Pathophysiology

Catalog description

This course validates prior knowledge of healthcare science. It explores the study of structural and functional changes in cells, tissues, and organs of the body. The wide variety of pathologic causes of these changes are examined including genetic, environmental, trauma, and pathogenic organisms. This course also focuses on the mechanisms of the underlying disease process and provides for the application of the clinical reasoning process to assist with differentiation in diagnosis. This promotes not only critical thinking skills but also competency in clinical judgment. Intellectual curiosity is stimulated as students integrate a set of complex pathological changes into a disease process. This integration of healthcare knowledge advances clinical reasoning skills. Students will show competency through an analysis of pathological changes, development of a set of differential diagnoses, and determination of the specific disease process.