Unit 3.1 Nosocomial Nightmare: Hospital-acquired infections, chain of infection, pathogens, immune response, infection control.
What to do if absent- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning — make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure — the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities — you open it through Schoology.
Week overview - Nosocomial Nightmare: the chain of infection and how to break it
Trace the chain of infection for a hospital-acquired case and identify where PPE, aseptic technique, and the immune response break the chain.
- 1Define pathogen, reservoir, vector, and transmission, then give one hospital example of each.
- 2Read the nosocomial case and identify the suspected pathogen and where it lived before infecting the patient.
- 3Lay out the chain of infection for the case from reservoir to susceptible host.
- 4Mark each link where PPE or aseptic technique could have stopped transmission.
- 5Explain how the patient's immune response fights this pathogen once infection begins.
- 6Write two infection-control changes the hospital should make and the link each one breaks.
- • You will be able to name and order the links in the chain of infection.
- • You will be able to explain how PPE and aseptic technique break specific links.
- • You will be able to connect the immune response to infection control in a real case.
Daily lessons this week
Open any day for its full lesson, the work due that day, and guided notes.
One counterargument statement that challenged your debate position, written in one complete sentence using infection-control vocabulary.
Annotated six-link chain of infection diagram with PPE and aseptic technique mapped to specific links, plus a brief innate vs. adaptive immune response outline.
Written analysis identifying the weakest chain-of-infection link in the scenario, naming the aseptic intervention, and stating one limitation.
CER naming the highest-priority infection-control intervention, citing chain-of-infection and patient-context evidence, predicting the expected effect, and stating assumptions and limitations.
Updated project tracker with infection-unit status, confidence rating, and one reflective limitation note, linked to submitted evidence package.
Quick intro to the week
- Hook: the safest place to heal can also make you sick, and infection control is the difference.
- Today's goal: see the chain of infection clearly enough to point to exactly where it breaks.
- Monday bioethics debate ties in: who is responsible when a patient catches an infection in the hospital?
- Reminder: your graded chain-of-infection analysis is submitted in the PLTW course shell.
Your PLTW coursework this week
Do this: Advance your PLTW PBS infectious-disease benchmark by completing the nosocomial chain-of-infection analysis in the online course shell.
- • The chain of infection links a pathogen, reservoir, transmission, and a susceptible host.
- • PPE and aseptic technique are designed to break specific links in that chain.
- • The immune response is the body's own defense once a pathogen enters.
- • Trace a nosocomial infection from reservoir to host.
- • Recommend infection-control steps that break named links in the chain.
📋 PLTW evidence due: the completed chain-of-infection analysis and infection-control recommendations in the course shell.
All PLTW activities are completed inside the PLTW course environment — this page only gives direction.
This week's PLTW tracker
Your week at a glance. Check off each deliverable as you finish it, then submit so Mr. Mendoza can see how the class is pacing.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
| Day | Date | Focus | Key deliverable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Fri, Nov 6 | Hospital infection ethics debate | One counterargument statement that challenged your debate position, written in one complete sentence using infection-control vocabulary. |
| Tuesday | Mon, Nov 9 | Chain of infection notes | Annotated six-link chain of infection diagram with PPE and aseptic technique mapped to specific links, plus a brief innate vs. adaptive immune response outline. |
| Wednesday | Tue, Nov 10 | Infection-control case | Written analysis identifying the weakest chain-of-infection link in the scenario, naming the aseptic intervention, and stating one limitation. |
| Thursday | Thu, Nov 12 | Infection-control CER | CER naming the highest-priority infection-control intervention, citing chain-of-infection and patient-context evidence, predicting the expected effect, and stating assumptions and limitations. |
| Friday | Fri, Nov 13 | Submit tracker and evidence | Updated project tracker with infection-unit status, confidence rating, and one reflective limitation note, linked to submitted evidence package. |
- First class day: bioethical debate (Monday is a closure)
- T: teacher background notes + PLTW launch task
- W: lab / data or model work
- Th: analysis / CER or design revision
- F: submit tracker + weekly evidence
Due by week's end: Chain-of-infection diagram.
What to do when absent
Most days, this class is your PLTW coursework — and PLTW is online and individual. So being out usually just means doing exactly what we did in class, from home.
Open Schoology (CMSD) and keep goingHow to get there: open the CMSD website, click Clever, sign in with your Microsoft (district) account, then open Schoology from Clever.
You can't do those from home — do this instead: Teacher-posted data/model packet, same objective. Supplemental: CDC: chain of infection/infection control; Khan: immune system.
Class still runs. A substitute will post today's plan — complete the online activity above; it's built to be self-guided. Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
CDC Infection ControlVocabulary
Virtual resources
Resources & readings
Hand-picked materials for this lesson. Class file items open the document directly; the rest are vetted readings and interactives from other biomedical programs.
Standards this week
WebXam practice
Drop your Week 11 here. Use a clear file name (your initials + project). Routine work still goes to Schoology (via the CMSD portal).
Upload a project