Advanced Clinical Diagnosis Fall 2009 Dx 4403 by Michael W. Hall, DC, DABCN
Advanced Clinical Diagnosis Course Syllabus Fall 2009 Dx 4403 - Tri 6 3 lecture hours per week (45 lecture hours per trimester) 3 credit hours (45 total contact hours) Prerequisites: Clinical Neurology, Clinical Orthopedics, Physical Diagnosis Course Description: Advanced Clinical Diagnosis is designed to optimize the skillsets of the young clinician. This course will continue the process of clinical thought and decision making relative to the patient presentation and management. Disorders of both physiology and pathology will be presented. Epidemiological, etiological, and pathogenesis will be presented whenever possible. Chiropractic applications to all dysfunction will be explored as well as current medical management considerations will be discussed. Clinical trends in disorder and dysfunction will be presented. While chiropractic continues to grow with emphasis on healthy lifestyles and regular spinal adjustments, there will be ample discussion on the clinical manifestations of dysfunction and dis-ease in the human body. Adaptive physiology and patterns of decline will be addressed. Active engagement of the student is paramount in the success of this course as the ultimate decision making process in diagnosis and subsequent management will hinge on the students ability to assimilate the course material into a manageable format. Course Mission: As discussed in the Mission Statement of the College, Doctors of Chiropractic serve as primary health care providers. As such, this course must prepare the future doctor of chiropractic to recognize a broad range of health conditions that may present in clinical practice. While the emphasis is on the neuromusculoskeletal conditions most commonly seen, the course also covers less frequently seen conditions that may need to be referred for treatment by another health care provider, concurrent with conservative chiropractic care. This course will integrate information previously presented by Phys Dx, Clin Ortho, and Clin Neuro to form a natural succession in the diagnostic process. Learning Goals and Objectives: Accompanying each lecture will be a slide that contains the learning goals and objectives for that lecture. I would respectfully ask for you to read that slide and when studying for examinations use the objectives to help guide you. If you encounter a problem area, albeit a concept, statement, process, or anything else that doesn t quite make sense to you, then please let me. This way I may have an opportunity to help bring clarity to the matter before too much time passes. At the end of this course you should be able to better understand the clinical manifestations of disorders of physiology versus disorders of pathology; be able to make diagnostic clinical considerations (ie order MRI, lab study, electrodiagnostic procedure) to confirm your suspected diagnosis; be able to better diagnose a clinical condition; and lastly be better prepared to present a clinical management for the condition presented. (IE a patient presents with a weakness in dorsiflexing the right foot. What is the likely diagnoses?)
Required Texts: Netter s Neurology, Royden Jones Clinical Orthopedic Rehabilitation, Brent Brotzman Recommended Texts: Physical Diagnosis for the Chiropractor, Edward Brown Orthopaedic Testing, A Rational Approach to Diagnosis, Janet Gerard & Steven Kleinfield Neuroanatomy through Clinical Cases, Blumenfeld Orthopedic Physical Assessment, David Magee Physical Examination of the Spine and Extremities, Stanley Hoppenfeld Orthopedic Neurology, Stanley Hoppenfeld Illustrated Orthopedic Physical Assessment, Ronald Evans Symptom Analysis and Diagnosis, A Text for Differential Diagnosis, Arnold Cianciulli Quick Reference Clinical Chiropractic Handbook, Nikita Vizniak Attendance, Grading, and Classroom Conduct Policy: See link on course index page for Policies Common to All Parker Courses. Course Specific Changes to Attendance and Grading Policy: Student attendance in lectures and laboratory sessions is a factor in deriving a student s final course grade. Students who miss more than 20% of the total contact hours in any given course will have their final course grade reduced by one whole letter grade. Students who miss more than 50% of the total contact hours in any given course will be dropped from the course with the grade of F. If class was held and you were not in attendance, you will be counted absent, regardless of the reason. As an example: if a course is a three credit hour class = 45 contact hours, the student could miss up to 9 hours of class (lecture and lab) before they are dropped one letter grade. If you have any questions about your attendancein a course you need to address the course director. Lecture attendance may be taken via roll call or via the roll sheets that are passed around at the beginning of class. Your signature must be legible using your full name, no initials. If your longhand signature is not legible, you should print. Your signature must be consistent over time. When a signature appears that is markedly different from previous signatures, it raises the suspicion that someone else signed for you. It should go without saying, but you should never sign in for another student or ask a student to sign you in. Falsification of records puts you in the same category as cheating on an examination it can get you kicked out of school. As stated in Policies Common to All Parker Courses, there are NO makeup lecture exams or lab practicals barring any unforeseen emergencies or extraordinary circumstances the student might encounter. Examples of extraordinary circumstances include a death in the family or a serious injury or illness. In order to be accepted as
valid, you must furnish written proof, i.e. copy of obituary, letter from your doctor, etc. With this documentation, the score earned on your final exam during week 15 will also serve as the grade for your missed exam. This option can be used just once. Any additional missed exams will be scored as zero. Missed Examination Policy If a student has to miss an exam, the course director must be notified PRIOR to the exam unless the student is physically incapable of notifying the course director and then written documentation must be provided to this effect. Notification of the course director should be done by email or a phone call to that faculty member. If a student fails to notify the course director before the exam (or in the case of documented physical incapacitation within a 24-hour period of a missed exam) the exam grade will be calculated as a zero. With documentation of extenuating circumstances for missing a written exam, faculty may either give a written make-up (multiple choice, true/false, essay, etc.) or move the points to the final exam. The make-up exam (which will be a different exam and may or may not be of the same level of difficulty as the exam given to the rest of the class) must be taken within 5 business days of the missed exam unless the student is physically incapable of doing so or unless other arrangements are made by the course director. The exam time will be scheduled at the discretion