Students crack medical mysteries in new real-world course

This fall, Upper School students put their investigative skills to the test in a new science course entitled, "Solutions in Medicine."  Facilitated and team-taught by Upper School Biology teacher Jennifer Newitt and rotating physicians, students were asked to solve a series of medical mysteries. Three groups were each assigned a different patient and together, they analyzed their patient’s symptoms, physical and lab results, medical and social history to help them create a list of possible ailments. Student teams worked with Dr. Neil Smith, president of Fairview Hospital in Cleveland, and requested more tests, which in these cases included a bacterial culture test, a lung biopsy, a spinal tap, a brain MRI, and a blood smear. Once they arrived at their final diagnoses, the students provided treatment options for their patients, taking allergies to medication and potential side effects into consideration. Dr. Smith confirmed the three groups arrived at correct conclusions!