Allegany College of Maryland

Course Description: Offered fall and spring semesters. Three hours lecture a week. This course provides students with the knowledge of medical language needed to communicate with members of the healthcare team. The course includes the disease processes, treatments and pharmacology associated with each body system. Students will define medical terms as well as understand the concept of root/suffix/prefix word building.

Prerequisites: None

Required Textbook and Supplies:

The Language of Medicine, 8^th Edition. Davi-Ellen Chabner (Saunders Elsevier, 2007) ISBN: 13: 978-1-4160-3477-3
Blackboard access code: http://blackboard.allegany.edu
Medical Dictionary is recommended
Medical Terminology Flash Cards (optional)

Course Learning Objectives: Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

OBJECTIVES	SOURCE	ASSESSMENTS
Analyze medical terms	Chapters 1 & 2	Multiple-choice / matching quiz & exam
Define suffixes and prefixes	Chapters 3 & 4	Multiple-choice / matching quiz & exam
Identify and label anatomy of body systems	Chapters 5-9, 11, 12, 15, & 19	Multiple-choice / matching quiz & exam
Explain physiology of body systems	Chapters 5-9, 11, 12, 15, & 19	Multiple-choice / matching quiz & exam
Explain pathology of body systems	Chapters 5-9, 11, 12, 15, & 19	Multiple-choice / matching quiz & exam
Demonstrate knowledge of individual body system vocabulary	Chapters 5-9, 11, 12, 15, & 19	Multiple-choice / matching quiz & exam
Explain different types of pharmacological interventions, including but not limited to classifications.	Chapter 21	Multiple-choice / matching quiz & exam
Explain psychiatric disorders including symptoms and treatments	Chapter 22	Multiple-choice / matching quiz & exam

Competencies

Use medical terminology appropriately
Name the organs of major body systems and describe their locations and functions.
Define prefixes and suffixes of major body systems
Define combining of major body systems
Describe general disease processes, signs, and symptoms of major body systems
Explain laboratory tests, diagnostic tests, clinical procedures, and abbreviations of major body systems.
Identify abnormal conditions of various body systems
Build medical words combining forms, prefixes, and suffixes as they relate to the specialty
Describe pathological conditions and their prognoses
Learn therapeutic techniques used by various medical departments

Technical requirements for the course:

BEFORE THE COURSE STARTS
Technical Requirements

Please be sure that your computer system meets the following technical requirements before you enroll in the course.

If you have never taken an online course before, this course will be different for you. Our primary means of communication will be through the Internet, therefore, you should be comfortable with using the Internet and email.

You are expected to have basic computer and Internet literacy skills. This includes the ability to work comfortably in a browser, send and receive email with attachments, use a search engine, and create and modify documents in MS Word. Technical requirements include:

1 - You need a personal computer with access to the Internet.

2 – You will need to provide your own email account.

Allegany College does not provide email accounts to students. If you don’t already have an email account given to you from your Internet Service Provider please get a free email account by going to www.yahoo.com, www.juno.com, or www.hotmail.com.

3- You will need QuickTime installed on your computer.

· Quick Time enables multimedia on your computer. You will need QUICKTIME 5 or higher.

· Please visit www.quicktime.com on the Web to download and install the latest version of QuickTime. Be sure to let the installer program install the QuickTime plug-in for this browser.

4 – You will need Shockwave installed on your computer.

· You will need SHOCKWAVE 8.5 / FLASH 5 or higher

· You will need to download (www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download) and install the Director Shockwave Flash plug-in from Macromedia's Web site.

5 – You should take the online orientation.

It includes:

· Prerequisites for Taking an Online Course (both technical and personal skills).

· What You Can Expect in an Online Course

· Before Your Online Course Starts (includes Blackboard information)

· Tips for succeeding in an Online Course

· Getting started in your Online Course

· Technical Support

http://www.allegany.edu/dl/onlineorientation/oorientation.shtml

Please note: Technical difficulties do occur during a semester. However, technical difficulties do not excuse late or incomplete assignments.

Course content

Please see the course calendar located in the course information tab for a week-by-week list of what topics will be covered in the course.

How the course is conducted

Welcome to the online version of Medical Terminology. This introductory page is intended to help you to get started. Since there will be no face-to-face class lecture, it is imperative that you are conscientious, motivated, and self-disciplined. The premise of the course is that given a good book and a little help, you can learn without having to attend lectures at a fixed time during the day. While the course is very flexible in terms of when you put in the time, you can expect to average about the same amount of time as a normal lecture course -- about three hours total a week per credit. This comes out to some nine hours per week. Note also that the course is NOT self-paced. Assignments are due by specific dates. You may work ahead if you like, but you may not “work behind”.

