General Education

The first of a two-course sequence, this course provides a lecture and laboratory study of the structure and function of human cells, tissues, and organs and body systems as they relate to human health and biology. The course stresses homeostatic control systems and coordinated body functions with an emphasis on the integumentary, skeletal, muscular, nervous, and endocrine systems.

The second of a two-course sequence, this course provides a lecture and laboratory study of the structure and function of human cells, tissues, organs, and body systems as they relate to human health and biology. The course stresses homeostatic control systems and coordinated body functions with an emphasis on the cardiovascular, lymphatic, immune, respiratory, digestive, urinary, and reproductive systems.

This course covers principles of microbiology with emphasis on microorganisms and human disease. Topics include an overview of microbiology, biotechnology, and immunology, with emphasis on identification and characterization, disease transmission and clinical pathogenicity of microorganisms organized by organ system. Upon completion, students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of microorganisms and the disease process as well as aseptic and sterile techniques.

Healthcare spending has been rising immensely for decades, now accounting for a significant portion of the US economy and federal budget. Health economics is an increasing field and is a significant part of public policy in all countries throughout the world. The choice on how to pay and provide healthcare has direct effects on the wellbeing of consumers and producers of healthcare nationwide, while also playing a key role in national economic performance. In this course the students will cover a number of topics including basic economic concepts essential to healthcare, aspects of healthcare in the US, as well as healthcare reform. The students will apply economic principles to a range of important healthcare policy questions.

This course expands the student’s knowledge of the organization and function of healthcare systems and their interrelationships. Concepts of planning, organizing, team building, staffing, and controlling will be discussed as they relate to the mission, values, and strategic initiatives of the system/organization. Quality improvement and the utilization of resources to deliver optimum healthcare at a reasonable cost will be addressed.

This course provides the opportunity for the learner to develop the knowledge and the skills process in the understanding of general chemistry. Topics covered are: metric system, problem-solving, periodic relationships, chemical reactions, equilibrium, properties of water, acids, bases, salts and gas laws as well as an introduction to organic chemistry. Students focus on skill development, communication and problem solving.  Critical thinking skills are developed as students learn to collect and analyze data and work out the correct solutions.

This course is an introduction to one of the fastest growing areas of the communication discipline: health communication. The course surveys current issues, theory, and research surrounding health communication, and focuses on a variety of issues, such as perceptions of health, provider–patient relationships, health organizations, health campaigns, intercultural issues, and the use of new communication technologies in healthcare. Students gain practical experience with communication in healthcare in a variety of simulated contexts.

This course shows students the importance of customer service in various healthcare settings while also understanding the rules and regulations that apply in those settings pertaining to issues like Electronic Health Records, HIPAA, and others. Students reflect on how respecting patient confidentiality, practicing professionalism, and acting ethically are linked to excellent customer service by both practicing customer service communication in hypothetical scenarios and thinking through the theories that guide communication in those contexts.

This course uses a multi-disciplinary approach to introduce the student to the historical, sociological, anthropological, and cultural resources for understanding the issues of diversity in healthcare in the America experience. It introduces the student to the ongoing issues of diversity which continue to be part of the practice of healthcare today.

World Religions provides a survey of the major religions of the world. Students gain an introduction to the history, beliefs, practices, and sacred texts of primal religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism, and others. Key historical and contemporary religious leaders are discussed in detail.

This course brings to light the often-untold stories of refugees and immigrants seeking to make a home in America by focusing on the modern immigrant and refugee experience of various different groups, all relevant to either or both Northeast Wisconsin and America in general. Students explore how and why these populations of immigrants and refugees come to America and the immense challenges they face in a new country with a special eye towards implications in the context of healthcare.

This course provides students with college-level writing skills and principles of description, narration, comparison analysis, research, persuasion, and APA formatting. The course also includes elements of professional and technical writing.

This course explores the impact of intersectionality and gender in the healthcare experiences of both caregiver and patient, specifically focusing on issues of gender, gender identity, race, and socio-economic status. By bringing together personal accounts of caregivers and patients (in memoirs, books, and film) with scientific research and institutional norms, this course helps students more fully understand how different people experience and navigate the healthcare system.

This course brings together the personal, human, and intimate experiences of health and illness as told through personal accounts, fiction, memoirs, essays, poetry, and film with theoretical, scientific, and institutional understandings to create more holistic knowledge of patients’ health, illness and, most importantly, identity.

This course introduces students to the language of medical terminology and the importance of proper medical term usage. Focus is placed on accurate spelling and pronunciation of terms; building knowledge of basic medical vocabulary with an emphasis on prefixes, suffixes, roots; combining word forms; and developing a comprehension of medical terminology related to each system of the body.

This course is designed to give students an accurate understanding of the psychological changes that individual’s experience as they grow across the adult life span: young adult, middle adulthood, and older adults. Students will examine the life span from an inter-professional perspective, stressing the interaction of physiological, psychological, cultural, and social aspects of human development while examining the dynamic forces that underlie and produce changes. The course will emphasize the need for identifying the ever-changing relationships between the individual and society that help to shape the experience of aging and emphasizing the topical areas in which psychological change occurs.

