Primary Care Paramedic Program

PARA-1100 Clinical Sciences

Pathophysiology Interview Assignment

Purpose:
The purpose of this assignment is to write a 2000-word paper on the experience of a friend or
relative’s disorder, disease, or injury, and the pathophysiology affected by it. The assignment must be
submitted as one PDF document and follow APA Style and format.

To keep the tone of your paper academic, name your interviewee and refer to them in the third
person throughout your paper. For example, if you are interviewing your Aunt Jane, do not refer to
her as “my aunt,” refer to her as Jane.

Instructions:

1. Choose a friend or relative who has, or has had, a disorder, disease, or injury. For example: a
grandparent who has had a heart attack, a sibling with asthma, or a friend with a dislocated
shoulder.
2. Obtain that person’s permission to interview them and make an appointment to conduct the
interview. Record the interview for reference purposes, if possible. Consider transcribing the
interview for easy access to information required for the assignment. If you do not record the
interview, take careful and extensive notes. You do not need to include a transcription of the
interview as part of the research paper.
3. Research the disorder, disease, or injury in your Nancy Caroline’s Emergency Care in the Streets
textbook. Make use of other textbooks, JIBC library online articles (www.jibc.ca/library) and
resources found at http://libguides.jibc.ca/paramedic Top Resource Section; and other web-based
resources until you understand how the body is affected by the disorder or injury. Focus on how
homeostasis is impacted and the body’s response to return to a condition of homeostasis.
4. Write a 2000-word research paper introducing your interviewee and explaining their disorder,
disease, or injury as outlined in the objectives below. Be sure to follow APA Format.

Objectives:
Your assignment has 3 major objectives:
1. Introduce your interviewee and their disorder, disease, or injury
• Describe their age, ethnicity, approximate weight, and diagnosed illness or injury
• Discuss events prior to diagnosis including the mechanisms of injury and their history of
the illness
• Discuss the clinical presentation of the injury or illness, including symptoms, pain
descriptors (LOTAARP or OPQRST) and relevant physical signs
• Discuss what methods and testing procedures determined a definitive diagnosis and
what the results of those test procedures were

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• Discuss what is/was the prognosis and the forecasted clinical course of treatment with
this injury or illness

2. Discuss the pathophysiology of the disorder, disease, or injury and its effects on homeostasis
• Provide an overview of the normal anatomy and physiology that relates to the area of
injury or illness
• Discuss what pathological changes to cells, tissues, organs, and/or organ systems
occurred due to this injury or illness
• Explain how homeostasis to other organs and body systems is upset as a result of the
injury or illness

3. Define the injury or illness and describe its treatment

• Describe the clinical and diagnostic key features that define the injury or illness
• Provide an overview of three differential diagnoses that are similar and describe how
these three differentials are ruled out
• Describe what treatment your interviewee received, including the modalities,
procedures, and medicinal approaches
• Describe the medications used to treat this illness or injury, including the mechanism of
action from a pharmacodynamic perspective
• Discuss any setbacks and/or consequences your interviewee experienced during
treatment and recovery

Assignment Details:
Assignment should be approximately 2000 words, (not including the title page and the references page).
Assignments under the word count are usually insufficient in depth. Assignments over the word count
(5% variance allowed) may be subject to penalty.

The reference list must include a minimum of 5 references, including Nancy Caroline’s Emergency Care
in the Streets and a minimum of 1 reference resourced through the JIBC library resources.

You will be expected to provide adequate information to fulfill each objective to obtain full points.

Learning Outcomes:
The assignment offers you the opportunity to examine a patient who has had a disorder, disease, or
injury. You will:
• Enhance comprehension of human anatomy and physiology at cellular, tissue, organ, and
organ system levels
• Develop research, critical thinking, and patient-interview skills

APA Format and References:

This assignment must follow APA Style Format:
• include a title page with the following information:
o title (in bold), name, institute, course, instructor’s name, due date, and word count

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• page numbers (top right corner)

• double-spaced and in one of the following acceptable fonts:
o 10-point Lucida, 11-point Arial, 11-point Calibri, 11-point Georgia, or 12 point Times New
Roman
• Appropriate use of headings to identify the various sections
• In-text citations and a complete reference list

The JIBC Library and the JIBC Writing Centre can assist with any questions you have on APA Style and
format.

Plagiarism:
In-text and Reference citations are required to provide credit to the sources used in the paper. Papers
without citations may be marked as plagiarized. For information on Academic Integrity, including
examples of plagiarism and a list of consequences, please visit https://www.jibc.ca/policy/student-
academic-integrity

Submission:
Upload the assignment as one PDF file to Blackboard when complete.

Assignment Support:
For assistance with interview questions, please see the Interview Questions Guide on Blackboard.

For assistance with research, APA in-text citations and reference lists, please email library@jibc.ca or
visit the JIBC Library online at www.jibc.ca/library

For writing support, including assignment feedback, please contact the JIBC Writing Centre at
writingcentre@jibca.ca or visit the Writing Centre online at https://www.jibc.ca/writingcentre

The following guides are available either on Blackboard or through the JIBC Library for additional
support:

APA 7th Ed. Student Sample Paper: https://libguides.jibc.ca/ld.php?content_id=35979350

APA 7th Ed. Citations Guide: https://libguides.jibc.ca/apa

Resources:
Please note that Wikipedia is not considered a valid reference.

• Nancy Caroline’s Emergency Care in the Streets, 2016, 7th Canadian Edition
• Other textbooks
• JIBC Library resources found at http://libguides.jibc.ca/paramedic Top Resources section
• JIBC Library online articles found in SearchMe!
• web-based resources

Grading:
This assignment is worth 30% of your overall grade in PARA-1100.

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Please refer to the rubric located in the “Course Overview” menu link for clarification regarding marking
and grading criteria.

• Assignments will be marked out of 100%, passing mark is 75%.

• Due Date: check your weekly schedule for due date.

Late Submissions:
Any assignment not submitted prior to the due date will be penalized by minus 5% per calendar day.
Assignments 5+ days late will receive a final mark of ‘0’.

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Assignment Checklist:

Use this checklist to ensure that your assignment has met all requirements as described in this outline.

2000 words (+/-5%)

Objective 1: introduced your interviewee and their disorder, disease, or injury
Age, ethnicity, approximate weight, and diagnosed illness or injury
Events prior to diagnosis, (mechanics of injury or history of illness)
Clinical presentation of injury or illness
Methods and testing procedures, test results, and the definitive diagnosis
Prognosis and the forecasted clinical course of treatment
Objective 2: discussed the pathophysiology of the disorder, disease, or injury and its effects on
homeostasis
Overview of normal anatomy and physiology related to area of illness or injury
Pathological changes to cells, tissues, organs, and/or organ systems due to injury or
illness
Homeostasis changes as a result of injury or illness
Objective 3: defined the injury or illness and described its treatment
Clinical and diagnostic key features that define the injury or illness
Overview of three differential diagnoses that are similar and how they are ruled out
Treatment interviewee received, including modalities, procedures, and medicines
Medications used to treat illness or injury, including mechanism of action from a
pharmacodynamic perspective
Setbacks and/or consequences of your interviewee’s experience during treatment
Follows APA format (title page, page numbers, acceptable font, double-spaced, in-text and
reference page citations)
Includes a minimum of 5 references, including Nancy Caroline’s Emergency Care in the Streets
and a minimum of 1 reference resourced through the JIBC library resources.
Exported to a PDF file to be submitted on Blackboard

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PARA-1100 Pathophysiology Interview Assignment November 2021