Lab report of Staphylococcus epidermidis

BIO 120 Lab Unknown Report Guideline

Key sections:

1. Results: Include images (or drawings), and short descriiptions explaining the outcome of
each test. Include stain results, morphology and size, colony morphology on TSA plates and
slants. Include results of biochemical tests on media plates and in tubes. Be sure to explain
WHAT each test was testing for, and why.
2. Include a flowchart for each of your two organisms. Show how you ruled out the various
possibilities and came to the conclusion you did for YOUR organisms. It is okay to have the
keys on two separate pages if that makes formatting easier
3. Write a 1-2 page (single spaced, 11 pt font) narrative/discussion for one of the organisms
you identified in this project. This narrative describing your fictional future patient should
focus on the medical relevance of each organism, such as virulence factors and the type of
infections caused, treatments provided and patient outcome. If neither of your organisms
were a pathogen, you may select a related organism that is a pathogen.

You are a healthcare worker, working in your chosen profession! Congratulations! You did it!!!
BUT. One of your patients has become infected with the type of organism that you
have identified as your unknown! Describe the symptoms they exhibit. What tests did you (or the
doctor) do to determine what organism it was? What medications or therapy did the patient receive?
What was the outcome of their illness? Use the library reference databases (or library) to research
your organism and use in-text citations to illustrate how you used your research in your narrative.

Please note that this MUST be in your own words. You will receive ZERO points if you
have copied ANY sentences (or parts of sentences) from your sources.

4. Provide a bibliography/reference that you use in your in-text citations. Citations MUST
be in either APA or MLA format. You need a minimum of five references for the
organism you choose to write about. Only ONE of them can be your book OR
Wikipedia. Use peer- reviewed scientific articles for your other articles.
5. Include the Bacteria information sheet for each of your bacteria
6. You do NOT need to write a “Materials and Methods” section. Reports will be graded per
the rubric associated with this assignment.

Grade breakdown:

● Title and Abstract (4 pts)
o Be creative with the title. Try not to use the word ‘unknown’ in your title
o Abstract should summarize the full report

● Results (12 pts)
o Organize tests into tables and pictures into figures
o Figures and tables should have legends
o Number the figures and tables based on the sequence you describe them, not
necessarily when they were performed chronologically
o Include Gram stain images
o Describe the figures and tables, conclusion of each test clearly stated
o Integrate the result descriiption with the figures, tables and flowcharts
(mention Figure 1 or Table 1 in the text when you describe them)
o Describe the logic of how you arrived at the identification of your bacteria (refer
to the flow charts when you do so)

● Flow charts (6 pts)
o Include both the Gram+ and Gram- flowcharts
o Highlight the path to your identification
o Make sure each step is dichotomous

● Bacteria information sheet (6 pts)
o Include both the Gram+ and Gram- information sheet
o All test results recorded

● Narrative/Discussion (16 pts)
o Introduce the narrative: the patient’s story and symptoms
o *Please note that some students opt to use an ‘Introduction’ at the beginning of
the report, and ‘Narrative/Discussion’ at the end of the report; this is not required
but will not impact your report grade if you choose to do it this way
o Provide some references for identifying causative agents based on the described
symptoms
o Discuss the tests that medical team (you the nurse, the doctor and the hospital
microbiology lab) have performed to help diagnose the patient’s illness
o Discuss some properties of your bacteria with what metabolic enzymes
they have (tie in the pathogenicity of the bacteria with the biochemical tests
we performed) that cause certain signs and symptoms
o What medications or therapies did the patient receive?
o Describe the outcome of the patient’s illness
o Use the library reference databases (or library) to research your organism
o Use in-text citations to illustrate how you used your research in your narrative
o Discuss the technical challenges of the unknown project / patient diagnosis
o Talk about how many tests were performed for each bacterium, and how
many were useful for ID purpose

● References (2 pts)
o At least 5 references, could be journal articles, book chapters, etc.
o Make sure the sources are scientific (CDC website, Mayo Clinic; Wikipedia is
not considered reliable because anyone could go on and edit the content)
o Extra credit is given if you use more than the minimum number of references

● Readability (4 pts)
o Use clear and concise language in the report
o Proofread before turning in the report (report full of typos and grammar
errors will lose point

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