SYLLABUS for BIO 112: Healthcare Orientation
Spring 2009 -- Tue: 8:00-10:00am (Sec 002C) -- Halsey Science 457
CLASS MOTTO: “What do you believe? Why do you believe it?”.
Instructor:
Margaret E. Beard, Ph.D.
Halsey Science 161
Phone: 424-7089
email: beard@uwosh.edu
Office Hours:
Mon., Tue Wed., Fri. 10::30-11:30 am
Use e-mail to contact for personal private issues; phone only in an emergency
Use the D2L discussion board for general questions that may interest other
students; I will respond via this site
UW Catalogue Course Description: (2 cr) An introduction to the cultural aspects of healthcare sciences
for students declaring or considering a degree in any Healthcare-related program on campus. Topics will
include: current "hot" fields and employment opportunities; roles and responsibilities of healthcare
workers in society; professional ethics; scientific communication; planning (career choices, course
selection, research experience, internships); and an introduction to campus faculty, staff and facilities.
Students are encouraged to take this course as early as possible in their academic programs. May not also
receive credit for BIO 111. (Fall/Spring)
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ #1: “I have to take 112 for my major, but I’m a Junior/Senior and I’m so beyond this
class! What’s in it for me anyway?” BIO 112 is intended for students in their 1st, 2nd, or 3rd semesters of
college, transfers, or who have recently changed to a Healthcare-oriented plan of study from something
else. Despite this intention, we still get Juniors and Seniors signed up for this course. If that’s your
situation, please: keep an open mind, assist those who are less knowledgeable than yourself, and (at the
very least) play along and do not begrudge Freshmen and Sophomores their opportunity to learn (the
easy way) what you may have learned the hard way. Besides, I’ve had plenty of upperclassmen tell me
they have learned something in this course, and that they wish they’d had it as first-year students.
FAQ #2: “I took BIO 111 prior to Fall 2007, but have decided on a Healthcare education plan
that requires BIO 112. Must I take BIO 112 also?” No! Please don’t take up a space that another student
can use! Besides, there is a lot of overlap between BIO 111 and 112. Instead, you can see your major’s
department chairperson and obtain a “curriculum modification” that allows 111 to substitute for 112.
Course Objectives: Students in this course will be offered instruction to develop their:
1. Ability to make the most of their educational opportunities at UW Oshkosh.
2. Familiarity with the wide variety of healthcare fields.
3. Personal progress toward appropriate professionalism.
4. Personal progress toward the habit of self-education.
5. Information literacy.
6. Critical thinking skills.
7. Writing and speaking skills.
8. Research skills.
9. Networking skills.
10. Strategies for career planning.
Special Needs and Accommodations: Students with disabilities are WELCOME in this class. Please
notify me at the first class meeting, with appropriate documentation, so that the pertinent
accommodations can be made.
Classroom Etiquette: Please: (1) address me as “Dr.Beard”; (2) arrive to class on time but if you are late,
enter quietly and sit to the side; (3) silence pagers and cell phones as soon as you enter the classroom; (4)
do not eat in the classroom, but feel free to bring a beverage; (5) do not have side conversations during
class; (6) treat your classmates (and me!) with dignity, even if you disagree with our ideas; (7) speak to
me privately about any conflicts that hamper group work to which you are assigned;(8) do not pack up to
leave until I have indicated verbally that class is concluded for the day; (9) if you have a question, raise
your hand and say “Question!” so that I do not miss you; (10) do not monopolize the class conversations,
make time for everyone to speak; (11) notify me beforehand if you must leave class early and the reason
why.
Required Text:
 McMillan VE. 2001. Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences. Bedford: Boston, MA. This is the de
facto writing manual for the Biology & Microbiology Department and will serve you well for all
science-related courses in which writing assignments are given.
 Reading assignments online and uploaded to D2L.
 If there are “open book” exams, you should plan to bring all the text and hard copies of assigned D2L
readings.
D2L & Email Policy:
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D2L is vital for accessing the course syllabus, assignment instructions, and so on. I also make
announcements on D2L and, more occasionally, via direct mass email.
You are expected to access both D2L and your campus email at least once each weekday, so that you receive
timely notification of any last-minute changes or assistance regarding assignments. Contact
Academic Computing if you need help with your campus email account (including combining it with
a private email account).
If you have a question about our class, chances are that others have the same question. USE THE D2L
DISCUSSION BOARDS! I have set them up for anonymous posting.
Do not email me from accounts other than your official uwosh.edu account; I will not respond.
Late Assignment Policy: Late assignments will be accepted only under extenuating, Universityrecognized circumstances with acceptable documentation. I reserve the right to record an “Incomplete”
grade in order to give myself time to grade any late assignments that I choose to accept.
Incomplete Grade Policy: The Undergraduate Bulletin states the University’s policy on Incomplete
grades. An “I” grade for this course means that you have until the end of the May 2009 Interim session to
make up the missing work. Once that is done, I must manually change the “I” to the grade you have
earned. If the missing work is not made up by the deadline, the “I” grade automatically reverts to “F”.
Academic Integrity: The University’s statement on conduct says that “Students are responsible for the
honest completion and representation of their work, for the appropriate citation of sources, and for
respect of others' academic endeavors. Students who violate these standards must be confronted and
must accept the consequences of their actions.” Here are the consequences: If you cheat or plagiarize in
one of my courses, at a bare minimum you have earned a zero on the assignment, and I may elect to fail
you from the class and report you to the authorities.
