Health Systems and COVID-19 Pandemic Response II Elective 1-4 Credits/Maximum of 4

Catalog description

This variable-credit elective (range 1-4 credits based upon time) provides the foundation for learning Health Systems Science (HSS) and other related Clinical/Basic Sciences and Health Humanities in the context of the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic, specifically beginning December 2020. This course will provide the opportunity for experiential learning opportunities by engaging medical and physician assistant students in various tasks to help address the health system and region's response to the emergence and spread of COVID-19. Students will be able to apply what they have learned about HSS concepts, in addition to other clinical and humanities courses, in their years of medical school training to real-world examples, as well as experience a deeper understanding of these principles as they observe and analyze the system's response to the pandemic. Each student will choose an experience from several identified projects or task forces that will be pre-approved by Penn State Health, Penn State College of Medicine, and the Penn State Health Legal Department. The development and oversight of the experiences will be co-facilitated by the course co directors, in collaboration with medical students who volunteer to be contributors in a co-design task force. All of the experiences will be value-added to the health system, extending the work of the care and support teams. All experiences will follow the current policies as adopted by PSCOM and the Dean in regards to being performed remotely or in person. Students will not have face-to-face interactions with patients with COVID-19 or persons under investigation for COVID-19. All of the experiences will have faculty oversight and guidance. Students may engage in multiple projects as there is an anticipated dynamic nature to the roles students will contribute during the pandemic. To obtain credit, students will be required to actively participate in the experience, log their activities, and complete designated assignments applicable to each experience as outlined by the course directors. These assignments may include required readings, teaching other medical students, and development of an end-of-course written project.