This course focuses on the history of healthcare in the United States, from bloodletting to the baccalaureate degrees, house calls to health maintenance organizations, exams to x-rays, and many topics in between. Students will explore the effects of major social and political milestones on the evolution of healthcare. Pharmacological advances, education, disease eradication, technology, the impact of war, and care delivery will be addressed.

Examining the Progressive Era through the Cold War, this course considers the circumstances around some of the major public health and healthcare events of the 20th century in the United States by framing them through the history that made them possible. Particularly, the course examines how the social history of 20th Century America was often tied to the health of the nation’s citizens through public health initiatives, personal choices, and government responses. Covered healthcare topics include, but are not limited to, vaccinations, food and drug reform, healthcare access, and women’s health.

This course focuses on several diseases that have been the scourge of mankind throughout history. It will examine the details of major diseases from the Black Death to Ebola. Students will look at the major characteristics of specific diseases and the social, political, and economic impact on human populations in the United States and throughout the world. Students will also study the battle to prevent, conquer, or cure these diseases, and identify the primary personalities who fought these battles.

The course is a study of basic algebraic techniques, including the study of the properties of elementary functions, such as polynomial, absolute value, radical, rational, exponential, and logarithmic functions. Topics include equations, inequalities, functions, and their graphs. Students interpret, analyze, solve, and formulate mathematical and real-world problems.

This course introduces students to descriptive statistics, both graphical and numerical, elementary probability, general and sampling distributions, and the fundamentals of statistical inference, including hypothesis testing, correlation, and T-testing. Statistical concept in healthcare highlighted included the difference between correlation and causation, mortality and morbidity, and efficacy and effectiveness.

The medical field is comprised of an almost inexhaustible array of ethical issues. In this class, we will lay the groundwork of ethical theory and then quickly analyze ethical issues in clinical practice and social justice issues in the medical field. We will then turn to particular ethical issues, such as organ transplantation, stem cell research, euthanasia, abortion, and genetic enhancement.

This course focuses on important issues currently facing the medical community and society at large. Topics may include cultural approaches to healthcare, disability and aging, the history of nursing homes and assisted living facilities, end of life decisions, the use of technology and electronic health records, social and political approaches to healthcare and the cost of healthcare, ethics surrounding pregnancy, vaccine ethics, medical errors, and overtreatment, among others.

With the onset of climate change and issues of resource depletion, experts have warned that we are in the midst of an environmental crisis. This course will analyze the environmental crisis from both a conceptual and an ethical point of view. The students will look at the empirical elements of the current crisis, the conceptual roots of the crisis and the ways to change our understanding of the human relation to the environment by examining different ways in which to expand the realm of moral consideration to include animals, plantstand even the land as such. The students will then look at particular ethical issues that are related to the environment, which may include population and consumption, anthropogenic climate change, environmental justice and issues related to environmental health ethics, including food ethics, pollution and wasteland health effects related to climate change.

Students gain an introduction to the study of human behavior and cognitive processes. Topics include biological foundations of psychological processes, lifespan development, learning theory, personality theory, perception, memory, states of consciousness, stress and emotions and social psychology, among others.

This course discusses the intricacies of social behavior and perception. How does social stigma and deviance factor into an individual’s mental health and wellbeing? Parallels will be drawn between social treatment and interactions with stereotyped individuals and their long-term mental health levels. As much as psychological stability is based on the nuances of brain activity and capacity, there is a strong correlation between the treatment of those with prosocial behavior versus seemingly antisocial behavior and their mental stability. Students will strive to make and understand those connections in this class.

Developmental Psychology studies human growth and development across the entire lifespan. Students learn the characteristics of development from conception to death and the various influences on the development of human beings. Topics include the biological, physical, cognitive, and socioemotional aspects of human development.

This course provides an introduction to basic concepts and theoretical perspectives of sociology, which can be defined as the study of social and group behavior. This course provides a survey of major sociological thinkers and key topics, including the social context, the sociological perspective, and the ways in which social interactions, social institutions, social structures, and social changes affect ourselves and our world.

This course provides both future and current health professionals an introduction to the Spanish language and the cultures of Spanish-speaking persons. Students will gain familiarity with basic written and oral vocabulary to prepare them for interactions with Spanish-speaking patients in a variety of settings. No previous experience with the Spanish language is required.

This course is designed to help students learn and improve skills and strategies that are essential to academic success. Topics include professionalism, time management, study skills, note-taking, test-taking strategies, stress management, reading strategies, and paper writing, among others.

In this course, students practice foundational yoga poses to improve strength, flexibility, and balance in the body. Emphasis is placed on bringing awareness and mindfulness to the body through practicing a series of poses and breathing techniques to promote a mind body connection.

Fitness and Nutrition for You will explore both emerging and established topics pertaining to fitness and nutrition. This course covers fitness and nutrition principles as applied to one’s own food and exercise choices to build a foundation of health for one’s future.