MEDU-4165 - Environmental Impacts on Human Health

MEDU-4165 - Environmental Impacts on Human Health

Elective Title: Environmental Impacts on Human Health
Course Number: MEDU-4165
Elective Type: career Duration/Weeks: 4 Max Enrollment: 4
Prerequisites: None
Additional Requirements: Successful completion of pre-clinical curriculum. Course Director approval required.
Responsible Faculty Director: Bryan Wilson, MD Periods Offered: 1, 4-7, 10-13 excluding holiday period 8 
Coordinator: Shelby Castro (shcastro@utmb.edu) Other Faculty:
Location to Report on First Day:
Virtually or at the Southeast Texas Poison Center (on 3rd Floor Above the Emergency Department)

Goals
1. Develop a foundational understanding of the field of environmental health from a clinical, research, and public policy perspective.2. Develop research and scientific writing skills through the development of a complete research or community project proposal.

Objectives
1. Describe environmental factors and how they effect human health with specific examples.
2. Be able to confidently take an effective environmental health history.
3. List resources for further developing environmental health knowledge.
4. Write an academic essay or grant proposal relevant to environmental health.

Description of course activities
This course is a non-clinical elective allowing interested students to explore the topic of environmental health. The course utilized asynchronous lectures from international national experts, problem-based learning cases, assigned readings, and self-directed learning to explore how environmental factors influence human health and disease as well as the role healthcare workers can play in addressing these challenges. This guided study is supplemented with experiential learning in the form of a relevant volunteer experience and development of an academic essay or grant proposal.

Weekly Schedule:
- Completion of assigned problem-based learning case studies and H&P write-up (8 hours/week).
- Completion of assigned asynchronous lectures, podcasts, and assigned readings from international experts in environmental health and associated quizzes (8 hours/week).
- Reading of student-selected, relevant academic articles (2 hours/week).
- Review of the weeks learning and write-ups with instructor (2 hours/week).
- Research, development, and writing of a research or community project proposal due at the end of the rotation (10 hours/week).
- Volunteer or other experiential learning opportunities releva

Type of students who would benefit from the course
Any student interested interested in how environmental factors such as climate, food and water quality, and toxicologic exposures affect the health of their patients.

    Weekly Schedule
          Estimated Course Activities (Start-Time/Finish-Time):
Day of Week   AM   PM
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

 Average number of patients seen per week:
 Call Schedule:

Research / Other Course Activities
(estimated schedule)
Activity Hours per Week
Faculty Contact-Time 8
Self-Directed Study 20
Data-Collection/Analysis 5
Other


Method of Student Evaluation
1.  Clinical Observation
  A. Where are students observed on this elective?
    Inpatient Service   Ambulatory   Surgery   Standardized patients
Patients simulators   Other
  B. Frequency - How often are students observed clinically?
   
  C. Format - What method(s) are used to document the student's clinical performance?
    Daily oral feedback   End of period oral feedback   Written feedback
Other

2.  Oral Presentation
  A. Audience - To whom does the student present?
    Instructor
  B. Frequency / Duration of Presentation(s)?
    Weekly, 2 hours
  C. Format - What guidelines are set for the student's presentation?
    Review of weekly assignments and study materials with students and instructor
  D. Assessment - Who assesses the student's presentation performance?
    Self-assessment   Peer assessment   Faculty assessment
  E. Method of content selection
    Current cases  Student-selected topic   Assigned topic

3.  Written Assignment (H&P's, notes, papers, abstracts, etc.)
  A. Frequency of written assignment(s)?
    An academic essay or grant proposal relevant to environmental health by the end of the rotation.
  B. Format - What guidelines are set for the student's written work?
    Standard Proposal/Grant Format or Meeting Excellence in Basic Science or Humanities Selective Essay Award Criteria
  C. Length of written assignment(s)?
    Abstract   Annotated bibliography   1 - 2 page paper   3+ page paper
  D. Are recent references required?   No    If yes, how are they selected?
    Student Conducted Literature Review
  E. Method of content selection - e.g. student-selected, relate to cases, etc.?
    Student-Selected Within Instructor Provided Criteria
  F. Audience - Who assesses the student's written performance?
    Peer Assessment     Faculty Assessment     Other

4.  Examination
  Format
    Oral   Written multiple choice   Written essay / short answer   OSCE
Other

5.  Extra Course Activities
  What expectations do you have for the student to demonstrate participation in the elective (e.g. small group activities, seminars, thoughtful questions, providing resources, journal club, resident lecture attendance)?
    N/A

6.  Additional Costs
  Please list any additional costs and/or purchases (books, materials, movies to watch, etc.) that are required for this course. Include an estimated total cost. If there are no additional costs, please enter "None".
    None

7.  Other Modes of Evaluation
  Please explain below.
    N/A

8.  If this course is an Acting Internship, please complete the following:
  A. Objectives for the AI should relate directly to the Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs). Each AI should describe how the four key Year-4 EPAs that our school has identified as being Year-4 skills are assessed. The Year-4 objectives are:
1. Entering and discussing orders/prescriptions.
2. Give or receive patient handover to transition care responsibility.
3. Recognizing a patient requiring urgent or emergent care and initiating management.
4. Obtaining informed consent for tests and procedures.
Specify how the student will be given formative feedback on their clinical skills.
   
 
B.
Year-4 students should demonstrate mastery of EPAs they developed in the clerkship year, including recommending and interpreting common diagnostic and screening tests, and performing general procedures of a physician. They should be able to demonstrate masterfully and independently skills they mastered in Years 2-3, including efficiently performing comprehensive admission-notes and succinct daily progress notes and perform accurate, concise, and hypothesis-driven clinical presentations, form clinical questions and retrieve evidence to advance patient care. They should be able to demonstrate basic understanding of and beginning mastery of collaborate as a member of the interprofessional team and identify system failures and contribute to a culture of safety improvement.

List advanced clinical skills that a student will be assured an opportunity to practice.
   
 
C.
How specifically will this AI build on developing skills from the clerkship year to prepare students for internship?
   
 
D.
What opportunities will typically be available to all students who take this AI (procedures, required presentations, etc.)? What opportunities may be available based on patient load/presentation or student initiative (ie. Writing a case report)?
   
 
E.
An AI should have expectation of a minimum of 32 hours per week of clinical responsibilities. Duty hours should be capped at ACGME limits for an intern, thus up to 24 hours followed by 4 hours of activities related to patient safety, education, and handoff. Students cannot work more than 80 hours per week averaged over 4 weeks. They can only have 1 day off in a 7-day work week with 8 hours off between shifts.

Clinical responsibilities will vary depending on specialty, but how is the student functioning with work commensurate to a PGY1 with an appropriate level of training?
   
 
F.
How is the student demonstrating drawing clinical conclusions and/or developing a management plan and documentation as an intern would do?
   
 
G.
How and by whom will midpoint feedback be provided to the student? How will you remediate deficiencies identified at midpoint?
   
 
H.
Acting Internship students often seek letters of recommendation following their experience. How many different Faculty will work directly with the student and have knowledge of the student's abilities to detail in a written evaluation? Describe the degree of supervision and interaction with faculty vs. residents or other providers and how feedback will be obtained if more direct work is with residents or other providers.