Unpacking the renal system component of the 'Structure and Function' Core Concept of Physiology by an Australian team

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Author(s)
Perry, Ben
Cameron, Melissa
Cooke, Matthew B
Towstoless, Michelle
Hryciw, Deanne H
Hayes, Alan
Lexis, Louise
Tangalakis, Kathy
Task Force
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2023
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Australia-wide consensus was reached on seven core concepts of physiology, one of which was 'Structure and Function' with the descriptor 'Structure and function are intrinsically related to all levels of the organism. In all physiological systems the structure from a microscopic level to an organ level dictates its function'. As a framework for the Structure and Function core concept, the renal system was unpacked by a team of five Australian Physiology educators from different universities and with extensive teaching experience into hierarchical levels, with five themes and twenty-five sub-themes up to 3 levels deep. Within ...
View more >Australia-wide consensus was reached on seven core concepts of physiology, one of which was 'Structure and Function' with the descriptor 'Structure and function are intrinsically related to all levels of the organism. In all physiological systems the structure from a microscopic level to an organ level dictates its function'. As a framework for the Structure and Function core concept, the renal system was unpacked by a team of five Australian Physiology educators from different universities and with extensive teaching experience into hierarchical levels, with five themes and twenty-five sub-themes up to 3 levels deep. Within Theme 1, the structures that comprise the renal system were unpacked. Within Theme 2, the physiological processes within the nephron such as filtration, reabsorption, and secretion were unpacked. Within Theme 3, the processes involved in micturition were unpacked. In Theme 4, the structures and processes involved in regulating renal blood flow and glomerular filtration were unpacked; and within Theme 5, the role of the kidney in red blood cell production was unpacked. Twenty-one academics rated the difficulty and importance of each theme/subtheme and results were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA. All identified themes were validated as 'essential' to 'important'/'moderately important' and rated between 'difficult' to 'not difficult'. A similar framework consisting of Structure, Physiological processes, Physical processes and Regulation can be used to unpack other body systems. Unpacking of the body systems will provide a list of what students should be taught in curricula across Australian universities and inform assessment and learning activities.
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View more >Australia-wide consensus was reached on seven core concepts of physiology, one of which was 'Structure and Function' with the descriptor 'Structure and function are intrinsically related to all levels of the organism. In all physiological systems the structure from a microscopic level to an organ level dictates its function'. As a framework for the Structure and Function core concept, the renal system was unpacked by a team of five Australian Physiology educators from different universities and with extensive teaching experience into hierarchical levels, with five themes and twenty-five sub-themes up to 3 levels deep. Within Theme 1, the structures that comprise the renal system were unpacked. Within Theme 2, the physiological processes within the nephron such as filtration, reabsorption, and secretion were unpacked. Within Theme 3, the processes involved in micturition were unpacked. In Theme 4, the structures and processes involved in regulating renal blood flow and glomerular filtration were unpacked; and within Theme 5, the role of the kidney in red blood cell production was unpacked. Twenty-one academics rated the difficulty and importance of each theme/subtheme and results were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA. All identified themes were validated as 'essential' to 'important'/'moderately important' and rated between 'difficult' to 'not difficult'. A similar framework consisting of Structure, Physiological processes, Physical processes and Regulation can be used to unpack other body systems. Unpacking of the body systems will provide a list of what students should be taught in curricula across Australian universities and inform assessment and learning activities.
View less >
Journal Title
Advances in Physiology Education
Copyright Statement
© 2023 American Physiological Society. This is the author-manuscript version of this paper. Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal website for access to the definitive, published version.
Note
This publication has been entered in Griffith Research Online as an advanced online version.