Class Presentations Explore Variety of Topics at Northwestern Health Sciences University

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Topics ranged from the nutrients found in Brazil nuts to the effect asbestos has on the immune system in “Immunology and Clinical Microbiology,” a class taught by Verena Van Fleet, PhD, an associate professor in the College of Chiropractic at Northwestern Health Sciences University.

The project for T4 chiropractic students required students to work in groups to develop a poster and handout from research done on topics of their choosing. Dr. Van Fleet has required the project for two years as a way to teach factors that affect the immune system.

“I think it’s the best way to approach the particular aspect of the class as stated in the class description,” Dr. Van Fleet said.  The posters were on display through April 4 on the main level.

Dr. Van Fleet said she has done the project as a shared assignment between classes of other disciplines but was unable to do that this year because of scheduling.

Jan Taplin, T4 chiropractic student, and her group members researched how thoughts affect the immune system, a science called psychoneuroimmunology. The theory, Taplin said, is being taught at some colleges as a connection between the mind and nervous system.

“The difficult part is that people have random thoughts that come and go all day long.  There is really no way to get a handle on thoughts,” she said. “People can proclaim to be happy, but they still may have several negative thoughts. Negative thoughts create stress, and we do have a good understanding that stress is bad for immune function.”

Taplin said the fact the groups were allowed to pick topics they were interested in made the presentation more fun as well as learning about topics through peer presentations.

“It is good practice to state our case and answer questions, because as doctors, some of us might set up a booth at a mall or at an expo, or may conduct health care classes,” Taplin said. “It gets some people out of their comfort zone.”

Students also had to design a handout to accompany the poster presentation. Some developed tri-fold brochures. Dr. Van Fleet said these handouts will be helpful in the future when the posters are gone, but students remember the topics and want to reference the research.

“The University really wants to educate evidence-based practitioners,” Dr. Van Fleet said. “They practiced literature-based research.”

The projects were graded by three instructors as well as two peer reviews.

“Some objectivity comes into play when you have more than one person,” she said.

Matt Christenson, a member of Taplin’s group, said each member of the group of four put in at least 12 hours of work to complete the poster.

“You have to be responsible enough to get your part done because others are relying on your input.  Everybody is different when it comes to being task oriented and creative,” he said. “With a group you have multiple minds working towards one thing rather than just your own. This helps stimulate creativity and learning because everyone adds their personal qualities to the final project.”

Poster topics ranged from “Garlic: The Succulent Stink That Keeps More Than Just Vampires at Bay” to “How Thoughts and Stress Affect Your Immune System.”

Northwestern Health Sciences University offers a wide array of choices in natural health care education including chiropractic, Oriental medicine, acupuncture, therapeutic massage, human biology, and integrative health and wellness. The University has more than 900 full-time students on a 25-acre campus in Bloomington, Minn.