Health 57C gradingFor a few years I had students in my Health 57C class write a short story as a part of the grading for the class. When a new program came out I realised we needed a more direct way to learn to vocabulary and I switched assignments. Some of the previous short stories were just too much fun, so I left parts of them at this website.
Here is a description of the assignment:
A written assignment: Write part of a short story (science fiction, murder mystery,
romance or whatever, your choice). Have the hero (or a villain?) check the scene, check
an unconscious victim and perform CPR on a victim. Use vocabulary and skills steps
from checking an unconscious victim (pages 11, 12) signals of a heart attack (page 40),
continue CPR (page 43) and CPR steps from the skills card, in the story in a way that
shows you know the material. If you highlight the vocabulary words you use in yellow
you will be able to more easily see if you remembered to use all of them and I will be
able to more easily grade your story.
Students had fun with the short story assignment. I've been told that some decided to take the class for a letter grade instead of pass/no pass just because they enjoyed the idea of the term paper.
Here are excerpts from HLTH 57C CPR class mini-term papers:
"Dear Prof. Donahue:
I regret to inform you that I was unable to do the optional writing assignment described in the
course syllabus as required for an A in the class. You see, I was on my way to the open media
lab at De Anza when I heard a scream come form a classroom I was walking past." (checked the
scene, the victim, had a bystander call 911, opened airway... CPR... rescue breathing...)
"Sadly, by the time I got to the media lab I only had enough time to write up this explanation
letter.. My short story was going to be an excellent revision of Hamlet in which Prince
Fortinbras attempts to save the dying Hamlet's life by expertly performing CPR on him, only to
fail (because Hamlet was stabbed by a poison-tipped sword) and then claim the throne of
Denmark. Sadly, I did not have the time to write it all up. It would have been awesome, though."
"The AT&T Pro AM was in full swing
and I knew I would get close to HIM ... As the throngs gathered around the ninth green, I edged down the fairway towards the tee. ..The sea of
spectators parted and there they were, it would only be a matter of time and I would be
just feet away, would HE notice me...
... The ball arches in a lazy hook, over the sand trap, into the rough just to the left of me. Oh
my God... Kevin Costner was going to be standing right by me. As he approached, I
could feel my pulse racing... I was so glad I had not taken that CPR class this weekend.
As he stood there, waiting to hit his next shot, there was a chorus of "fores" in the air and
I saw a ball flash past the corner of my eye and smack Kevin directly in the head. He
slumped forward and crumpled to the ground.
Someone yelled, "he's stopped breathing... does anyone know CPR", I watched
helplessly as a young lady rushed forward, she quickly made sure the area was clear and
safe around my poor Kevin, then leaned over and started checking my hero. She then
tapped his shoulder and shouted to see if there was any response ... call 911... She happened to be a nurse, and have with her some gloves and a breathing barrier for
protection. ... She continued to apply CPR, rechecking the pulse and giving him chest
compressions, until the paramedics arrived and took over upon which they used the AED
Then all I could see was the paramedics working on KEVIN, they attached the pads on
his upper right chest and lower left side, and by plugging the electrode cable into the
AED, they delivered an electric jolt by pushing the shock button.
Slowly the color returned to his cheeks and he was breathing on his own. As he regained
consciousness. All cheered, as I cried. If only I had taken CPR before, it could have
been me, it could have been me."
"Mike and Ted were eating at their favorite restaurant, called the Check-Call-Care Cafe after
they got done surfing. Both were exhausted and were about done with their meal when Mike
noticed that Ted's skin had been pale for some time. He thought he had just eaten a cockroach,
but he then noticed that his breathing had suddenly quickened.
"Dude, Ted. You alright man, you look like someone just smashed your board in half."
"Naw, I'm alright, just my arm hurts like a...." Ted's face then winced in pain... Ted suddenly gripped his chest and keeled over onto the floor... Any other mortal surfer would have panicked in a situation like this, but Mike
knew what to do next because he was an avid fan of the most medically accurate show on
television, ER. He also knew that Ted's survival depended on early recognition and access, early
CPR, early defibrillation, and early advanced life support. After Mike determined that the scene
was safe, he then leaped down to see how his buddy was.
"Dude, wake up! You alright? You're not alright," Mike said as he tried to nudge Ted back
to consciousness. "Hey you!" Mike yelled to the waiter, "go call 911, my buddy's taken a spill.
I have an unconscious adult! You better come back and tell me when they're gonna get here."
So the first thing that Mike remembered from ER was that cute brunette who was the
daughter of the pneumonia patient. The second thing he remembered was ABC, or check for
airway, breathing, then circulation. ... gave him two rescue breaths. Mike saw Ted's chest rise and fall.
"Well you finally took something I gave you," Mike grumbled to himself. "Now when I
bring you back to life you can gimmie that 50 bucks you owe me."
Next, sliding his fingers down from the adam's apple, Mike checked the carotid artery for a
pulse for 10 seconds.
"You stupid surfer, you forgot your pulse." Ted was always forgetting things but not like
this. ... It was a good thing Mike worked out, because it was pretty
hard for him to push in Ted's chest two inches. But he kept his arms straight, put his shoulders
directly over his hands, and pushed down with his bodyweight.
"Man, one thing you gotta do when you get better is loose some weight." said Mike.
... cycles of compressions a breaths until EMTs arrived... AED...Mike was about to dig into Ted's wallet to get his 50 bucks back, when the EMTs told him to wait until they got to the hospital. It was just another exciting day in the lives of two average surfers."
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See also:
The Day I Saved the Governator
More term paper examples, from the HLTH 57A First aid class, are at Health 57A grading
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What do students think of the class? Go to: Health 57 A and C student evaluations
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Need more inspiration for this kind of a mini-term paper?
There are 15 pages of bad writing (well, an international literary parody contest) at:
http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/english/2007
including adventure, children's literature, detective, purple prose, romance, spy, science fiction, vile pun and western winners.
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For help with your writing, try:
http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htm
there is a selection of goofs at that site at:
http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/goofs.htm
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