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Diagnosis Detectives

Nursing students investigate the science behind diseases and chronic conditions

By Claire Curry

One young patient, planning to start a family, expressed concerns about her risk for breast cancer, given her family history. Another, who works as a long-haul trucker, reported shortness of breath, coughing and chest tightness. A third described feeling lightheaded after passing out while she was shopping.

These are among several fictional characters—known in the health care field as “standardized patients”—who appear alongside Associate Professor Meredith MacKenzie Greenle, PhD‬, RN, ANP-BC, CNE, in videos she created for Advanced Pathophysiology, an online, graduate-level course for practicing nurses in the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing.

Taking on the role of health care detectives, students devote the semester to analyzing these and other case studies, investigating different body systems and identifying clues that point to various conditions and diseases.

“Anatomy and physiology look at how the body works, but pathophysiology focuses on how the body breaks down and how disorders pop up,” says Dr. MacKenzie Greenle. This course, she says, is one of the “three P’s”—physical assessment, pharmacology and pathophysiology—that all Nursing students take.

The eight-module course was recently redesigned to offer real-time and self-paced formats and engage students by teaching “hardcore science” using real-world scenarios, Dr. MacKenzie Greenle says.

“It felt so natural to reflect on simulated clinical encounters,” recalls Jordan Arndts ’25 MSN, who took the class last spring. The case studies allow students to consider not only different symptoms and body systems, he says, but also different aspects of a patient’s “lived human experience,” which also have an impact on health. He pointed to the long-haul trucker whose work, lifestyle and history of smoking contributed to multiple chronic conditions.

Arndts especially appreciated the weekly class discussions and the different perspectives students brought to the virtual table. “We frequently shared inquiries and insights,” he says. “Some students honed in on particular case studies, target organs, nursing practice models or teaching moments.”

Class discussion boards were also a vital part of the learning experience for Sarah Finocchiaro ’21 FCN, ’25 MSN, who took the course last summer. “Having worked in surgical critical care since I graduated, I immediately go down one pathway of thought,” she says. “Being able to have discussions with nurses who may have worked in pediatrics or medicine helps me grow and gives me perspectives that I haven’t considered. This course helped me change my mindset.”

Dr. MacKenzie Greenle says the online format offers students the flexibility to learn at their own pace.

“There were multiple options on how to learn the material,” Finocchiaro says. “You could read, watch videos or listen to lectures. When you are trying to balance work, school and families, there is never enough time, so having that flexibility is huge for grad students.”