Science in Medicine

Know about the scientific procedures used in diagnosing illness.

Indicative Content

Learners should be able to describe different biological and physical procedures used to diagnose illness, e.g. observation, palpation, body temperature, blood pressure, pulse rate, blood tests, x-rays, MRI and CAT scans. They could then go on to describe the step-by-step procedures used to diagnose given illnesses, for example a simple childhood illness such as measles, chicken pox and a more complex illness, such as diabetes, coeliac disease etc. Those working at higher levels could go on to explain the scientific principles underlying the biological and physical procedures used to diagnose illness for a few common illnesses, such as diabetes, asthma etc.

Assessment Criteria

• 1.1
  Describe different biological and physical procedures used to diagnose illness.
  

Know about the scientific principles of treating illnesses and health conditions.

Indicative Content

Learners should be able to describe the scientific principles underpinning the use of therapeutic drugs to treat given illnesses, for example diabetes, asthma and heart disease. They should be able to describe the scientific principles underpinning the use of physical therapies to treat the same given health conditions. Learners could go on to explain how therapeutic drugs work when used to treat given illnesses, e.g. insulin in diabetes and bronchodilators in asthma.

They could also explain how physical therapies work when used to treat given illnesses, e.g. in cystic fibrosis. Those working at higher levels could research to find data to analyse and other evidence that they could use to evaluate the effectiveness of physical therapies and therapeutic drugs in the treatment of given illnesses and health conditions, such as diabetes, asthma and cystic fibrosis.

Assessment Criteria

• 2.1
  Describe the scientific principles underpinning the use of therapeutic drugs to treat given illnesses.
  
• 2.2
  Describe the scientific principles underpinning the use of physical therapies to treat given health conditions.
  

Know the factors affecting treatments.

Indicative Content

Learners should be able to describe the general risks associated with specified treatments, e.g. chemotherapy and radiotherapy in cancer treatment. They should describe factors, other than risk, affecting the choice and availability of treatments to patients, e.g. quality of life. Learners could go on to explain why it is important to present all factors to patients in order for them to make informed choices and explain how patients are supported to understand risk and make choices about treatment.

Assessment Criteria

• 3.1
  Describe the general risks associated with specified treatments.
  
• 3.2
  Describe factors, other than risk, affecting the choice and availability of treatments to patients.