Program Overview:
The Biomedical Sciences Program is based on the National Standards for Science, Mathematics, and English Language Arts, and the Accountability Criteria for National Health Care Cluster Foundation Standards. The program consists of a sequence of four courses: Principles of the Biomedical Sciences, Human Body Systems, Medical Interventions, and Biomedical Innovation.
The goal of the program is to increase the number of students pursuing careers in the biomedical sciences, including healthcare. Students who complete the program are prepared for employment and further education at two- and four- year college levels. Stevenson University, the Maryland PLTW Biomedical Sciences Affiliate University, will offer four (4) transcripted credits for its first semester majors biology course (BIO 113). The credit will be offered for those students who complete the entire PLTW biomed sequence of courses and score at least 80% on each end-of-course assessment.
At the conclusion of the program students will be able to:
- Discuss the education requirements and job responsibilities of multiple careers in the Biomedical Sciences including biotechnology, bioengineering, and healthcare.
- Conduct research using valid sources from the Internet or Library.
- Design and conduct well-controlled scientific experiments.
- Analyze and effectively present data from experiments.
- Write lab reports, research summaries, and modify grant proposals.
- Present information effectively in writing, orally, and using multimedia.
- Work as a member of a team.
- Explain how the human body is a system, consisting of the interconnections of multiple smaller systems including cardiovascular, muscular-skeletal, nervous, digestive, endocrine, immune, and reproductive.
- Explain how DNA codes for proteins and how proteins are produced.
- Build models of multiple types of biological macromolecules, including carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, and explain their functions in the body.
- Analyze the relationship between food and energy.
- Discuss how feedback mechanisms and multiple communication methods are used by the cells of the human body.
- Explain why different treatment options or medical interventions are necessary for different types of diseases or medical conditions.
- Describe a variety of medical interventions that prolong life including procedures for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases or medical conditions.
- Discuss how societal attitudes affect the development and use of medical interventions.
Courses
Biomedical Innovations
Prerequisite: Medical Interventions
In this capstone course students design and conduct experiments related to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease or illness. They apply their knowledge and skills to answer questions or to solve problems related to the biomedical sciences. They may work with a mentor or advisor from a university, hospital, physician’s office, or industry as they complete their work. Students are expected to present the results of their work to an adult audience, which may include representatives from the local healthcare or business community.
Human Body Systems
Prerequisite: Principles of the Biomedical Science
Students engage in the study of the processes, structures, and interactions of the human body systems. Important concepts in the course include: communication, transport of substances, locomotion, metabolic processes, defense, and protection. Students design experiments, investigate the structures and functions of body systems, and use data acquisition software to monitor body functions such as muscle movement, reflex and voluntary actions, and respiratory operation.
Medical Interventions
Prerequisite: Human Body Systems
Students investigate the variety of interventions involved in the prevention diagnosis and treatment of disease. The course is a “How-To” manual for maintaining overall health and homeostasis in the body as students explore how to prevent and fight infection, how to screen and evaluate the code in human DNA, how to prevail when the organs of the body begin to fail. Students are exposed to the wide range of interventions related to immunology, surgery, genetics, pharmacology, medical devices and diagnostics. Lifestyle choices and preventive measures are emphasized throughout the course as well the important roles scientific thinking and engineering design play in the development of interventions of the future.
Principles of Biomedical Sciences
Prerequisite: Acceptance into the program
Student work involves the study of human medicine, research processes and an introduction to bioinformatics. Students investigate the human body systems and various health conditions including heart disease, diabetes, sickle-cell disease, hypercholesterolemia, and infectious diseases. The course is designed to provide an overview of all the courses in the Biomedical Sciences program and to lay the scientific foundation necessary for student success in the subsequent courses.