Biology 265

Experience in the Life Sciences

Medical Preceptorship

Due to federally mandated HIPAA guidelines, all students must complete HIPAA Training PRIOR to registration. We will not be able to make any exceptions. Please contact Ms. Jessica Ochoa in the Student Affairs Office located in the Plant Growth Building, Room 105. (South of the NSLC) to get the appropriate forms and details for compliance.
Students must register separately for each semester.
A brief work plan must accompany registration for the first semester
A brief report on the first semester's activities, countersigned by the mentor, must accompany the application for the second semester.
A brief description of the topic that the student will investigate in more depth (see below) must be turned in no later than with the application for the second semester. It must be countersigned by the mentor.

Goals and Expectations of Mentor and Student

We have in mind a course which would require about 5 hrs on average/week of the student's time (but clearly much less of the physician's time - see below) over two semesters. The official course description appears below. It includes experiences other than Medical Preceptorship.

Biology 265: Provides an opportunity to earn credit for non-classroom learning in the life sciences. A wide variety of activities qualify. For example, students might accompany a physician on rounds and prepare a paper on a specific organ system or disease, participate in a field or ecological study and report on the findings, help create a summer biology curriculum for children and report on its effectiveness, etc. Participants must arrange to work with a supervisor with whom they will meet on a regular basis, and commit themselves to at least 140 hours over two semesters. A work plan must be approved prior to registration. Progress report due at the end of one semester, and a final paper due after two semesters. Does not count toward upper division credits required for the major. Credit: 1.5 units per semester, contingent on completion of two semesters. When appropriate, the work may be completed within one semester. Credit/No Credit only. Students will be registered by the department after approval is granted. Forms are available in 105 Plant Growth

The following sequence of events will be typical. Note that they do not all impinge on the physician's time. While the physician is the responsible mentor, it will often be a very good idea if the student spends time with nurses, residents, fellows or technicians with experience which it would be valuable for the student to be aware of. In this case, we do ask, however, that the mentor specifically discuss with the third party whether they would enjoy interacting with an undergraduate in this way. (Our experience is that sometimes the mentor is more enthusiastic about having an undergraduate student than are other people in the mentor's group.)

The mentor will ask the student to become informed about organ system(s) and basic biology most relevant to the mentor's interests and practice. This material may be new to the student, probably less so if the student has completed Bio 311 (Vertebrate Structure) or Bio 328 (Comparative Vertebrate Physiology).The student will probably benefit from discussing these topics with an informed person, but that person need not be the physician/mentor. As noted above, nurses, residents, fellows or technicians with experience who can take the time to participate will often be entirely suitable tutors. We imagine the student will "shadow" the physician and others of the team to be exposed to as many aspects of practice as practical and appropriate. As an intellectual and academic portion of the experience, we ask that the mentor have the student research and write a paper or make an oral presentation, for example, on the modalities of treatments, the controversies about the best clinical response in some condition about which the mentor has special interest or knowledge. These tasks will require students to spend time on their own, although, clearly, the student will need some guidance in getting into the appropriate literature and ongoing discussion about the issues raised by that literature. At the end of the first semester, the student will prepare and submit to the Biology Department a brief summary of the first semester's experiences, as well as and indication of the topic to be explored (as described just above), countersigned by the mentor.

A goal of the course is to enrich the student's understanding and appreciation of the work of a medical professional while, at the same time, making only practical demands on the time and energy of mentors, and her or his associates. We are open to any modification and would appreciate suggestions from potential mentors and students.

Registration forms are available from Ms. Jessica Ochoa (935-6881) in the Student Affairs Office located in the Plant Growth Building, Room 105. After Biology Department approval, Ms. Ochoa will register you.

Other Experiential Learning

Other clinical experiential learning is meant to include a wide range of experiences in the life sciences outside of the university classroom; eg, designing curricular material for elementary schools, being mentor for a science club, participating in science fair projects, participate in a field or ecological study and report on the findings, assisting at the zoo or in a veterinarian's practice. (In the latter case, activities in addition to "shadowing" are required - as in Bio 265-Medical Preceptorship) The student will spend 5 hrs/week on average over two semesters, although participation may be condensed within one semester when that is consistent with the aims of the activity. A project outline should be presented at the beginning of the first semester and a progress report at the beginning of the second semester. The person the student will be working with (for example, the class room teacher) should sign as mentor in the application. In order to receive credit, the mentor must write a brief note certifying that the student has fulfilled the requirements of the course, both in terms of time spent and effort extended.

Registration forms are available on the door to 105 Plant Growth.

Credit: 1.5 units per semester contingent on the completion of two semesters or 3 units for one semester with permission of department