster board or large construction paper
Introduction/Engage
- Initiate a discussion about how different health care workers work
together to ensure patient safety and care. The team works to do jobs
that are many times behind the scene. Sick people come into the
hospital every day expecting to get well…not sicker. Today’s team
comes from the pathways of medicine known as “Support Services,
Diagnostic Services and Biotechnology Research and Development”
- Support Services- Primarily focused on providing a therapeutic
environment for the delivery of health care
Ex: Engineers, Environmental and Suppliers supporters
- Health Informatics - Primarily focused on management of
departments, agencies and patient data
 Ex: Administrators, Unit Coordinators and Clerks
- Diagnostic Services-Primarily focused on detection, diagnosis and
treatment of diseases and disorders
 Ex: Physicians, Technologists and Technicians
- Biotechnology Research and Development – Primarily focused on
discovery, research and development for new diagnostic testing, new
treatments and medical devices to improve patient care
 Ex: Specialized Scientists, Researchers and Quality
Control
 Technicians
Activities
- Review vocabulary terms and definitions relevant to today’s lesson
- Place students in groups for the activity
- Outbreak Activity
Lesson Closure
- Allow the last 10 minutes of class for student groups to share their
plan with the class for controlling the “Outbreak”
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Day 4 of 10
Page 1
-
Instruct students to complete the vocabulary list for homework
Discuss upcoming career module experiences and expectations
Assessment
- Verbal responses to questions
- Participation in all activities
- Successful completion of “Outbreak” Activity
Extension
- The CDC has several interactive games for students to play using
critical thinking skills and helping students to explore. Students can
connect at www.cdc.gov/mobile/applications/sto/web-app.html
Accommodations for Learning Differences
- Accommodations Manual
- Guidelines and Procedures for Adapting Instructional Materials
- Sample Curriculum Customizations for Learning Differences
- Lesson Plan/Curriculum Modification Checklist
- Instructor Format for Curriculum Customization for Learning
Differences
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Day 4 of 10
Page 2
Outbreak Vocabulary
Outbreak Team Members
Infection control
Concerned with keeping infection from spreading person to
person, patient to items/equipment, and confinement of infection
Biomedical Engineer
A biomedical engineer combines knowledge of biology,
medicine and engineering to develop devices and ways to do
things that solve medical and health-related problems
Epidemiologist
Perform studies to determine what factors cause or contribute to
disease
Industrial Hygienists
Scientists and engineers who investigate and examine the
workplace for hazards and potential dangers; they also make
recommendations on ways to improve the safety in a particular
work environment
Team set up to work together using their areas of expertise to
find a solution to problems effecting patients care and safety;
team members may come from all pathways of health care
Multidisciplinary team
Pathologist
A physician that specializes in the study of diseases and their
causes
Additional Vocabulary
Aerosolized water
droplets
Antibiotics
Aspiration
Small droplets of water found in the air, like steam from a
shower
Drugs that kill bacteria
Inhaling a substance, such as water, when choking
Biofilm
Slimy layer composed of several bacterial species living
together found on teeth (plaque), in water pipes, stagnant water
and streams and rivers
Organism or product from an organism that causes a threat to
human (or other organism’s) health
Biological hazard
CDC
Colonized
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- US government
agency that operates under the Department of Health and
Human Services
Has groups of microorganisms living in it
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Day 4 of 10
Page 3
Cooling towers
Structure used to remove heat from water to cool it; often used
in air conditioning units for large buildings
Disinfecting
Use of heat or chemicals to kill microbes
Environmental
Services
Environmental
surveillance
Fatality rate
Hospital department that maintains a safe, clean environment
for health care delivery to patients
Collection of samples to check for presence or absence of
biohazards
Percent of people who get a certain disease that actually die
from it
Cleaning a water delivery system using water heated to 160170○F for 5 minutes or cleaning it with high levels of chlorine
Person whose immune system is less functional due to
medications or disease
Breathing in a biohazard
Bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease; loves warm water of
about 77-115○F
Flush
Immunocompromised
person
Inhalation
Legionella
pneumophila
Legionnaires' disease
Microbe
Nosocomial infection
OSHA
Pneumonia
Pontiac fever
Potable water
Risk management
Very serious type of infection resulting in pneumonia caused by
Legionella pneumophila; the fatality rate is 15 – 25 % for people
who get the disease
Organism that is too small to be seen without the use of a
microscope
Infection caused by a health care facility
Occupational Safety and Health Administration -- US
government agency operating under the Department of Labor;
supervises rules and regulations for the prevention of workrelated injuries, illnesses, and deaths
Lung infection often caused by bacteria or viruses
Milder disease than Legionnaires' disease; does not have the
pneumonia component
Drinkable water
Procedures to reduce the risk of something occurring
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Day 4 of 10
Page 4
Outbreak Activity
Materials needed:
Handout: “Outbreak”
Handout: “Outbreak Vocabulary List”
Computer with internet access
Poster board or large construction paper
TEKS:
§127.4.(c)(1)(A), (2)(A)(B), (4)(F)
Approximate time:
30-40 minutes
Directions:
1. Place students in groups and distribute the Outbreak Activity Sheet and Outbreak
Vocabulary List.
