Alan Bloebaum
Professor
Office: 002B Cavness
E-mail: Alan.Bloebaum@angelo.edu
Phone: (325) 942-2189, Ext. 235Education
- B.S. Zoology, University of Texas at Austin, 1963
- Ph.D. Biology, New Mexico State University, 1972
Primary Teaching Responsibilities
- Advanced Pathophysiology (Biology 6324)
- Parasitology (Biology 4441)
- Histology (Biology 3421)
- Pathophysiology (Biology 3324)
- Elementary Microbiology (Biology 2411)
- Principles of Biology Laboratory (Biology 1480)
- Pharmacotherapeutics (Nursing 6318)--team-taught with Ms. Wrennah Gabbert
(See below for Dr. Bloebaum's descriptions of these courses).
Who am I?
Dr. Alan P. Bloebaum (pronounced "Blaybaum") Professor of Biology and Chairman; Health Professions Advisory Committee (joined ASU in 1971)
Advising students interested in:
- Premedicine
- Optometry
- Predentistry
- Physician's Assistant programs
- Podiatry
- Chiropractic Medicine
What does ASU have to offer me as a health professions student?
- INFORMAL, PERSONAL, ONE-ON-ONE ADVISING. We are available, you can call us at home, and we are interested in you and your success. Students at "big" universities often complain that "I can't ever see my advisor", "I don't know who my advisor is", I can't get anybody to help me", and "I have to wait weeks for an appointment with my advisor". NOT AT ASU! I ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTACT ME BY PHONE, EMAIL, OR SNAIL MAIL. I like to visit by phone, OR we can set up a time for us to visit in person. We can then talk about requirements for health professions school admission, what it takes to be competitive for admission, how does one chose a major, specific courses you can consider taking, and ANY OTHER AREA of interest to you. I am also available during ASU's Discover ASU programs in the Fall and Spring of each year, and I also advise during PREVIEW ASU, our registration programs held 5 times during each summer.
- CONSISTENTLY ONE OF THE HIGHEST ACCEPTANCE RATES to health professions schools among state universities in Texas. We always have acceptance rates of over 50%--and often much higher. The statewide average is around 35%.
- EXPERIENCE IN CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING, skills that are so important on the Medical College Admission Test (and are becoming more important on other admission tests as well) and in health professions school and practice. ASU offers a course--Biology 1480--which you are required to take that will help you develop these skills.
- OVER 25 local physicians, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists, and physician's assistants who have volunteered to let you "shadow" them in their practices to gain all important actual health care experience.
- BIOLOGY FACULTY WHO ARE COMMITTED TO TEACHING AND WHO LIKE TO TEACH
- AN OPPORTUNITY for any interested undergraduate to do RESEARCH with a member of the Biology faculty. Very few universities--and NO LARGE ONES--make such an opportunity available. Research experience can be valuable for health professions students AND a surprising number of such students are deciding to pursue both the M.D. AND Ph.D. degrees.
- A VERY DETAILED AND COMPLETE HEALTH PROFESSIONS EVALUATION which we write for EACH applicant to heatlh professions schools and which is CRITICAL to your being seriously considered for admission. Each year health professions schools tell us that our evaluations are the most detailed, informative, and useful evaluations that they receive. We get to know you PERSONALLY through our advising and smaller class sizes, and this can be a BIG plus to you when you apply.
- A FINAL POINT........A health professions advisor at a very large Texas state university once told an ASU student who was thinking of transferring there, "Stay at Angelo State. They will get to know you better, they will give you better and more personal advising, AND they will write a more complete evaluation for you when you apply". Angelo State has an EXCELLENT reputation among health professions schools both IN TEXAS and OUTSIDE OF TEXAS. ASU graduates are consistently among the TOP STUDENTS at their respective health professions schools. (FOR EXAMPLE, ASU students almost always LEAD THEIR CLASSES in Histology, and in 3 recent years the #1 student in their respective class at The University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio was a different ASU graduate.) ASU graduates are selected for the best residency programs after medical school, and we have had students accepted to the M.D.-Ph.D. programs at such schools as Vanderbilt, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the Medical College of Chicago, and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Course Descriptions
- BIOLOGY 6324 (Advanced Pathophysiology) This is a course taken almost exclusively by nurses who hold the B.S.N. degree and who are working on their M.S.N. It is taught each Spring semester on Wednesday night from 6:00-8:50. This course concentrates on the pathophysiology of diseases organized by the body system in which they occur and is meant to build on the background that such nurses already have from a course in Pathophysiology which they took during their B.S.N. programs. Grades are based on weekly 10-point exams covering lecture material. Feedback from both students and Nursing Department faculty who have taken the course indicates that 6324 is extremely valuable in the background of an R.N. who plans a career as a Clinical Nurse Specialist--both from the standpoint of review and due to the presentation of new as well as more detailed information in the field. Some students who take this course are taking their third or fourth course with me! Lectures are also recorded on the ASU system so out-of-town students can take this course at home! They listen to lectures and take their exams on their computers. Thus, ALL these students and I get to know each other really well in this course.