of the course director. With documentation of extenuating circumstances for missing a lab practical, points may be moved to the final lab practical or student must take a make-up lab practical (which will be a different lab practical and may or may not be of the same level of difficulty as the lab practical given to the rest of the class) within 5 business days unless the student is physically incapable of doing so or unless other arrangements are made by the course director. The time of the make up lab practical will be scheduled at the discretion of the course director. VACATION, LEISURE TRAVEL, SEMINAR ATTENDANCE, OVER SLEEPING, etc. DO NOT CONSTITUTE EXTRA ORDINARY OR EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES FOR MISSING AN EXAM. The course director should be contacted prior to an exam if a student has any questions about the validity of an excuse to miss an exam or lab practical. The determination of extenuating circumstances is under the sole discretion of the individual faculty member. Faculty members have the right to grant or deny any make up exam/lab practical based upon their individual determination of the circumstances surrounding the student s absence. Absences for Religious Holidays Parker College will excuse students from attending classes and other required activities for the observance of religious holidays, including travel for that purpose. A religious holiday means a day of observance by a religion whose places of worship is exempt from property taxation under Section 11.20 of the Texas Tax Code (or would be exempt if the place of worship was located in Texas). A student whose absence is excused under this policy may not be penalized. Those students will be allowed to take examinations or complete any assignments they missed due to observance of the religious holy day (see missed exam policy). With the student s agreement, the course director may move the points from the missed examination or assignment to the final exam in that course or make other arrangements to make up the missed exam or work. A student may be required to show written documentation.
A student who will miss an examination or assignment for the observance of a religious holy day should notify the course directors of all courses affected prior to the absence. If a student and a faculty member disagree about whether an absence is for the observance of a religious holy day or whether the faculty member has allowed the student a reasonable time to complete any missed examinations or assignments (see missed exam policy), the faculty member or the student may request a ruling from the Dean of Academic Affairs. The student and the faculty member will abide by the decision of the Dean of Academic Affairs. Student Bereavement Policy In the unfortunate event that you experience a death in your family, please rest assured that Parker College will help you during this time of your loss. When you are ready, the Dean of Academic Affairs will review the accommodations available to you to help you resume your studies. Action Steps: If you experience a death in your family, please notify the Dean of Academic Affair s office as soon as possible. You may send the notice by telephone or email. You may send the notice personally or have it sent by a roommate, friend, or family member. The Dean will contact your instructors and ask them to assist you when you resume your studies. When you return to campus, please schedule a meeting with the Dean of Academic Affairs to discuss support resources available to you through the Office of Student Affairs and to discuss strategies for catching up with missed academic work and for completing the trimester successfully. Assistance and Accommodation: The options for assistance or accommodation include the following: Excused Absences. Counseling with the counselors in Student Affairs or referral to another counselor. Alternate arrangements for completing coursework, subject to the Missed Exam Policy. Withdrawal from some courses to reduce your course load. Incomplete grades in one or more courses. Withdrawing from the College and taking a leave of absence. The Dean of Academic Affairs will hear your situation and then help you decide what actions are in your best interest and will facilitate the communications between you and your instructors. Excused Absences: We understand that in the immediate aftermath of the loss of a loved one, your classes and labs may be the farthest thing from your mind. We encourage students to take the following excused absences from their classes and labs: 5 school days if bereavement is for the death of the student s spouse or child (including step-children, foster children, adopted children and in-laws). 3 school days if it is the death of a student s immediate family, other than a spouse or child. The immediate family includes parents (including step-parents, foster parents and in-laws), legal guardians, brothers and sisters (including step-siblings and in-laws), grandparents, grandchildren, aunts and uncles.
2 additional school days if the family member lived more than 200 miles from Dallas or the funeral will be held more than 200 miles from Dallas. 1 school day to attend the funeral of a niece, nephew or cousin. The Dean of Academic Affairs will forward requests for bereavement leave to the student s course directors. The Dean may request a funeral or obituary notice. Communication When we need to transmit important information to the class or an individual student, we will contact you via your Parker email address, class announcement, or class president. As a Parker student you are responsible to periodically check your email. If you do not know your Parker email address, or how to log on to collect your email messages, contact Information Services at ext. 7450. If you experience an adverse outcome from missing important information, I don t check my email will not be considered a valid excuse. You should also keep in contact with the class president for important announcements or messages. Evaluation: The overall course grade is the average of the scores from four examinations: 25% Lecture Exam One 25% Lecture Exam Two 25% Lecture Exam Three 25% Lecture Final Exam All examinations are cumulative in scope and content. On occasion, extra point opportunities may present by manner of short answer, pop quiz, or special assignment. The points awarded from these will be added to the lowest test score at the end of the trimester. As a reward for outstanding academic performance and attendance, if at the end of week 13 the student has: o A score of 90% or better on each of the three first three exams, and o 90% cumulative attendance - he/she may exempt from taking the final exam and will receive an A for the course. Since this course has 45 contact hours per trimester, the student can only miss 4 hours class time. If you miss 5 or more hours, regardless of the reason, you are not eligible for this option. Note: An average score of 89.5% will not be rounded up for purposes of this exemption of taking the final. Dr. Hall s Office Hours: Tuesday 11:00 12:50pm Thursday 11:00 12:50pm You may reach Dr. Hall at extension 7306 or via email at mhall@parkercc.edu