HPA 310Health Care and Medical Needs

3 credits · Health Policy and Administration · Penn State

HPA 310 introduces students to the use of medical terminology in the context of the structure of the human body, functions of its systems, and disease. Disease processes include development, progression, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. We will also highlight technological developments in the health care field that are used to assist in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases. In the process of learning the language of the medical profession and health care industry, students are expected to develop an appreciation for the complex interactions between individual, social, environmental and community factors in the development, growth, and progression of disease processes. Students are also expected to develop skills in accessing and disseminating reliable and relevant information concerning the disease process. On completion of this course students will have a more in depth understanding of 1. The language and terminology of medicine and the health care field; 2. Technologic developments in clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic areas; 3. Anatomy and physiology of organ systems, and how they relate to disease states; 4. Major chronic illnesses prevalent in the U.S.