A list of all assignments and their due dates are included in the course calendar located in the course information tab. I will NOT remind you of when assignments are due. You are expected to refer to the calendar and to complete all assignments on time. If you have difficulty with the assignments or have any questions, please contact me and I will be happy to assist you.

You will have opportunities to interact with other students enrolled in the course. Students are encouraged to communicate with other students in the course by email, by use of the discussion board or by phone. Interacting with other students in the course will enhance your learning experience.

Course Materials:

Textbook

Your primary resource is the textbook “The Language of Medicine”. If you don't want to come to campus to pick up the book, you can either order it from the Allegany College of Maryland bookstore and ask them to mail it to you (301-784-5348, there is an additional fee for shipping) or order it online from www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, or www.efollet.com . If ordering online, be sure you order the correct textbook. If you choose this route, please be sure when you order that the textbook is in stock in order to avoid delays.

Getting Started

You may start on the course as soon as you register and classes have begun, based upon the assignments indicated in the syllabus. As soon as you register for the course you should send me an e-mail. Without your email address, I have no way of contacting you. This must be done no later than the end of the first week of class, but the sooner the better. My email address is cgladwin@allegany.edu. Please be sure to send me the email from the account you will be using throughout the course. When I receive your email I will respond so that you know I have received it. If you do not hear from me, I probably did not receive your email for some reason. Blackboard will be the primary method for conducting the course.

Please include in the subject line “Medical Terminology-Enrollment”.
In the body of the email include:

Your full name

Your full mailing address

Your e-mail address

Your preferred contact phone number

Grading and Testing

Assessment for the course will consist of quizzes and exams (taken online) and a written assignment on a disease of your choice. More information on this may be found in the assignments tab. Quizzes may be repeated to help obtain mastery of the content. Exams may only be taken one time. You may take the quizzes and exams any time before the due date on the course calendar located in the course information tab.

Students will not receive mid-term grades in the US postal mail. However, all grades will be posted on the blackboard site, so students will always have the opportunity to review grades as soon as I have completed grading of the assignments/exams.

The students final grade will be comprised of:

Graded Item	Points possible
Quizzes	Not graded
Tests	829 points
Disease Paper	100 points
Final Exam	200 points
Total Possible Points	1,129 points

Quizzes are provided as an aid for your study. You may choose to take them as many times as you would like – they ARE NOT counted as part of the final grade. The grading scale is as follows:

A = 93-100%
B = 85-92%
C = 74-84%
D = 65-73%
F = 0 - 64%

Late assignments

No late assignments will be accepted unless there are extenuating circumstances that can be documented. Please notify me if additional time is needed.

You will have at least a one-week period in which to take the unit and final exams. This should allow everyone the flexibility to schedule the exam at a convenient time.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Board

If you have a question or problem please check the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) discussion board first. If the answer is not there (or the answer was not posted by me and you aren’t sure if it is correct), contact me by email at cgladwin@allegany.edu. I check email daily (weekdays only). If the question is something that others may be wondering about I will also post the question and answer to the FAQ discussion board.

Contacting the instructor

If you need to speak to me by phone please call my office number at (301) 784-5126. My office hours are Tuesday and Thursday 11:00 am through 12:30 pm. If this is not convenient for you please send me an email and we can arrange a phone meeting at a mutually convenient time.
You may contact me by email at cgladwin@allegany.edu.

Blackboard

This course will be conducted using Blackboard software. You do not need to purchase software to use Blackboard; however, you will need a login and password to access it. Your user name should be your first initial, middle initial and last name with no spaces or capital letters. Your password should be your social security number without any dashes. If you have been enrolled in a class before using Blackboard and changed these, use the ones you created.

You should immediately login to your Blackboard account and orient yourself with Blackboard. Blackboard is the primary tool for delivering this course. You should review the student manual by logging into Blackboard, clicking on the "Tools" button and then clicking on "Manual". You should also print a copy of the "Student Blackboard Handout" in the "Course Documents" section.

You should be able to perform the following functions in blackboard by the end of the first week of class:

Log into your blackboard account (remember to log out when finished!)
Find and read announcements
Find and read course assignments
Find and read course documents
Send email
Find the discussion board
Find the digital drop box
Find the grades area

You may also preview Blackboard at http://company.blackboard.com/Bb5/manuals/Bb5-LevelOne-Student or http://www.blackboard.com prior to beginning the class.

E-Mail Policy

Always use the following guidelines when sending e-mail to me.