2. Go over the directions with them. Answer any questions students may have about the
assignment. Instruct them to read through the documents and then as a team quickly
gather as much information as possible. Students may use computers and the internet to
find information needed on the activity sheet.
3. After 10 minutes of research have the teams come up with a plan to ensure protecting
both patients and employees further spread of the disease.
4. Share findings with the class.
Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2014. All rights reserved
Outbreak Activity
Use the Vocabulary list to help you understand and study the scenario. You may also need to complete some online
research. From what you have read in the scenario, create a diagram, poster or other illustration showing how a
multidisciplinary team in Support Services, Diagnostic Services and Biotechnology Research and Development work together
to handle a disease outbreak.
Scenario: Today, you will work as part of a multidisciplinary team to solve a problem. The first member of the team is a Biomedical
Engineer. As you arrive to work this morning you find the Infection Control Director informing you that in the last 48 hours multiple
patients (8) have developed symptoms including the following:






high fever
difficulty breathing
congestion
cough, head aches
body aches, and
fatigue
The Infection Control Director has spoken with and/or met with physicians and ordered culture and sensitivity on both blood and sputum
specimens from each patient to determine if they have a nosocomial infection. Many of the patients are immunocompromised and they
all seem more serious. Physicians have also ordered a broad spectrum antibiotic for all patients showing symptoms. Two other health
care team members will be joining you both in about 15 minutes to begin reviewing data and forming a plan. They are an
Epidemiologist and the chief Industrial Hygienist.
Symptoms
Disease
Influenza (flu)
Bacterial
pneumonia
Rheumatic
fever
Malaria
Meningitis
Mononucleosis
Viral
pneumonia
Headache
Altered
mental
status
X
X
Highgrade
fever
Shortness of
breath
X
X
X
Drainage
Runny nose
X
X
X
X
X
X
Lowgrade
fever
X
Congestion
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Sore
throat
Body
aches
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
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Fatigue
X
X
X
Cough
X
Skin
rash
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Based on the current symptoms patients are showing, you and your colleges think the most likely cause for the infection is:
___________________________________________ or ___________________________________.
You will have to wait on lab results to confirm which it is and you call down to the Pathologist to get his input on this infection. He
suggests that x-rays should be taken of a couple of the patients to confirm pneumonia. Going with a worst case scenario the
Pathologist talks with the team about common nosocomial disorders which cause pneumonia; these include the following:





Streptococcus pneumonia
Haemophilus influenza
Chlamydia pneumoniae
Mycoplasma pneumonia
Legionella pneumophila
As he calls off the list you know that whatever the cause you must get down to the bottom of this before it gets out of control. As you
discuss the possibilities, the Pathologist receives a phone call from one of the micro-biologists who reports that they performed a gram
stain on a sputum specimen which revealed a gram negative rod as the source of trouble. While you feel relieved that they have
narrowed down the search, you do not like the answer. The Pathologist confirms that the outbreak is Legionnaire’s Disease. To add to
the problem your office receives another call that 3 more patients have come down with symptoms.
You remember some things about Legionnaire’s disease from college. In 1976, there was a convention of the American Legion in
Philadelphia. Suddenly, many of the attendees became sick with flu-like symptoms. They had headaches, coughs, fevers, aches,
chills, difficulty breathing and chest pain. Although different sources report differing numbers, it is clear that quickly around 200 people
became very sick. The fevers became high, up to 102-105○F, and they developed pneumonia. By the time the outbreak had ended,
approximately thirty people had died. The CDC did epidemiological studies and grew the bacteria they found in the mucous of those
people. A previously undetected bacterium was identified. So, it was named Legionella pneumophila after the American Legion
Conference.
Knowing that this disease can be deadly to those who are weakened or older, you recognize that it is critical for you and the team to act
quickly. The Industrial Hygienist informs you that environmental surveillance must occur so that you can establish a risk management
plan. She says that you may have to flush the cooling towers and or the hot potable water system. She tells you that the water system
has a biofilm inside the pipes. The microbe which causes Legionnaires’ disease, the Legionella pneumophila bacteria, may be among
the microbes that have colonized the biofilm. When the water becomes aerosolized water droplets in the shower or through the air
conditioning from the cooling towers, the bacteria can enter the lungs through inhalation by patients. Some patients that are older and
weaker may even be infected by aspiration. She says collecting swabs from the shower heads is a good place to begin the
environmental surveillance.
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The epidemiologist informs you that Legionnaires’ Disease has a fatality rate of 15–20%. He also informs you that sometimes the
disease is less severe, without the pneumonia, and is called Pontiac Fever. He tells you that OSHA has good information on the
disease, on how to detect it through environmental surveillance, and how to use disinfection and flushing to reduce the colonies.
You and your team meet together and decide to quickly gather as much information as possible, (see sites below for more information).
After 10 minutes of research gather your team to share what you’ve found and come up with a plan to ensure protecting both patients
and employees further spread of the disease. You must act quickly and be prepared to share with the class at the end of class today.
Materials:
Internet access to the following sites or printed documents from those sites
http://www.cdc.gov/legionella/patient_facts.htm
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/legionnairesdisease.html
http://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/legionnaires/disease_rec.html
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