Clinical Microbiology Syllabus for 2019-2020
Return to Syllabus List

Instructor Information

Course Information

COVID-19 Protocols

Recording Policy

Disability Statement

If you have a disability (learning, mental, physical) that affects your ability to participate effectively and have access to any program or service at Amarillo College please contact Disability Services at (806) 345-5639 . Our offices are located in the Student Service Center office 112. More information may be found at www.actx.edu/disability.
Disability Services facilitates access to all programs and services according to the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, as well as other federal and state laws.

Amarillo College Web Accessibility Policy Statement

Amarillo College is committed to providing equal access to all programs and services, including all working, learning, and service environments that affect equal access for persons with disabilities. This commitment to provide equal access and opportunity for persons with disabilities is in compliance with federal and state law. Amarillo College also strives to provide Electronic and Information Resources (EIR) that are accessible to all authorized users.

If you find you are unable to access material in an accessible format please contact the Disability Services Office at (806) 345-5639 . This office will work in conjunction with other campus resources to address and accommodate your issue in a timely manner.

Statement for Mental Health and Advocacy & Resource Center:

As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce a student's ability to participate in daily activities. Amarillo College offers services to assist you with addressing these and other concerns you may be experiencing. If you or someone you know are suffering from any of the aforementioned conditions, you can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus by calling the AC Counseling Center at 806-371-5900. The AC Counseling Center website is https://www.actx.edu/counseling/ . Also, if you are in need of social services (affordable housing, utilities, transportation, food, clothing, childcare, medical/dental/vision, legal), please call the AC Advocacy & Resource Center at 806-371-5439. The AC Advocacy & Resource Center website is https://www.actx.edu/arc

Amarillo College Tutoring for Success Policy:

The Tutoring for Success policy applies to any student whose grade or performance in the course falls below a departmentally determined minimum threshold. In either of those cases, the instructor will direct the student to the appropriate tutoring service, which may be faculty-led, discipline-specific, and/or general. Under this policy, the instructor will follow specific departmental guidelines governing the use, duration, and grade component of the tutoring need.

Administrative Drop Policy

Students who do not attend class on or prior to the census date will be administratively dropped. Effective Fall, 2016

Student Withdrawal Procedures

Students who wish to withdraw from a course must complete all steps indicated on the Academic Withdrawal Request form by the course withdrawal deadline.

NOTE: Students who are attending Texas institutions of higher education, for the first time fall 2007 and later, may not withdraw from more than six courses during their academic career. This withdrawal limitation does not include dual credit or developmental classes (Senate Bill 1231 Rule 4.10.) For more information on Drop and Withdrawal Policies, please visit the Registrar's Office Web site.

Privacy Statement

The Amarillo College Privacy Policy is found at https://www.actx.edu/-amarillo-college-privacy-notice , and applies to all Amarillo College students.  If you have questions about this privacy statement or you believe that your personal information has been released without your consent, send email to humanresources@actx.edu .

Course

MLAB-2434-003 Clinical Microbiology

Prerequisites

Course Description

Instruction in the theory, practical application, and pathogenesis of clinical microbiology, including collection, quality control, quality assurance, safety, setup, identification, susceptibility testing and reporting results.

Student ResourcesStudent Resources Website

Department Expectations

Occupational License Disclaimer

Notice to Students enrolled in an educational program for preparation of issuance of certain occupational licenses:

Students enrolled in an educational program in preparation for obtaining certain occupational licenses are potentially ineligible for such license if the student has been convicted of an offense. For further information, please contact:

Melodie Graves
Justice Involved Advocate
Student Service Center 117
mgraves24@actx.edu
806-371-5995
Make appointment at https://melodiegraves.youcanbook.me

You can also contact the Legal Clinic, or the faculty member in charge of the educational program that you seek to enroll in. The further information you will receive will include notification to you of your right to request a criminal history evaluation letter from the licensing authority in order to clarify your particular situation.

Hours

(4 sem hrs; 2 lec, 6 lab)

Class Type

On Campus Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

Textbook of Diagnostic Microbiology by Connie R. Mahon, Donald C. Lehman and George ManuselisLippincott, 2019, ISBN: 978-0323089890 (required) 

A Photographic Atlas for the Microbiology Laboratory, 4th Edition, M.J. Leboffe and B.E. Pierce, Morton Publishing Co. 2011, ISBN: 978-089582-872-9. (required)

Supplies

Supplies include the following:

• Textbooks
• Lecture and Lab printouts
• 300 +  3”x5” note cards
• Note card box
• Laptop ore notebook Computer with Respondus Lockdown Browser
• Internet access
• Moisture/fluid resistant lab coat
• Facial shields
• Gloves
• Sharpies
• Pens/pencils/paper

Student Performance

COURSE OUTCOMES

Apply principles of safety, quality assurance and quality control in Clinical Microbiology; evaluate specimen acceptability; describe morphology and physiology of microbes; identify and classify microorganisms; demonstrate sterile technique; perform and interpret antimicrobial susceptibility testing; select additional procedures based on preliminary results; and correlate test results with patient condition(s).

Specific learning objectives for each section and each laboratory exercise are distributed as part of the lecture/lab handouts.

Students Rights and Responsibilities

Student Rights and Responsibilities

Log in using the AC Connect Portal

In order to receive your AC Connect Email, you must log in through AC Connect at https://acconnect.actx.edu .

If you are an active staff or faculty member according to Human Resources, use "Exchange". All other students, use "AC Connect (Google) Email".