In the subject area, enter “Medical Terminology” and clearly identify the topic of your e-mail:

Example:    Medical Terminology – Question about …
                   Medical Terminology – Comments about….
                   Medical Terminology – Homework

I receive a lot of email. If you fail to put the word “Medical Terminology” in your subject line it is possible that I may overlook your email. I check my email daily during weekdays. If your question requires a lengthy explanation/response from me, I will respond within twenty- four hours. If your e-mail is a quick question or comment, I will respond as soon as I read it.

Please send me e-mail from the account that you will use for this course and be sure to update your e-mail information within Blackboard

Submission of assignments as electronic files

Unless otherwise stated, all assignments that are submitted to me should be in the format of a word document file. IMPORTANT: Every document should have a header within the document that includes your name, course name, page number, and number of total pages in the document.

Files should be submitted using the digital drop box in Blackboard. In the event that blackboard is not working (for example, the Blackboard server goes down) and the due date is looming, you should submit the file as an email attachment along with a note describing the problem. If both Blackboard and email are down, send a fax to me at (301) 784-5022 indicating that you are experiencing a problem and supply a brief explanation of the problem. If your assignment is short (5 pages or less), you may also fax the assignment to me at that time.

Rules of conduct for participation in the Discussion Board

Students are encouraged to communicate with each other using the discussion board feature of Blackboard. Just because you cannot physically be in the same room as your classmates doesn’t mean you can’t communicate with them! The discussion board is provided so that students can get to know each other and discuss topics that are related to the course content. It can be a valuable source of information and support. However, please note that all messages are “public”, i.e. available for everyone in the class to view. When posting messages on the discussion board please keep comments on a positive note and avoid “flaming” (verbally attacking someone else). Please provide feedback to other students in a kind and constructive manner. Also be careful about posting personal information about yourself that you would not normally provide to an acquaintance.

Student Conduct and Plagiarism

As a reminder, the college has a policy on academic dishonesty. You are expected to abide by the policy as defined in the college catalog.

Plagiarism is passing off someone else’s work or idea as your own. Academic Dishonesty also includes failure on your part to keep your current and past assignments out of the hands of other students who may misinterpret their origins. To receive credit for quantitative assignments, please show all calculations. It is also suggested that you keep a record and/or rough draft of written or other work until you have received your final grade.

Accommodating Disabilities

Any student in this course who has a disability that may prevent him or her from fully demonstrating his or her abilities should contact me personally as soon as possible, so I can discuss accommodations necessary to ensure full participation and facilitate your educational opportunity.

A final note:

Please, as the semester proceeds; tell me what is working, what is not working, and what else you think I could do to help you be successful in this course. Thanks, and I hope you will enjoy Medical Terminology!

Office Technologies Department

In the event that you experience an emergency and you are unable to contact me please contact Ms. Denise Murray. Examples of emergencies would be errors in the official final grade report that would affect your graduation status or being accidentally dropped from the course and having that affects your financial aid. In every case please try to contact me first, but if you cannot contact me and feel it is a situation that must be resolved immediately Ms. Denise Murray will be able to assist you.

Ms. Denise Murray,

Assistant to the Director of Office Technologies and Medical Assistant Program

(301) 784-5318

dmurray@allegany.edu

Online Student Study Guidelines

1. Make a study schedule and stick to it! Maintain self-discipline and avoid procrastinating--don't "put it off" or wait until the last minute to do your work.

2. Create a private space where you can study so that you're not distracted or interrupted frequently.

3. Get the support of your colleagues, friends, and family. While they go off and have fun, you may have to study.

4. Understand assignments and write them down (or print off the course calendar located in the course information tab ) to avoid forgetting something.

5. Buy the required text READ IT!! You CANNOT be successful in this course without reading and studying from the textbook.

6. Be able to communicate through writing as this is the primary vehicle you'll be using to "talk" with your classmates and professors, as well as when you complete assignments to be handed in to the instructor.

7. Participate! Think before you contribute your ideas, comments, and perspectives on the subject you are studying and read what your classmates have to say. Be respectful of differing opinions as there is rarely only one way to do anything. Give positive feedback freely and negative feedback with kindness.

8. Be open-minded about sharing life, work, and educational experiences as part of the learning experience. When you're online with your classmates, be open and friendly. You'll discover you'll know more about your online classmates than you ever knew about your in-person classmates.

9. Communicate effectively with instructors--be willing to ask questions and "speak up" if you're having a problem. Remember, instructors can't see you or read your mind!

10. Try to apply everything you learn as you learn it, or if you can't apply it, try "teaching" it to someone else. These techniques will help you remember the information more easily.

11. CELEBRATE when you complete a course! You've worked hard and you deserve a time to relax and be proud!