Epidemiology has the potential for both medical breakthroughs and serious barriers to the epidemiological control of disease, and the way we approach epidemiology in the future will determine which of these possibilities wins out. On the positive side, epidemiology will leverage new technologies. For example, genetic epidemiology will allow doctors to actually prevent disease by targeting individuals with genetic predispositions for certain diseases and then reducing their disease risk (Okasha, n.d.). On the other hand, the high percentage of specialization among physicians reduces the ability to diagnose a patient because it segregates the patient's treating physicians, and they compartmentalize the patient's symptoms. In the event of an infectious disease outbreak, epidemiology would fare better because of collaboration among medical professionals, who would identify the symptoms, isolate people with those symptoms, and trace and quarantine their contacts (Fraser, Riley, Anderson, & Ferguson, 2004, p. 6146).
For the 19-year-old with recurring nosebleeds, if other symptoms associated with the nosebleeds such as nasal blockage, facial numbness, forehead pain, pain between the eyes, cheek pain, or bulging of one eye also occurred, head and neck cancer would be suspected ("Symptoms of Head and Neck Cancer," 2009). If her only symptom was the nosebleeds, other less serious conditions might be suspected, such as hypertension, allergies, local irritation, a hemorrhagic condition, or an abnormality of the septum (Nguyen, 2007). Depending upon which combination of symptoms the student manifests, I would proceed accordingly with further tests.
Utilizing "clinical reasoning" and the "ABCDE: Screening Moles for Possible Melanoma" guidelines, I would ask the 45-year-old male with the area of concern on the bridge of his nose how long he has had the lesion, whether he has noted any itching or bleeding of the area or
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