Course Syllabus
Course: BIOL 2122
Division: Natural Science and MathDepartment: Biology
Title: Utah Health Scholars: Critical Analysis and Reading in Healthcare
Semester Approved: Fall 2021
Five-Year Review Semester: Summer 2026
End Semester: Summer 2027
Catalog Description: This course is designed to give continued guidance to pre-health profession students involved in the Utah Health Scholars program. Students will be assigned a book relevant to the health care field to read during the semester. Students will be required to provide reflection on the book as well as continue to learn about volunteerism, leadership, job shadowing and patient exposure and its impact on themselves and their future academic goals.
Semesters Offered: Fall, Spring
Credit/Time Requirement: Credit: 1; Lecture: 1; Lab: 0
Repeatable: Yes.
Prerequisites: BIOL 2120
Corequisites: N/A
Justification: This course will serve pre-health students at Snow College by providing a pathway for students who have already taken Biology 2120 to gain continued guidance and skills needed to be competitive applicants. This course will provide participants the opportunity to read and reflect on an assigned book relevant to the health care field. Students will be required to keep a quote/reflective journal about the book, and meet together as a group 3 times during the semester to discuss the book. Since reading passages and being able to understand those passages are a part of entrance exams for health profession schools, students will gain skills that will help them prepare for those tests. Students will also be required to continue accruing community service, leadership, job shadowing and patient exposure hours to increase their competitiveness to their programs.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Have the opportunity to practice reading and reflection skills, providing necessary practice for health profession entrance exams and interviews. This will be assessed via class participation and reflection assignments.
Develop an educational and healthcare career pathway plan. This will be assessed by attending the mandatory advising session where a student academic planning sheet will be filled out.
Provide resume-building experiences in community service, leadership, patient exposure, research, and/or job shadowing. This will be assessed by the student submitting an electronic document upon completion of the class documenting their hours and experiences they had.
Evaluate and reflect on current healthcare issues through reading weekly healthcare articles. This will be assessed via weekly reflection assignments.
Content:
This course will include the following: Reading of an assigned healthcare-related book, and submission of a required quote/reflection journal; Discussion of the book in a group setting; Reading weekly health care related articles; Attending one enhanced advising session; 25 hours of a combination of community service, leadership, patient exposure, research and/or job shadowing. Materials for this course will be drawn from various sources looking at the different groups of patients a medical practitioner will see during their career. The readings, discussions, and experiential learning will help the students develop an understanding of and empathy for various groups.
Key Performance Indicators:
Attendance at 3 required classes during the semester to discuss assigned reading and a completed quote/reflection journal provided at each meeting 20 to 30%
Required 25 hours of a combination of community service, leadership, patient exposure, research and/or job shadowing 30 to 40%
Reflective journaling on weekly healthcare articles 20 to 30%
Attendance at one advising session with a Utah Health Scholars advisor throughout the semester 10 to 25%
Representative Text and/or Supplies:
Weekly journal articles and an assigned health care book. Depending on number of students in class, books may be provided. No formal textbook is required.
Pedagogy Statement:
This class will be taught through readings, written reflections, discussion, lectures, and experiential/volunteer activities. The activities in this course are specifically geared to help students understand each other's life experiences and how they lead each student towards a career in medicine, along with highlighting and promoting acceptance of the diverse backgrounds of the patient populations served.
Instructional Mediums:
Lecture
Maximum Class Size: 50
Optimum Class Size: 25