Plagiarism Detection: Written work for this course must be passed through the Turnitin® plagiarism
detector to which UW Oshkosh subscribes. Plagiarism once = zero on assignment. Plagiarism twice = F
course grade, regardless of quality of other work. If this scares you a little, it should. I’ve seen 100%
plagiarized papers given A+ grades by high school teachers but this is never tolerated in the University
classroom. Once you’ve set up a Turnitin® account (which is easy), you can submit any draft of any
paper you write for a Turnitin® course to ensure that plagiarism does not creep into your work. Every
time you submit a draft to Turnitin®, however, the old draft is lost; so if keeping versions is important to
you, maintain those in a safe storage location.
Need help with your writing? Your McMillan textbook was chosen precisely because it is a short-butsweet reference for the basics of quality writing in the biosciences. For custom assistance, the UW
Oshkosh Writing Center is a student service precisely for you! Contact them about their services.
Feeling overwhelmed? University coursework is very different from high school coursework, and
demands higher level intellectual skills. The UW Oshkosh Reading Study Center is an all-university
service that can help you learn to learn more efficiently. Strategies for improved textbook study, time
management, note-taking, test preparation and test-taking are taught through both credit courses and
non-credit services.
ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES
Random
Oral recitation to class
Feb 17
Career Exploration Diary is due at start of class
Mar 10
First Draft of Essay is due at start of class
Mar 12
Hand in Recitations binder at start of class
Midterm exam during class
Apr 7
5-Year Plan is due at start of class
Apr 21
Final Draft of Essay is due at start of class
May 12
Hand in Recitations binder at start of class
Final exam during class
See D2L for detailed descriptions of expectations for each assignment; but briefly:
Oral Recitations will be graded on two criteria: Accuracy and Professionality.
Written Recitations will be graded on two criteria: Accuracy and Completeness.
The CED will be graded on two criteria: Following Directions and Completeness.
The 5-Year-Plan will be graded on two criteria: Following Directions and Completeness.
The Final Essay will be graded on five criteria: Following Directions, Clarity of Expression,
Organization, Critical Thinking, and Originality. A separate document on D2L provides more detail.
The Midterm exam will cover the material gone over in class from Feb 5- Mar 12, inclusive. It will
consist of a variety of question formats. Many questions will be derived from the Recitation questions.
Notes, books, hats, and electronic devices are PROHIBITED.
The Final exam will cover the material gone over in class or reading from Feb 5 – May 7, inclusive (i.e. it
is cumulative). It will consist of a variety of question formats. Many questions will be derived from the
Recitation questions. Notes, books, hats, and electronic devices are PROHIBITED.
ASSIGNMENT WEIGHTING
Grades on assignments will be converted to percentages and then weighted as follows for computing your
grade in the course:
Recitations/Oral
Recitations/Written
Career Exploration Diary
Midterm
5-Year Plan
Final Essay
Final Exam
Total
10%
30%
5%
15%
10%
10%
20%
100%
CLASS CURVE
Note that the A, A-, B+, B, B-… system does NOT go into effect until next Fall 2009.
We are still on the A, AB, B, BC… system for Spring 2009.
A
AB
B
BC
C
CD
D
F
92%+
88-91.99%
82-87.99%
78-81.99%
72-77.99%
68-71.99%
60-67.99%
<60%
Topic and Reading/Recitation List in order
This is the order in which we will tackle topics with associated R&Rs. Be sure to print off every R&R
that’s uploaded onto D2L.
In a discussion-based course like 112, it’s impossible to put firm dates on topics; there is no telling how
much a group of students will have to say on a subject. Therefore, you must attend each class to know
which topics/readings have been covered, and to get a feel for how much further ahead to R&R for the
next class. ALWAYS read a bit farther than you think you’ll need to!
Schedule of Topics
1) Introduction (weeks 1-2)
a) Syllabus overview, clarification as needed, recitation practice
b) Strategies for academic success (McMillan Ch. 9)
c) Writing as thinking (McMillan Intro and Ch. 7)
d) Preventing plagiarism (Turnitin® and McMillan Ch. 6)
e) UWO Healthcare R&R
i) Getting started on the Career Exploration Diary & 5-Year Plan
f) Scientific Method R&R
2) Critical Thinking
a) Evaluating HC information (McMillan Ch. 1)
b) PubMed
c) Baloney Search R&R
d) Critical Thinking/Evidence-Based Medicine R&R
e) Culture of Fear R&R
f) Film: The Skeptical Eye’s Alternative Medicine (1 hr)
3) Health Literacy
a) Cyberchondria R&R
b) Health Literacy I R&R
c) Health Literacy II Reading
d) Types of HC documents (McMillan Ch. 4-5-10)
e) The HC publication process
f) How HC documents are used
4) Building Professionalism
a) Interprofessional skills R&R
b) Ways of keeping current
c) Statistics (McMillan Ch. 2)
d) Graphs (Powerpoint and McMillan Ch. 3)
5) Healthcare Systems
a) Research & Development (R&D)
i) Basic vs. clinical, in vitro vs. in vivo
ii) Medical Studies Primer R&R
iii) Comparative Effectiveness Research R&R
iv) How Treatments Get to Market R&R
b) Information Technology
i) Electronic Health Records R&R
ii) Telemedicine R&R
c) Paying for Healthcare
i) What is Universal Healthcare? R&R
ii) Self-funded Insurance R&R
d) Healthcare Reform
i) Film: Michael Moore’s Sicko R&R
ii) Getting What We Paid For R&R
iii) Pay for What Works R&R
iv) Medicine for the Job Market R&R
v) Are Drug Companies Evil? R&R
The purple R&Rs are still being finalized as of Feb 2, 2009. They will be uploaded to Content weeks
before they come up for discussion!