U N I V E R S I T Y  O F  P I T T S B U R G H

Volume X, Number 1

Human Physiology Modules for
Training Health Professionals

Linda Winkler Photo by Joseph Croskey, UP-Titusville

Linda Winkler, Biological Sciences and Anatomy, University of Pittsburgh at Titusville, proposes to develop laboratory training instruction that better prepares undergraduate heath science students for clinical practice because she believes that often “academic training is disengaged from clinical experience.” Her project, Developing Human Physiology Modules for Training Health Professionals, entails the development of two new modules (Cardiology and Muscle Reflex-Muscle Physiology) for the Anatomy and Physiology and Human Body System course laboratories. These modules will utilize computer simulations, models and various other equipment to engage students in learning about cardiac function, muscle physiology, and nervous system reflexes. Other biology faculty, Margaret Peaslee and Ciciel Mikhail, and an undergraduate laboratory assistant, Aliesa Gionti, will assist Winkler. After developing the modules, Winkler, Peaslee, Mikhail, and Gionti plan to incorporate them into their anatomy and physiology laboratory schedules. Additionally, they anticipate modifying the units in order to include them in the summer science camps offered annually at the Titusville Campus to middle and high school students.

An interesting, hands-on component of the project allows the 120 students involved to administer electrocardiograms (ECGs) to themselves and also to monitor their own reflexes and cardiac functions. Graphing their personal results, they can then compare them with those of other students. This personal graphing and subsequent comparison will enable them to recognize normal variations of these physiological barometers. Naturally, they will then learn how to interpret these measures of function, thereby delineating between normal and abnormal results.

Winkler recognizes the need for her project, pointing out that many of these undergraduate health care students will be entering careers in the heath care sciences, physical therapy, and other rehabilitative sciences where cardiac, nervous and muscle system function are key considerations. She feels that these modules will provide clinic-like, hands-on experience, introducing students to some of the technology they will encounter in their clinical careers and enhancing their basic science education with clinical application.

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