A Case Study on the Endocrine System

Part I – Frustration


Ellie dropped her backpack beside the chair in Dr. Kern’s office and
sat down with a sigh. Her hands trembled as she glanced again at the
graded exam in her hand.

“It’s no better than the last one,” she mumbled. “I really, really
tried this time, Dr. Kern. I did all the reading assignments before and
again after class. I completed all of the study guide questions and
rewrote my notes and made flash cards and studied with straight-A Cassie
every week. But it didn’t make any difference. I still failed it.” She
sniffled loudly and reached for the box of tissues on Dr. Kern’s desk.

Dr. Kern sat back and thought for a moment while Ellie made use of
several tissues. Ellie was a junior in Dr. Kern’s physiology course and
had struggled from the start of the semester. One-on-one help sessions
and different study strategies hadn’t seemed to help. “I know how
discouraged you must be, Ellie. Tell me again what you do when you sit
down to study.”

“I read and review my class notes and reread the assigned sections in
the book. But for some reason I can’t concentrate on much of anything
for very long and, even when I can, I don’t remember what I’ve studied
by the next day. It’s so frustrating to spend so much time studying and
not retain anything. If I fail this class, my GPA might drop enough that
I’ll lose my scholarships. I’m so stressed that I can’t sleep, even
when I try.”

Ellie broke off, and Dr. Kern gently tried to encourage her. “Let’s
not give up hope yet. Sometimes you have to use new study methods for a
while until you start to see some benefits. Let’s also take a look at
your exam and see if there’s a pattern in the questions you missed.”

Ellie sniffled again. “OK, but I’m not very hopeful. I’ve been
thinking about changing my major. All these upper-level courses seem so
hard … there’s so much to learn in such a short time and I just don’t
seem to get it even though everyone else does. I can’t stand the stress
anymore.”

“Perhaps talking this over with your parents or a trusted friend
would help,” Dr. Kern suggested. She noted Ellie’s strikingly large blue
eyes that gave her a permanent look of surprise. Ellie was also quite
thin, almost to the point of being too thin. Dr. Kern paused and chose
her words with care. “I also know there are terrific folks over at the
health center who are experts in how to deal with stress.”

Ellie gave a small, noncommittal smile and pushed a shaking hand
through her hair. “Thanks, I’ll think about it. See you in class on
Monday.”

However, Ellie didn’t come to class on Monday or Wednesday. She
emailed Dr. Kern that she most likely had a sinus infection and would
miss class on Friday to see a doctor. Dr. Kern shook her head at Ellie’s
misfortune; missing a week of class was not going to make it any easier
for Ellie to pull up her grade.

Questions

1. Note anything unusual about Ellie’s behavior or appearance.
   
2. What do you think might be going on with Ellie that could cause
   her difficulties? Consider both physical and psychological causes.