Syllabus

Science Prerequisites for Health Professionals

CHEM 1005: Medical Biochemistry (Spring 2024)

Credits - 4

Description

This online course is designed for Pre-Physician Assistant, Pre-Medical and other students who are entering a medical profession. This course differs from most traditional biochemistry courses in several ways. The focus is human medical biochemistry. The course is limited to what is known about humans and disregards plant and most microbial systems. It emphasizes human metabolism. Students develop an appreciation of metabolism during the fed, fasting, and starved state. A substantial number of medical cases are included to demonstrate the relevance of biochemistry to health and disease. The goal of this course is to learn the core concepts of biochemistry that apply to human health and disease and to cite specific examples of their application. The student will be able to analyze and evaluate the most common biochemistry cited in medical literature. Furthermore, these basics will facilitate further learning in biochemistry and the health sciences.

Course pre-req: one semester of college biology and one year of college chemistry that includes one semester of organic chemistry.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Course Objectives

Upon the completion of this course the student will be able to:

• Evaluate how enzymes facilitate chemical reactions and the necessity of metabolic cofactors or vitamins in these reactions; relate how enzyme activities and concentrations may be used in clinical diagnosis.
• Evaluate the different mechanisms by which hormones signal and influence metabolic pathways allowing for homeostasis within the body.
• Describe the metabolism of carbohydrates (glucose, galactose and fructose) and their role in generating ATP for the cell.
• Demonstrate an understanding of lipid metabolism, transport and storage in the fed and fasted conditions.
• Relate how amino acids are used in the processes of protein synthesis, precursors for synthesis of necessary compounds and as substrates for glucose production; determine the role of the urea cycle in coordinating amino acid catabolism and nitrogen disposal.
• Describe the synthesis of nucleotides from carbon donors and how this process is coupled with DNA synthesis and nitrogen metabolism.
• Interpret the role and regulation of the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids in normal physiological conditions and the changes that occur in disease processes.

Learning Outcomes for Science Prerequisites for Health Professions Program

In lecture courses, students should be able to:

1. Communicate scientific concepts and information clearly.
2. Illustrate fundamental laws, theories, and principles of scientific disciplines.
3. Apply knowledge and critical thinking skills to scientific problems.

In lab courses, students should be able to:

1. Ask a question or define a problem that can be tested.
2. Hypothesize possible result(s).
3. Plan and/or conduct an investigation individually and/or collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence.
4. Analyze data using tools, technologies, and/or models (i.e. computational, mathematical, graphical, etc.) in order to make valid and reliable scientific claims or determine an optimal design solution.
5. Communicate the results by constructing an explanation based on multiple pieces of valid and reliable evidence obtained from a variety of sources (including students’ own investigations, models, theories, simulations, peer review) and the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
6. Apply scientific ideas, principles, and/or evidence gained from various experiments, as well as other observations and/or research, to provide an explanation of phenomena and solve design problems, taking into account possible unanticipated effects.

SELF PACED DESIGN

On the course start date, students will have access to orientation. This must be completed to be able to gain access to the first module in the course. Students must complete the first module to gain access to the next one. We recommend that students spend about 15 hours per week to complete a course in 16 weeks. When trying to complete the course in less than 16 weeks, we typically see students do this successfully within 12-14 weeks. Instructors will be timely in grading and feedback, but it will not be instant.

Assignments

*Please review the academic integrity agreement below before completing any assignments to ensure they are completed in accordance with this policy and the requirements of each assessment outlined below.

Lectures and Laboratories

Lectures

This course is designed to be completed in a 16-week period, just like an on-campus Biochemistry course.  One week in this online course is equivalent to three fifty-minute lectures in a traditional classroom setting. The general rule of studying for science courses is to spend three hours studying for every one hour that you are in class. Therefore, the suggested study time for each week is nine hours above and beyond the time it takes to listen to the lecture. Please refer to the schedule below for the suggested schedule of lectures. Students may complete the course in fewer than 16 weeks. With the exception of Weeks 8 and 16, each week consists of:

• Weekly objectives
• Textbook Reading
• Topic Lectures and associated slides
• Additional learning resources
• Weekly practice evaluation

Laboratories

N/A

Weekly Practice Evaluations

With the exception of Weeks 8 and 16, each week has an end-of-week evaluation. These are in the form of an 8-question multiple-choice quiz. These quizzes are timed, non-proctored and are closed book and closed notes. You will have 15 minutes to complete each quiz. The quizzes will be taken online through the Brightspace course site. These quizzes do not contribute to your final overall grade, but they must be completed.  The questions for these assessments are pulled from a pool of questions used for the formative Unit exams.  Doing well on the quizzes will help prepare you for both the non-proctored formative exams and the proctored summative exams. You can only take each weekly quiz once, and these assessments can be reviewed through Class Progress after completion.

