Anatomy Summer Assignment 2015
Congratulations on deciding to take an advanced life science course! It is my
intention to not only help you study the human body in abstract this next year but
to also help you apply what we learn in class to your own body, helping you be
more knowledgeable with your doctors and personal health. Because this is an
advanced class, I expect you to be comfortable with biology, chemistry, and math
because we will be applying all three of them throughout the year. But don’t
worry, I didn’t forget reading and writing because you will be using those skills
extensively throughout the course as well.
Your summer assignment has three main parts. For part one, you will be
reading a book by Atul Gawande and take notes while you read. For the second
part, you will complete a packet with word parts. For the third part, you will look
up three current events related to the class.
Part 1:
You will read Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science
by Atul Gawande. You can borrow the book or buy it but we will be using this
book for more than the summer. You will need to take notes and complete a book
assignment in order to prepare you for an eventual essay exam to take place
towards the end of first quarter.
As you read Complications, you should take notes on the following:
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Themes
Key people
Key studies
Scientific procedures
Any unethical aspects of experimentations or studies
An stories that particularly fascinated you
During the essay assessment, you will be allowed to use the notes that you’ve
written. There will be several different topics from the book for you to pick for
your essay, so be thorough in your note taking as I won’t reveal the specific
prompts until the day of the exam.
In addition to the essay, you will need to complete a book assignment that’s
done in conjunction with your note taking. This assignment needs to be completed
on a separate sheet from your notes as I will be collecting it on August 21, 2015.
Each part requires a slightly different approach.
In part 1of the book, Gawande focuses on the fallibility of doctors, surgeons,
hospitals and the medical community as a whole. He discusses ways that doctors
and the medical community better themselves and maintain and improve standards
of patient care. Choose any THREE examples he provides for bettering the doctor,
the hospital, the safety of the patient, or the medical community as a whole. For
each example do all of the following.
1) WRITE a TITLE that briefly gives the name or describes the process
2) WRITE a ONE PARAGRAPH summary of the process and what it entails.
3) MAKE and fill in a PROS & CONS table to show both sides.
4) WRITE a PARAGRAPH stating your opinion over this topic.
Parts 2 and 3 are a little different. Gawande spends time describing some of the
mysteries and uncertainties in medicine (surgery). For each chapter in these
sections, write a paragraph summary specifically about these mysteries &
uncertainties. Questions to consider: What is the mystery? Why is it such a
mystery? What do doctors do (past, present & future) to help? How does this thing
make doctors feel, and why?
In summary, you need to take your own notes as well as complete an
assignment that you will turn in on August 21. These assignments will help you
complete your essay exam over the book.
Part 2:
Learning anatomy and physiology is like learning a new language. Why?
Because the information is mostly in Greek and Latin terms. The earlier you learn
the prefixes, suffixes, and root words, the better you will understand the material
throughout the year. Does spelling matter with these terms? Yes, spelling does
matter because many of these terms are spelled in similar manners. One switched
letter can mean an entirely different term. Vocabulary will be an extremely
important aspect of the class in order to be successful.
Finish the assignment attached at the end. This will be collected on the first
day of class. Please don’t forget this as late assignments are automatically deducted
fifty percent of the points.
Part 3:
Find 3 current events related to Physiology/Anatomy. For each article (yes, it
can be an internet article), you must:
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Print/cut out the article. (Make sure that the author, year, and source is
listed.) Article must be no older than April 2014.
Answer the following: (set up paper in the format listed below, bullet
pointing each of the questions.)
1. Who?
2. What?
3. When?
4. Where?
5. Why?
6. How does this apply to physiology and anatomy?
Have a great summer! Remember the word assignment is due the first day of
class.