Contributed Papers: Session Rapporteur: J. C. Davis, Jr., University of South Florida Chemistry faculty have long had responsibilities for instructing students in health-related curricula. In recent years an even greater number of programs in nursing, clinical and medical technology, and other health-related fields have blossomed on all campuses. As reported by one of the participants, 250,000 students were training for allied health professions in the United States during 1972. Of these 213,000 were in nursing. In addition, societal concerns revolving around drugs, aging, pollution, food resources, and other current problems have resulted in heightened student interest in biology-oriented aspects of chemistry. Hence many courses designed for students majoring in areas outside of the sciences now center on this chemistry-biology interface. Allen M. Schoffstall (University of Colorado, Colorado Sprrngs) described a course that is organized around the theme of chemical evolution. Available for students who have taken general and organic chemistry, Dr. Schoffstall's course centers on the intriguing developments in our recent understanding of the origin of the universe and the solar system such as nuclear synthesis and the origins of the elements, plasma chemistry and the synthesis of amino acids, nucleic acids, and other biological components from the prebiotic atmosphere. Dr. Schoffstall outlined the interdisciplinary interests and research activities that bear on this knowledge and the opportunity to discuss the fascinating experiments and theories that have been proposed to organize our speculations in this area. He emphasized both the attraction of these topics for many students as well as their utility for illustrating basic principles learned in earlier courses. Student enthusiasm for topics in astrochemical and biochemical evolution was echoed by Donald L. Maealady (Northern Michigan University) who described a course taught for pre-nursing, various health-related, and other students outside professional science majors a t his university. The first term of a two-semester sequence outlines concepts revolving around the nature of life, stellar evolution, the elements and periodicity, and prebiotic chemical synthesis. The second term, which is taken primarily by the pre-nursing students, emphasizes a more traditional biological chemistry theme. Successful courses specifically designed for students in allied health curricula were descrihed by Martha Gilleland (California State College, Bakersfield) and by Conrad Stanitsky and Curtis Sears (Georgia State Uniuersity). Both programs evidenced obvious concern for both the background and needs of these students and both involved considerable ingenuity in the design of meaningful laboratory experiences. The program a t Cal State involves several alternate routes through introductory and organic chemistry into the hiochemistry course. Many students in nursing take only one quarter of general chemistry and one quarter of introductory organic chemistry before entering hiochemistry in contrast with chemistry majors who may have had 5-6 quarters of general and organic chemistry as preparation. Clearly, a traditional academic biochemistry course will not suffice, and Cal State faculty have designed a course that has an especially heavy emphasis on learning in the laboratory. Five hours in the laboratory each week serve as the basis for questions and discu3sion in the two hours of classroom time. The laboratory work is oriented toward small group participation in projects that involve planning, literature search, and experimental work. Learning modules are available for selfstudy and help students who have missed out on some areas in their preparation for the course. Dr. Gilleland re-
ported an understandable enthusiasm for all concerned with their program. The course a t Georgia State described by Dr. Stanitsky represents an encouraging break from the traditional inorganic-organic-biochemistry course that has proven to be inadequate for most students in allied health curricula. At Georgia State a completely new two-semester course has been designed that emphasizes bonding and structure, functional groups, electron-transfer, solutions, reaction dynamics, catalysis, equilibrium, acids and bases, alcohols and their derivatives, acid-base derivatives, metabolism of lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates, hormones, and body fluids. Examples are drawn from systems that will he meaningful to the students rather than from traditional industrial and academic sources. An important part of the course is the laboratory, in which students work almost exclusively with body fluids. Dr. Stanitsky reported that not only has student response been gratifying but the background provided by this course already has effected curricular changes in the nursing programs it serves. Rene Orner (Fairleigh Dickinson Uniuersity) emphasized the need for educating teachers who have or will have responsibilities for students in allied health fields. Many chemistry faculty have not had experience in applied medical areas and have little idea of the needs of these students, let alone the facts and techniques they should learn. Dr. Orner described the appropriateness of short institutes and on-site workshops to better orient teachers in this direction. She also reported enthusiastically on a recent project involving the preparation of teaching modules that explore key concepts in chemistry for allied health courses. Further information should become available as this project proceeds toward completed materials. The last paper of this session descrihed the intriguing "What People Eat" project developed a t Harvard University School of Public Health and MIT. Already heing tried a t several schools, this approach uses as its central theme the analysis of typical foods each student eats. Students learn simple experimental techniques, gain specific information from their measurements, and develop an awareness of basic scientific concepts and the relation of simple chemical models to important health areas such as nutrition, food, safety, and related interests. Dr. Isaias Raw (Haruard University) outlined the nature of the laboratory program as well as the current revision of the text which is designed to guide students by means of questions and explorations rather than by traditional textbook facts. The What People Eat program is not designed for students majoring in specific disciplines. Rather, it is intended for any student who desires some further understanding of science and was specifically designed to heighten interest in health-related areas. This approach holds promise for many exciting developments in science education. Two years ago a t Mt. Holyoke several participants highlighted the unsuitability of courses and the inadequate resources available for teaching courses for students in health-related fields. It amears that considerable interest is heing focused on these blohlems as well as on the use of similar topics in courses for other kinds of students. Hopefully, the success of these programs and the enthusiasm of the faculty that have been involved in their development bode well for an increased effectiveness of chemistry instruction as well as a much improved interest and awareness by students of chemistry's contributions and challenges. Volume 52, Number 1, January 1975
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