Medical Microbiology
MS-1

February 11, 2010 - March 11, 2010
25 half days

Course Director
Bruce McClane, PhD
Professor
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
bamcc@pitt.edu

Course Director
Peter Veldkamp, MD
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine
veldkampP@dom.pitt.edu

Course Description

This course introduces basic concepts of infectious disease.

The goals of the course are are for students to gain a basic knowledge and understanding of:

1. microbial diagnosis (the basis, sensitivity, and limitations of clinical diagnostic tests).
2. etiology (infectious agents responsible, differential diagnoses – infectious or not).
3. epidemiology (transmission, susceptibility, patterns).
4. pathogenesis (how the organisms cause disease).
5. symptoms (symptoms that help in diagnosis, how these symptoms relate to disease).
6. prevention (vaccines, hand washing, etc.).
7. treatment (drug or other treatment options).
8. complications (spectrum of disease, other complications of infection).

The 31 faculty are from 7 departments: Medicine (Division of Infectious Diseases), Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Ophthalmology, Pathology, Pediatrics and Pharmacology.

Educational Methods

	Lecture		Virtual laboratories on the course website
	Laboratory		Small-group problem-based learning cases

Evaluation

Evaluation for this course is based on attendance and participation in laboratories and problem-based learning sessions and on a final multiple-choice examination.

Grading: This course comprises 52% of the grade for the Fundamentals of Basic Science Block, Section 3. The block section is graded Honors, Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory.

Faculty Note

Bruce McClane, PhD, and Peter Veldkamp, MD, received the Excellence in Education Teaching Award for Course Director in 2008. In addition, Dr. McClane is the recipient of the Kenneth E. Schuit Award, recognizing the Dean’s Master Educators.