MUSCULOSKELETAL COURSE - MODULE II

Course Schedule (Word, 176K)

GENERAL INFORMATION

Course Directors

Dr. Seth Berney
Dept. of Medicine/Rheumatology
Room F3-26
675-4155         (sberne@lsuhsc.edu)
 
Dr. William Steven
Dept. of Cellular Biology & Anatomy
Room 8-201
675-5322         (wsteve@lsuhsc.edu)
 
Dr. Karl Bilderback
Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery
Room 3-325
675-6177         (kbilde@lsuhsc.edu)
 
Dr. Andrew Marino, Course Administrator
Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery
Room 3-325
675-6177         (amarino@lsuhsc.edu)

 

Faculty

 

Course Description

 

Objectives: The goals are to impart an understanding of the structure, normal function and pathologic dysfunction of the musculoskeletal system, and to develop the skill necessary to perform a general musculoskeletal screening examination. Departments contributing to the course include Cellular Biology & Anatomy, Medicine/Rheumatology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Physiology, Pharmacology, Pathology, and Physical Therapy. The diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal diseases will be addressed from both a medical and surgical perspective. Laboratory exercises will allow for direct observation of both the gross and the histologic appearance of tissues, with diagnostic evaluation of healthy and diseased tissues. Small-group interactions will promote student participation in discussions of clinical case presentations and fundamental aspects of musculoskeletal function and dysfunction.

Lectures: All lectures will be held in the eighth-floor lecture hall; the date, time and instructor for each lecture are listed in the Course Schedule. Anatomy and histology laboratory groups will be posted. The composition of the Orthopaedics and Rheumatology small groups is described in Group Assignments; the meetings will be held in the core lab on the ground floor. The composition of the small groups for Physical Examination Skills will be posted by the Module III coordinator; the meetings will be held in the Clinical Skills Center.

 

Textbooks:

 

Attendance: Attendance at course activities that require student-teacher interaction for accomplishment of the educational purpose is mandatory; these activities are the Anatomy laboratories, and the Orthopaedics and Rheumatology small groups.

Failure to attend an Anatomy laboratory shall be remediated by the student in the manner proscribed by the instructor. Failure to remediate an Anatomy laboratory will result in an F for the course.

Failure to attend an Orthopaedics or Rheumatology Small-Group meeting shall be remediated by means of a report of at least 10 pages, written in a format acceptable to the instructor, in which the student describes in detail the educational activities and goals pertinent to the missed class, as determined by discussions with students who attended the class. The remediation process is complete only when the student provides a copy of the report, signed by the instructor to indicate acceptance of the work, to the course administrator. Failure to remediate a Small-Group meeting will result in a course grade of F. Failure to attend three meetings not withstanding any remediation, will result in a course grade of F.

If a student attends all, all but one, or all but two Anatomy, Orthopaedics, Pathology, Physiology, Pharmacology, and Biochemistry lectures, an irrebuttable presumption shall be created that the student actually acquired more knowledge than manifested on the final examination to the extent that the student will receive credit for up to five wrong answers on the final examination in the above-listed subject areas. For the purposes of receiving credit, attendance is defined as being seated in class no later than ten minutes past the hour.

Students who attend a lecture but fail to swipe in may be credited with attendance if and only if Dr. Platt is notified of the failure within 24 hours of the end of the lecture, by e-mail; the e-mail must contain the student's ID number and a statement of the time of arrival in the lecture hall. Notwithstanding this provision, credit for attendance will not be given if the number of instances of failure to swipe in is excessive.

Course Evaluation: Each student shall provide an "Evaluation of Lecturer" for each of the Orthopaedics and Small-Group lecturers, using the form posted on the course web page. The completed evaluations should be e-mailed to Dr. Andrew Marino or given to Mrs. Sylvia Carter, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Room 3-316, on February 7, 2005, before 4:30 p.m. all evaluations will be maintained completely confidential and only statistical data not linked to individual students will be released. A final course grade will not be issued until course evaluations have been provided.

 

Absence from Examination:  If a student misses a scheduled examination and has a documented excuse (as defined by the Medical Curriculum Council), then the student must take a written make-up examination and a practical laboratory examination. The student will be responsible for scheduling the exams with the course administrator.

 

Examinations:

Laboratory oral quizzes will be given at the end of each Anatomy laboratory. The grading will be pass/fail. Successfully passing all oral quizzes is a necessary prerequisite for receiving a passing grade the course. A failed quiz can be re-taken; however, three failures will result in a course grade of F.

The laboratory practical exam will consist of 50-60 tag questions (fill-in-the-blank). The exam will consist of cadaver tags, histology sections, pathology and rheumatology cases, and radiographs.

A mid-course and final written exams will be given for the Module II part of this course; a final written exam will be given for the Module III component. The Module II exams will each consist of 100 multiple choice, true/false, or matching questions, more or less; generally 3-4 questions per lecture hour or small-group session. The final exam will be cumulative, but with an emphasis on the material covered in the last half of the course. The Module II exams will be sequestered; neither the exams nor any part may be removed in any form from the examination hall.

 

Grading:

 Module II
 Lecture/small group exam    40%
 Lecture/small-group mid-course exam    35%
 Laboratory practical exam    25%

 Module III
 Written exam    100%

 Final Grade:
 89.5 -100    A
 79.5 - 89.4    B
 69.5 - 79.4    C
 69.4 and below    F

Students who provide their course evaluation forms on February 7 will receive their final grade for Module II on or about February 15. Students who provide their evaluation forms after February 7 will receive their grades around the end of February, or later, depending on when the form is received.