Unit Exams

There are four non-proctored exams after Units 1 – 4. These exams consist of 15-20 questions and will be taken through Brightspace. These exams consist of material restricted to a single unit and contain questions very similar to the weekly quizzes. You will have up to 1 hour to complete these exams and once started you must complete the assessment. Exams should be taken closed notes, closed books and in accordance with the academic integrity agreement. You can only take these once and these can be reviewed through Class Progress after completion.

For all exams, you must review the Proctored Examinations information and requirements in the Policies section of this syllabus.

Midterm and Final exams

There will be two summative exams taken through ProctorU. You must purchase the UNE-Compliant External Webcam to take your proctored examinations. Remember to order your webcam at least three weeks prior to scheduling your first proctored exam.

The midterm will cover content from Units 1 and 2, and the final exam will cover content from Units 3 and 4. Each exam will consist of 70 multiple-choice questions and will be taken using the outlined proctoring procedure below; you will have 2 hours to complete this assessment. These are closed book and closed notes exams. You may use a UNE-authorized whiteboard during the exam. A calculator is not necessary for this or any of the course assessments. If using the UNE-authorized whiteboard, you must first show your proctor that your whiteboard is clear at the beginning of your testing session. You must also erase your whiteboard in front of the proctor before disconnecting from your session. If you do not do this, your exam will not be credited. You will not have access to any material saved on your or any other computer. No access to the internet or other communication devices are allowed during these exams. These exams are closed for review. You will not be able to review exams at any time. Please contact your instructor for specific feedback.

Midterm or Final Exam

You will have two attempts for the Midterm and Final Exams. We strongly encourage students who score below 50% on the midterm to retake this assessment, as this background is fundamental to the other two units.

Discussion Board Posts (Introduction and Pathway Responses)

There are three required discussion board posts. The first is an introduction post in which you practice using video screencasting that you will need to complete assignments later in the course. The other two are Pathway Responses at the end of Unit 1 and Unit 3. Pathway Responses should be completed prior to taking each Unit Exam.

Instructions for Pathway Response discussions are detailed in Brightspace and consist of two parts. Briefly, you will be required to do the following:

1. Post a problem or question on the discussion board that your peers can respond to critically.
2. Respond constructively to two questions posted on the discussion board by peers. You should not respond to your own posted question.

Please see Brightspace for a full description of the assignment. This assessment is designed to help with critical thinking skills and to identify any key misconceptions you may have over the material.

Case Connections

There are four required application exercises — one for each unit — called “Case Connections.” The Case Connections assignments for Units 1 and 3 are written assignments. The Case Connections assignments for Units 2 and 4 are video presentations with accurate scripts. In all cases, assignments should be original work. These are to be submitted through Brightspace before the end of each unit. The problems for these assessments require the application of knowledge gained in the course, and you can utilize resources to help address the questions asked. You will be assessed for both the correct answer as well as for the quality of your rationale for choosing or not choosing an answer.  Do not use these connection questions as part of your discussion board posts. Your course allows for a possible second attempt with quizzes and/or assignments. Please contact your course instructor if you wish to utilize another attempt. Further details about these assignments can be found within the course.

Integrated Case Activities

There are two Integrated Case Activities, clinical presentations that require the application and integration of content across units. The scenario presented in the Unit 2 assessment requires the application of knowledge gained in the first half of the course and the  scenario presented in the Unit 4 assessment focuses on knowledge from the entire course.  These assessments should be original work that utilizes additional resources to help address the questions asked. Further details about these assignments can be found within the course.

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Category	Points
Weekly Evaluations (14 required 8-question practice quizzes)	0
Unit 1 Exam	15 points
Unit 2 Exam	20 points
Unit 3 Exam	20 points
Unit 4 Exam	15 points
Midterm (70 questions covering Units 1 and 2)	70 points
Final Exam (70 questions covering Units 3 and 4)	70 points
Discussions: Introduction / Video Practice and Two Pathway Responses (3 @ 5 points each)	15 points
Case Connections (4 @ 20 points each)	80 points
Integrated case Activities (2 @ 20 points each)	40 points
TOTAL:	345 Total

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	94 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 93%	3.75
B+	87 – 89%	3.50
B	84 – 86%	3.00
B-	80 – 83%	2.75
C+	77 – 79%	2.50
C	74 – 76%	2.00
C-	70 – 73%	1.75
D	64 – 69%	1.00
F	00 – 63%	0.00