Expected Student Behavior

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
Academic dishonesty shall constitute a violation of the college rules and regulations and is punishable as prescribed by Amarillo College Board policies. Academic dishonesty shall include, but is not limited to, cheating on a test/quiz/assignment, plagiarism, and collusion. Cheating shall include:

• Copying from another student's test/assignment paper.
• Using test materials not authorized by the person administering the test/assignment (ex: notes, books, etc).
• Collaborating with or seeking aid from another student during a test/assignment without permission from the test/assignment administrator/instructor.
• Knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, or soliciting, in whole or in part, the contents of an administered/unadministered test/assignment.
• The unauthorized transporting or removal, in whole or in part, of the contents of the administered/unadministered test/assignment.
• Substituting for another student, or permitting another student to substitute for one's self, to take a test/assignment.
• Bribing another person to obtain an administered/unadministered test/assignment or information about an administered/unadministered test/assignment.

Plagiarismshall be defined as the appropriating, buying, receiving as a gift, or obtaining by any means another's work and the unacknowledged submission or incorporation of it in one's own written work.

Collusionshall be defined as the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work for fulfillment of course requirements.

 WORK ETHICS
Amarillo College and the Medical Laboratory Technology program are committed to developing knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors in students so that they can obtain entry-level employment and advance in their chosen profession. Great measures are taken to ensure that the curriculum is updated and that equipment is purchased and kept at industry level, as much as possible. Program Advisory committees meet annually to ensure that the curriculum meets the needs of the local medical community as well as the program's national accrediting agency.

We are committed to providing these things to ensure that a graduate has the skills and knowledge to obtain and advance in their chosen profession. Therefore, professional education must address more than academic and skills training in order to meet this challenge. Business and industry state that their greatest need is for employees who possess strong work ethics. Therefore, we accept the challenge of providing not only academic and hands-on training but also work ethics training to students. The work ethics program is important because it provides the link between academic knowledge, skills training and successful employment in the workforce. The program focuses on those behaviors expected in a professional environment.

The following work ethics have been identified as being most important to professional employers, and will be covered and evaluated on a weekly basis, each semester, throughout the program:

• Attendance
• Character
• Teamwork
• Appearance
• Attitude
• Productivity
• Organization
• Communication
• Cooperation
• Respect

NOTE: If a student is absent during a scheduled lecture/lab period, he/she cannot be awarded points for work ethics during that missed lecture/lab period.

 

PHONES AND SMARTWATCHES
Phones  are disruptive during lecture and lab sessions. Phones and smartwatches should be turned-off during class time, or set on silent during class time and put away for exams and quizzes.

Technology use during class time should be limited to current lecture material. Students who are caught engaging in unrelated technology use will have work ethic points deducted and may be asked to leave the class. Please, inform the instructor before class if there is an emerging need to use your phone during class and exit the classroom if necessary.

 GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
If a student is having a problem with the course policies or the instructor, he or she should first try and resolve any such problems through the instructor. If the problem is not resolved, the student may proceed to the Program Director (Kim Boyd), the Dean of Health Sciences (Kim Crowley), Vice President of of Academic Affairs (Dr Tamara Clunis), and the College President (Dr Russell Lowery-Hart), IN THAT ORDER.

Grading Criteria

The lecture and laboratory components of this course will be weighted as follows:
Microbiology Lecture = 55% of the total grade
Microbiology Lab = 15% of the total grade

Final Exam = 30%

The grading scale used for this course would then be applied as follows:

A = 90.0% - 100.0%
B = 80.0% - 89.9%
C = 70.0% - 79.9%
F = 69.9%

NOTE: A grade of 'D' is not possible

Examinations and quizzes may not be made up without prior consent.  Labs may not be made up.

 Major examinations will be given over the lecture and lab reading material each week. No credit or reduced credit will be given for assignments, abstracts, Notecard box, etc, turned in after the specified date.
Lecture/ Lab components:

In class assignments (Experiments and examination of known and unknown patient specimens)

• Outside assignments (Notecard boxes are worth a possible total of 50 points)
• Examinations (100 points possible per exam)
• Homework or Quizzes (5 points possible, each)
• Lab Practical (100 points possible)
• Final examinations (200 possible points for lecture) (30% of total grade)

There are two final exams for this course
1. A comprehensive multiple choice final exam will be given at the end of this course covering the lecture material.
2. A Lab Practical that is worth 100 points.

 

INCOMPLETES
Incompletes are granted only for emergency situations such as hospitalization of the student just prior to the final exam, serious injury to the student on the day of the final exam, etc. Incompletes will not be granted for situations involving vacation plans, transportation difficulties, appointments, etc. Students who need to request an incomplete must do so prior to the scheduled time of the final exam with appropriate documentation given to the instructor.

DROPPING/WITHDRAWING FROM CLASSES
No administrative drops/withdrawals will be initiated by program officials.  It is the responsibility of each student to drop or withdraw from a course. Students can drop a course via WebAdvisor, and must do so prior to the last day to drop/withdraw as posted on the Amarillo College Master Calendar. Students should be aware that failure to attend class does NOT result in being automatically dropped from a course, and WILL result in a grade of “F”. 

Students should be advised that they may repeat a MLAB course only one time, and may repeat no more than two courses while enrolled in the program. The term “repeat” shall be interpreted to mean re-enrollment following withdrawal, drop or an unsatisfactory grade from a class. Students who are forced to completely withdraw from the college during a given semester may re-apply for admission to the program. Once the student has actually begun the program, he/she must complete all MLAB major courses within 36 months.

Attendance

Regular attendance is necessary for satisfactory achievement. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the student to attend class. Attendance is included in the Work Ethic grade throughout the course which is a component of the overall grade for this course. Attendance includes arriving for class late and leaving early. Less than 90% attendance in a course may result in failure of the course. Students are required to notify faculty in advance of class absence.

Calendar

Additional Information

No additional information available