Rough draft.This research track is under review with Dr. Atit's lab. Content and sequence may still change.
Craniofacial Research Track
Session 20The Whole Patient, FebruaryLens: Biomedical Innovations
The cleft team and the surgical timeline
Discovery question
Mateo's chart lists a surgeon, an ENT, an audiologist, a , an orthodontist, a geneticist, and a . Why does one child need so many people, and in what order do they act?
Caring for a child with a is a years-long team effort with a staged surgical timeline. No single specialist could do it alone, and the schedule follows how the child grows.
The plan
Prerequisite check
Before this page, you should know
- Suction needs a sealed mouth; an open lets air leak between the mouth and nose, so a baby cannot build the pressure to feed normally.
- Specialized bottles and feeding positions let a baby with a get enough milk safely.
If not, review
Today's new idea is only
Caring for a child with a is a years-long team effort with a staged surgical timeline. No single specialist could do it alone, and the schedule follows how the child grows.
Learn first
What to learn
Goal: Identify the members of a multidisciplinary care team and the job each one does, and place the staged repairs (lip in infancy, next, later steps as the child grows) in order.
Know by the end
- A care team is multidisciplinary: a surgeon, ENT, audiologist, , orthodontist, geneticist, and each contribute.
- The surgical timeline is staged: the lip is repaired in infancy, the next, with later steps such as bone grafting and orthodontics as the child grows.
- The schedule is set by development and growth, so a child returns to the team over many years, not once.
- These specialties are real health careers students can explore, including through the HOSA clinic.
- Coordinating care across many people is itself a skill, and the and team coordinator make it work for the family.
The plan
Guided notes
1
Who is on the team
Model start: The audiologist checks Mateo's hearing, and the ENT cares for his ears, nose, and throat, including the ear tubes that help the drain.
- Match each team member to one job: surgeon, ENT, audiologist, , orthodontist, geneticist, .
- Circle the two members most connected to the hearing thread from Session 18.
2
The order of repairs
Model start: The lip is usually repaired in the first months of life, and the is repaired next, often before the child is one to two years old.
- Place these in order along a timeline: lip repair, repair, later steps such as bone graft and orthodontics.
- Explain why the schedule follows the child's growth rather than fixing everything at once.
3
From team to careers
Model start: I would ask the how she decides when a child is ready for new sounds, and how she partners with the surgeon.
- Pick one team role and write two questions you would ask that professional at the HOSA clinic.
- Name one skill (besides medicine) that the team needs to work well together.
Explore
Reading the Research
What to read
Read the overview section at the top of the page only. Cleft lip and palate, research and care
Why this source matters
This is the published evidence behind today's idea: Caring for a child with a is a years-long team effort with a staged surgical timeline. No single specialist could do it alone, and the schedule follows how the child grows.
Words to unlock first
Reading moves
- Skim the title and abstract first to get the gist.
- Circle the one sentence that states the main claim.
- Box the evidence the authors give for that claim.
- Mark one sentence that confuses you, and move on.
Stop point
You do not need every detail on the page. Stay with the parts that connect to Mateo.
Your output
Write one claim-evidence sentence: what this source claims, and the one piece of evidence that backs it up.
Lab day
Using the database (what to capture)
MedlinePlus
Open the tool Plain-language explanations of a gene or condition, written for patients and families.
When you use this: Use this when a research paper is too dense, or when you need to explain a finding to Mateo's family in everyday words.
What the screen looks like
Step by step
- 1Open medlineplus.gov/genetics and search the gene or condition (IRF6).
- 2Read the summary written in everyday words.
- 3Note the conditions the gene is linked to at the bottom of the page.
Capture these fields
- Topic: IRF6 gene
- Plain-language summary: IRF6 helps the tissues of the face join correctly before birth.
- Linked conditions: Van der Woude syndrome; nonsyndromic cleft
How to read it: Start here when a research paper is too dense. MedlinePlus gives you the gist in everyday words so you can go back to the harder source knowing what it is about.
Lost? About MedlinePlus GeneticsLearn first
Pick your level
Level 1, Guided
Use the sentence starters, a word bank from the vocabulary, a labeled diagram, and the exact source link.
Level 2, Collaborative
Complete a partly blank model or table and explain it.
Level 3, Independent
Make a claim from a new example or an unfamiliar entry in the same database.
The plan
Work as a research team
Team roles
- Manager: keeps the group moving
- Recorder: writes the shared model or table
- Evidence checker: verifies each claim against the source
- Reporter: explains the group's reasoning
Process reflection
- What evidence changed your thinking today?
- What did your group disagree about, and how did you resolve it?
- What question is still unresolved?
Check yourself
Demonstration of learning
By the end of this session, submit ONE of: a labeled diagram with a 2-sentence explanation; a claim, evidence, reasoning paragraph; a completed data table from a real database; or a one-question exit ticket using today's vocabulary.
Meets standard if your explanation correctly connects structure, timing, gene or protein function, or evidence source to Mateo's case: Identify the members of a multidisciplinary cleft care team and the job each one does, and place the staged repairs (lip in infancy, palate next, later steps as the child grows) in order.
How this is graded (rubric)
For: Identify the members of a multidisciplinary cleft care team and the job each one does, and place the staged repairs (lip in infancy, palate next, later steps as the child grows) in order.
| Criterion | Proficient | Developing | Beginning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complete | Every required part of the artifact is present and filled in. | Most parts are present, but one is missing or left blank. | Several parts are missing. |
| Accurate | The science and data are correct and match the evidence. | Mostly correct, with a small factual slip. | Key science or data is wrong. |
| Scientific reasoning (CER) | States a claim, backs it with specific evidence, and explains the reasoning. | Has a claim and evidence, but the reasoning is thin or missing. | Gives an answer with no evidence or reasoning. |
| Professional communication | Clear, organized, and labeled the way a clinician or scientist would write it. | Readable but disorganized or missing labels. | Hard to follow. |
| Submitted | Turned in the right way (Schoology for routine work) and confirmed. | Turned in, but in the wrong place or unconfirmed. | Not turned in. |
How the model answer scores against this rubric
- CompleteProficient: Nothing is left blank: the model fills every part of "Identify the members of a multidisciplinary cleft care team and the job each one does, and place the staged repairs (lip in infancy, palate next, later steps as the child grows) in order.".
- AccurateProficient: Every number and claim matches the case evidence.
- Scientific reasoning (CER)Proficient: It names a claim, cites the specific evidence, and explains the reasoning, not just the answer.
- Professional communicationProficient: It is organized and labeled like a real chart note.
- SubmittedProficient: It would be turned in on Schoology and confirmed.