Medical Physiology Lecture Survey
(5/06)
Results
Survey
Survey results
There were 37 responses and the results from the responders
are summarized below.
The average for the total lecture hours devoted to Medical
Physiology not including neurophysiology was approximately 91 hours. The maximum
was 178 hours and the minimum was 62. There were 2 schools that did not have a
physiology based course but physiology was combined into an integrated
curriculum. The large discrepancy in the number of hours was mainly due to the
hours that were given to PBL style or small group conferences. The largest
number of hours devoted to small group conferences or PBL in physiology in a
traditional curriculum was 45 hours. The hours devoted to either small group
conferences or PBL varied as well. Some of the PBL or small group learning
sessions were not included as part of the physiology course. For those that did
include PBL, small group discussions, or case correlates the average was
approximately 20 hours.
The
breakdown for the specific lecture hours taught for physiology was as follows:
Average
Maximum Minimum
General/Cell 10
25 4
CV/circulatory 21
38 15
Respiratory 12
26 7
GI 9
21 6
Endo/reproduction 15 35
8
Renal and acid/base 15 28
10
Other 10
17 1
There were two schools that taught endocrine/reproduction
as a separate course and three schools that taught a cell biology course
separate from physiology.
In regard to neurophysiology, 16 of 37 schools or approx
43% had a separate neurophysiology course that was taught. For schools with a
separate neurophysiology course the average was 9 hours.
Other topics included in the physiology curriculum covered
were thermoregulation, exercise, high altitude physiology, fluid compartments,
aging, metabolism, nutrition, hemorrhage/shock, and blood clotting.
With
respect to the case based or small group discussions some of the comments are
listed below.
“We have PBL sessions (1.5 hrs/wk) that are separate from Basic
Science Courses”
“Provided in a few laboratory/discussion sessions each semester”
“In addition to 110 lectures (below), our integrative function of the human body
(FHB) course has 22 small groups sessions, 12 histology sessions and 12
conferences @2 hours, plus 5 laboratories for 11 hours which are not accounted
for in this survey (about one half our 213-hour course is non-lecture based).”
“10 (strictly speaking, although another 18 small groups on cases)”
“22 (In additional to lectures we have small and large group case-based
discussions)”
“12 (We have six 2 hr Clinical Applications of Physiology sessions. Some of
these are done as team-based learning sessions, and next year we plan to use
this format for all six.)”
“We don’t utilize a case-based curriculum, but do discuss cases as part of our
physiology course.”
“We do not have a case-based curriculum, however, several of the courses have
Clinical Case sessions, which often include physiology. We are also using the
Team-Based Learning sessions in our biennium I curriculum. Again, most of the
courses have several TL sessions as part of their curriculum. For example, in
the Year 1 course, there are no case sessions. However, there are 4 TL
sessions, and they are a combination of basic physiology and clinical science.”
“We have a total of 8 case-based hours in the course (although we have a
traditional lecture-based curriculum)”
“Faculty spend 26 hours in laboratories and 5 hours in case conferences.”
“We do not have a “case-based curriculum,” but each of the major units of the
course (cardio, pulm, renal/acid-base, GI, and endoctine) has a clinical case
that is a take-home exercise. Groups of 4 students are assigned to work on the
case and then turn it in at the end of the unit. The combined cases count for
15% of the student’s grade.”
Questions regarding physiology course director
The time allotted for the physiology course director varied
greatly depending on the type of curriculum and how the schools reported faculty
effort. There were two way hours were reported, either as a percent effort
(FTE) based on 100% (e.g. 1.0 =100% time, 0.3 =30% of time) of the workload or
the numbers of hours given to the faculty member to direct the course.
For those schools that reported the time as an FTE:
1 school allotted a 1.0 FTE or 100% effort
2 schools allotted 0.5 FTE
3 schools allotted 0.4 FTE
6 schools allotted 0.3 to 0.39 FTE
3 schools allotted 0.2-0.29 FTE
1 school allotted <0.2 FTE
For schools that reported the course directors effort as a
number of hours, the following were given:
1 school over 500 hours
1 school 400-499 hours
2 schools 200-299 hours
At the other institutions FTE efforts were either unknown, or N/A.
Some of the general comments included:
“No FTE are specifically allotted for faculty teaching but 10 FTE are on the
course committee and even more contribute through our team teaching approach.
There is 0.25 FTE for administrative assistance, although I learned today the
school may pull that!”
“The course coordinator is allotted 0.85 FTE for all teaching activities, of
which coordination of the Physiology course involves approximately half that
commitment. Therefore, the FTE for the Physiology course coordination is around
0.45 FTE”
“Not sure what “FTE” means. We are still figuring that out at [X].”
“According to our mission-based budgeting plan—Zero”
“Not formally defined. Reality is about 0.7 FTE for faculty/staff combined”
“We have a curriculum coordinator who is not in physiology, we have 3 units over
the course of the year, 1 coordinated by a physiology faculty.”
Time
allotted per contact hours of classroom interaction.
For schools that listed the number of hours allotted the
teaching of physiology per contact hour of lecture; the breakdown was as
follows:
2 schools gave over 10 hours per contact hour
5 schools gave 7-10 hours
4 schools gave less than 5 hours
Some comments included:
“None allotted specifically”
“Five physiology faculty participate in the Human Physiology course, and on
average, each faculty lectures and conducts small groups for a 2-3 week period
of 6-8 hours/week. On average, then, each faculty is allotted 20% FTE for their
teaching commitment in the Human Physiology course.”
“In our medical school, we have an integrated curriculum. Thus, there is no
medical physiology course, per se. In Year 1, we teach an integrated cell
biology, cell physiology, histology, and introductory systems physiology course
in a single 10-week course called Cells, Tissues, and Organ Systems. Year 2
consists of a series of content courses, such as Renal, Respiratory,
Endocrine/Reproduction, etc. Each of these courses has a physiology component
along with pathology, pharmacology, etc. Also, each of these courses has its
own course director.”
“The total FTE allotment for the Physiology Course is 50%. Out of the 50%, 25%
of the FTE is directly related to coordinating and scheduling of lectures,
providing students with lectures notes via manual and Blackboard (electronic
course management software).”
“N/A The entire course is taught by our 5 tenure-track faculty, each being
responsible for one of the major units.”
“This level of detail is not used at our institution for FTE accounting.”
“No formal allocation, estimate 3-10 hours per lecture hour depending on
teaching experience of lecturer as well as familiarity with the topic.”
Thank you again for all those that participated.
Respectfully submitted,
Christopher M. Reilly, PhD
Associate Professor and Chair for Physiology,
Via College of Osteopathic Medicine and
Research Assistant Professor,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
2265 Kraft Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24060
ph (540) 231-5345
FAX (540) 231-5252
Medical Physiology Lecture
Mini-Survey
School:
1. How many lecture hours do you provide for Physiology
lecture (not including neuro): _________
How many hours are devoted to each of the following areas?
General, Cell, and Muscle _____________
Cardiovascular/circulatory _____________
Respiratory _________
GI __________
Endocrine/reproduction ________________
Renal/acid-base ______________
Neurophysiology _____________
Is this combined with neuroanatomy or are they separate?
________________
Other ________________
(please specify-e.g. sports, immune function,
molecular physiology) __________________
2. If you have a case-based curriculum, how many hours do
you provide
with cases ________
without cases __________
3. How many hours are allotted (or FTE's) for the course
coordinator of Medical Physiology? _________________ (be sure to mark Hour or
FTE)
4. Per contact hour of lecture, how many hours of FTE are
allotted? ________
