PS370 Unit 1 Biopsychosocial Model Board Post Example

Reviewed by Romilly Dunmore, MEd Health Psychology Purdue University Global Free custom sample in 24 to 48h

A scallop boat captain's heart attack ninety miles offshore is told twice in this PS370 Unit 1 discussion board post, first through the biomedical model and then through Engel's biopsychosocial model. The composite writer, a patient navigator at a New Bedford cardiac rehabilitation program, shows that the first account explains the ruptured plaque and the stent, while the second adds broken sleep on fourteen-day trips, a boat loan, smoking tied to night watches and a father who died at 58. She argues that the wider account matters most for recovery, since Paul left rehabilitation after six weeks. Replies add shift work and fear of reinjury. Purdue Global PS 370, Health Psychology, opens the BS in Psychology course this way.

CoursePS370 Health Psychology
UnitUnit 1
Paper typeDiscussion board post
LengthAbout 590 words, 3 pages double-spaced
FormatAPA 7 discussion post
SchoolPurdue University Global
ProgramBS in Psychology
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for PS370 Unit 1

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Two Models, One Heart Attack at Sea: A PS370 Unit 1 Discussion Post on the Biomedical and Biopsychosocial Models

PS370 · Unit 1 Discussion Board Post

Posted by [Student Name]

The writer, the captain, his family and the classmates are composite; the sources cited are real.

What this part is doingOpening with one illness explained by both models makes the comparison concrete before any definitions.
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Initial Post

I work as a patient navigator in a cardiac rehabilitation program in New Bedford, Massachusetts. One of our patients, whom I will call Paul, agreed to let me follow his recovery for this course. Paul is 51 and captains a scallop boat. Fourteen months ago, on the ninth day of a trip, he felt pressure in his chest while hauling gear. The Coast Guard flew him to a Boston hospital, where a cardiologist placed a stent in a blocked coronary artery.

The biomedical account of that night is clear and correct. Plaque built up in the artery wall, a section ruptured, a clot formed and the heart muscle beyond it was starved of oxygen. Paul's cholesterol was high, his blood pressure was high, and his cigarette habit, about twenty a day, dated back to age seventeen. The treatment followed the same logic: open the artery, then prescribe a statin, aspirin, a second antiplatelet drug and a beta-blocker.

Engel (1977) argued that this kind of account is necessary but incomplete, because it treats illness as a fault in the body alone and omits the man, his work and his family, which together shaped the fault. Read that way, Paul's story has more causes. He smoked most when the boat was fishing and he could not sleep; trips run ten to fourteen days, and he sleeps in four-hour pieces. He carries a loan on the boat and worries about fishing regulations that can close grounds with little notice. His father, also a fisherman, died of a heart attack at 58, and Paul believed for years that heart trouble was simply what happened to men in his family.

The biomedical model explains the artery; the biopsychosocial model explains why the artery closed and whether Paul will keep it open.

That difference matters most now. Six weeks after the stent, Paul stopped coming to rehabilitation sessions because the boat needed him back. A purely biomedical plan would count his prescriptions and call him treated. The biopsychosocial view asks what he believes about his heart, what work demands of him and who at home can help, and those answers decide whether the stent buys him years or months.

What illness have you seen where the social side mattered as much as the biology?

What this part is doingShowing what each model would do next, not only what it explains, is what turns the comparison into an argument.
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Reply to Keisha

Keisha, your example of your aunt's type 2 diabetes fits the same pattern, but I would add one social factor you did not mention: the two night shifts she works each week. Shift work disrupts sleep and meal timing in ways that can make blood sugar harder to control, and it may explain why the same medication works better for her in some weeks than others.

Reply to Tomás

Tomás, I agree that the biopsychosocial model can become a list of everything that might matter. Engel (1977) did not intend it as a checklist, though. In your father's case of chronic back pain, I would ask which psychological and social factors actually change what he does, such as fear of reinjury or the job he would lose, and set the others aside. Vlaeyen and Linton (2000) found that fear of movement predicts disability in back pain better than many physical findings do, which makes it a good place to start.

What this part is doingThe replies each add one specific factor or limit rather than praising the classmate's choice.
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References

Engel, G. L. (1977). The need for a new medical model: A challenge for biomedicine. Science, 196(4286), 129-136. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.847460

Vlaeyen, J. W. S., & Linton, S. J. (2000). Fear-avoidance and its consequences in chronic musculoskeletal pain: A state of the art. Pain, 85(3), 317-332. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3959(99)00242-0

The Purdue Global PS370 Unit 1 instructions

The opening PS370 board asks you to compare the biomedical and biopsychosocial models using an illness you know, whether your own, a relative's or a client's with identifying details changed. Explain what the biomedical model says caused the illness and how it would treat it. Then add the psychological and social factors the biopsychosocial model brings in, and show what difference they make to treatment or recovery. Cite Engel or another source on the models. Around 400 words for the initial post is typical, with two replies that add a factor or a limit the classmate left out. Ending on a question that draws out classmates' own cases keeps the thread going through the week.

How this PS370 Unit 1 example is built

The post introduces Paul, a 51-year-old captain flown to Boston after chest pressure on the ninth day of a trip. A biomedical paragraph covers plaque, clot, stent and four medications. Engel's critique then opens a second account: sleep in four-hour pieces, a boat loan, fishing rules that close grounds and a belief that heart trouble ran in the family. A highlighted line states that one model explains the artery and the other explains whether it stays open. The post shows what each model would do next after Paul quit rehabilitation. Replies add an aunt's night shifts to a diabetes example and point a classmate's back-pain case toward fear of movement, citing Vlaeyen and Linton.

Reading the PS370 Unit 1 grading rubric

Graders of the first board look for both models explained accurately and applied to the same illness. A post earns more when the biopsychosocial factors are specific, such as hours of sleep or a debt, rather than general words like stress. Showing what each model would do differently in treatment moves the post from description to comparison. Credit Engel or a similar source for the model. Replies are judged on whether they add something, a missing factor or a limit, rather than agreeing. Instructors often reward posts that acknowledge the biomedical model is correct as far as it goes, since the course builds on biology rather than replacing it.

PS370 Unit 1 help: mistakes that cost points

The usual slip treats the biopsychosocial model as a rejection of biology, so the post never explains the disease itself. Another is a list of psychological and social factors with no link to what happened to the person. Some posts choose an illness so general, such as cancer, that nothing specific can be said. Replies frequently say only that the classmate's example was interesting. To avoid these, name one biological cause, one psychological factor and one social factor for your case, and write one sentence on how the second and third change treatment. If a reply cannot add a factor, ask a question that would reveal one.

Get a PS370 Unit 1 example written to your instructions

Send the Unit 1 prompt and the rubric. A custom post explains one illness through both models with a concrete case, and a first post is free, delivered within 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

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PS370 Unit 1 questions, answered

Who proposed the biopsychosocial model?

George Engel, in a 1977 article in Science.

Does the biopsychosocial model reject biology?

No; it adds psychological and social causes to biological ones.

How long should replies be?

A few sentences adding a factor the classmate's account left out.

Where can I find a free PS370 Unit 1 sample paper?

This page holds the complete PS370 Unit 1 post comparing the biomedical and biopsychosocial models through a composite captain's heart attack, with two replies.

What does the biopsychosocial model add in the PS370 Unit 1 sample?

Broken sleep at sea, a boat loan, smoking on night watch and a family belief about heart disease, which help explain why the captain left rehabilitation.