- BIOLOGY 4441 (Parasitology) This is a course which concentrates solely on the parasites of humans and is designed as an advanced Biology course for students interested primarily in medicine and medical technology. The lab provides the opportunity to identify a wide range of human parasites. It is taught during the Spring semester in even-numbered years. Grades are based on exams covering lecture material and exams covering lab material. This is a "hands-on" course and provides a unique background to students who will pursue a career in health care.
- BIOLOGY 3421 (Histology) This is a course taken primarily by students who will go on to medical, dental, or medical technology schools. Unlike many such courses which use only photos or CDs, students use actual prepared slides--just as a pathologist does--to locate, become familiar with, and learn the microscopic structures of human cells, tissues, and organs. Since Biology 3421 is usually taken during a student's last college semester, it integrates microscopic anatomy with gross anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, embryology, and endocrinology. It is taught during Spring Semesters in odd-numbered years. Grades are based on exams which cover both lecture and lab material. This course is designed as an intense and thorough preparation for health professions school, and students who take it always place in the top 1-2% of their health professions school classes in Histology. BY TAKING THIS COURSE AT ASU, YOU WILL ALREADY KNOW HISTOLOGY WHEN YOU GET TO HEALTH PROFESSIONS SCHOOL!
- BIOLOGY 3324 (Pathophysiology) This course is designed for nursing students who are working toward their B.S.N degreesor transitioning from the AASN to the MSN defrees. It is a course that builds on courses in Anatomy and Phsiology and which covers the pathophysiology of diseases that are not limited in their occurence to single body systems (for example, neoplasms (tumors), genetic diseases, injuries, etc.). It is offered every Spring semester and is always taught on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:00-7:15. Grades are based on weekly 10-point exams covering lecture material and on a short out-of-class written assignment. Since this course also has the reputation for being of extreme value to nursing students in our Associate nursing degree program in their courses and on the R.N. State Board exams, Biology 3324 is often also taken as an elective by many nursing students who do not intend to go on for their B.S.N. degrees. Premedicine students often take it as an advanced elective course. A completely online version is offered every second summer semester.
- BIOLOGY 2411 (Elementary Microbiology) This is a course taken primarily by Nursing students working toward the Associate of Applied Science degree. The lecture provides an introduction to microorganisms then concentrates on the infectious diseases of man. The lab provides exposure to the types of work performed in a clinical medical microbiology laboratory. This course will not satisfy the requirements for most health professions programs (e.g., medical, dental, physician's assistant) for a course in microbiology (you must taken Biology 3411 or 3412 to satisfy this requirement). However, it will usually satisfy the microbiology requirements for dental hygiene programs. I teach this course each Fall and each First Summer semesters. Grades are determined as follows: 52.5% from lecture exams; 32.5% from lab exams; 7.5% from a lab data book; 7.5% from Attendance. I am extremely proud of ASU's Nursing program, and this course really gives me a chance to get to know the nursing students well.
- BIOLOGY 1480 (Principles of Biology) Lab This is a 3-hour per week lab that is part of the Biology 1480 course required for health professions students. The purposes of this lab are many: to learn Critical thinking and problem solving (i.e., application) skills that are so important on the Medical College Admission Test, the Graduate Record Examination and in any clinical practice, to learn what science is and how scientists think, to learn how to "talk" and discuss, skills so important for interacting with faculty and clinical mentors, to allow you to interact informally with your peers with similar interests and with faculty, to allow you to design, test, and present the results of you your own lab investigation, and to make you "feel at home" in the Biology Department. Biology 1480 is taught each Fall and Spring semester. The format is informal and discussion oriented; it is not a lecture course! The lab grade is 35% of the course grade.
- NURSING 6318 This is a course required for R.N.'s who are completing ASU's M.S.N degree with the aim of becoming Clinical Nurse Specialists. In my half of the course, which is actual lecture in the classroom, we discuss all the major categories of drugs, with particular emphasis on the relation of their action to physiology and pathophysiology. Ms. Gabbert's half of the course, which is entirely online, concentrates on the clinical application of the lecture material I cover, such as case studies. My half of the course constitutes 50% of the course grade and is determined by weekly 10-point exams covering lecture material. Ms. Gabbert's half of the course comprises the other 50% of the course grade and is determined primarily by grades on several written case studies. As in Biology 6324, lectures are also recorded on the ASU system so out-of-town students can also take this course at home. They listen to lectures and take their exams on their computer. This is one of the truly interdisciplinary courses on the ASU campus. Feedback from students and Nursing Department faculty who have taken this course indicates that 6318 provides future advance practice nurses with background critical to their understanding, becoming familiar with, and prescribing a wide variety of medications.
How do you contact me?
(See top of page for ASU office, phone, and e-mail)
- Address: (Snail Mail)
- Department of Biology
- Angelo State University
- 2601 West Avenue N
- San Angelo, Texas 76909
- Phone: (325) 944-1453 (HOME)**THIS IS OFTEN THE BEST PLACE TO REACH ME.
I enjoy advising and try to be as available as possible. Call me ANYTIME with questions, problems, etc. If I am not home, leave a message and I will return your call. I AM SERIOUS ABOUT THIS!