Outbreak. Rodney P. Anderson

do they often lend themselves to simple solutions. As a consequence, to best prepare students for their future careers, it is important to give them opportunities to solve real‐world problems where answers require not only knowledge about microbiology but also the realities of social, economic, and health care‐related issues.

Recommendations for Using the Case Studies

      Like all activities involved in the delivery of excellent health care in today’s world, the process requires a team approach. Consequently, when I integrate the case studies into my course, I have students work in collaborative learning groups when completing the case study assignments. The ability to work with others of diverse backgrounds and levels of ability is an important skill to develop for anyone choosing a career in health care. The collaborative learning groups also provide an opportunity for interprofessional education where the groups are composed of students whose goals are to pursue careers in various medical professions such as nursing, pharmacy, physicians, and physician assistants. In order to facilitate the teamwork process, it is important to introduce students to how to work successfully with others in their group by presenting some basic teamwork guidelines and rules. Teams that follow these straightforward guidelines are able to tap into others’ knowledge and expertise and present a case study analysis that is more concise and complete.

Acknowledgments

      Thank you to Ohio Northern University for providing the sabbatical time that made this work possible. I also thank the staff of and the contributors to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s journals and image library. The journals and images are a rich resource of information for educators and the public to use. All images credited to CDC PHIL can be located at https://phil.cdc.gov/default.aspx by using the PHIL numbers provided.

      About the Author

      Rodney P. Anderson received his PhD in biological sciences from the University of Iowa in 1989. His doctoral work centered on protein synthesis mechanisms in Escherichia coli. After graduate school, he began his academic career at Ohio Northern University, where he continues to teach undergraduates in the Department of Biological and Allied Health Sciences. He teaches courses in microbiology for both majors and allied health students as well as courses in genetics. He has also introduced nonmajors to microbiology through interdisciplinary seminars in disease and society.

      Dr. Anderson has been actively involved in microbiology education. He is a past chair of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Conference for Undergraduate Educators, which developed the core curriculum for undergraduate microbiology courses, and has organized and spoken at a number of education division symposia at the ASM annual meetings. His outreach activities have included microbial presentations at local elementary schools. His interest in microbiology education has resulted in another undergraduate microbiology textbook, Visualizing Microbiology, Second Edition (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), and in a children’s book, The Invisible ABCs (ASM Press). The Invisible ABCs emphasizes to children the benefits of the microbial world, rather than the incomplete message that all microbes cause disease.

      Dr. Anderson and his wife, Tami, are parents of two adult children, Isaac and Graetel, who are both using their microbiology knowledge in their nursing careers. He loves classic cars, hunting, and traveling.