As a sonographer it is necessary to record the result of the ultrasound accurately and within a timely manner. This includes commenting on the sonographic appearance of both normal and abnormal organs, including appropriate measurements and diagrams as necessary.

This task will assess your ability to record the results of a modified thyroid sonographic examination, after you have completed your practical pre-test. This will also provide formative feedback for the practical skills test on the thyroid in Week 9.

Schedule of Test:

• You will be given five minutes to complete the ultrasound worksheet, following the practical (pre-test) examination.
• You will review images on the ultrasound machine.

This is a PASS or FAIL assessment. In order for a student to achieve a pass in this assessment:

• You must achieve a mark of 65% or higher.
• In the event that a student fails to reach this standard, an opportunity will be given for the student to resit the assessment test once.
• A repeat of the assessment will be done at a suitable time, on campus, using images provided by the unit coordinator.
• The week 7 worksheet assessment is a summative assessment and as such, there will be no option to repeat this test.

Pass/Fail Assessment Items:

As per the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework) item 4.62, 'In non-graded (pass/fail) units, all assessment tasks must be submitted by the due date. Students who fail a single assessment task in a pass/fail unit, or who fail a pass/fail component of a graded unit will be deemed to have failed that unit.'

This is a PASS/FAIL assessment.

This assessment challenges your ability to perform routine sonographic scanning techniques and image optimisation/acquisition of the thyroid in a reasonable time period to advance beginner level. It will be assessed using the Assessment of Readiness for Clinical (ARC Tool), including professional (pre-scan, during, and post-scan) and technical (scanning) requirements that are discussed in the unit lab manual, instructed labs, lectures, and tutorials. These are outlined as follows:

• Professional (pre-scan, during, and post-scan) requirements
• Apply patient care techniques and effective communication to obtain relevant patient history, informed consent, and to direct ‘patients’ accordingly
• Apply professionalism in dealing with equipment and the scanning setting

Technical (scanning) requirements for a modified Thyroid examination:

• You are required to perform routine sonographic scanning techniques, image optimisation, and acquisition, in a reasonable time period to advanced beginner level. A scanning time limit of 15 mins is applied to this assessment
• You will be assessed using the ‘assessment of readiness for clinical’ (ARC) tool, which is available on the unit Moodle site.

To pass this assessment, both the professional and technical components must be graded as a ‘pass’. The components are graded separately so that if one is passed and the other is not, only the failed component must be repeated to pass. If you have failed only the professional component, the full assessment will be repeated, but you will only be marked on the professional component. There is only ONE opportunity to re-sit either component of the assessment item. 

Please carefully review the assessment information and ARC tool posted on the unit Moodle site.

The criteria to receive a ‘Pass’ are as follows:

• A pass rate of 65% of available marks in both the technical and professional components and all bolded points in the professional component must be achieved in order to pass the assessment.

• The skills test will assess scanning technique, image optimisation, demonstration of required anatomy on images obtained, and adherence to scan protocols. The non-scanning component will assess communication, professional behaviour, patient care, infection control, and ergonomics.

• The sonography tutor will observe the student's performance of the full scanning procedure and assess each task relative to the stated standards of the Assessment of Readiness for Clinical (ARC) tool. The ARC tool and supporting details can be found on the unit Moodle site.

Re-evaluation options:

In the event that a student does not achieve a minimum of 65% or higher or fails one of the bolded items in the professional component of the ARC tool, they will be given ONE opportunity to re-sit the technical and/or professional components in week 12. These will be conducted by a different assessor to that of the first assessment for this module. If the student has failed only the professional component, the full assessment will be repeated, but the student will only be marked on the professional component.

Please be aware that all assessments will be video recorded for moderation purposes. The videos will not be released to students for review.

There will be two separate online quizzes to assess your knowledge of the unit material. These are open book, and will be held in week 5 and week 12. Once available, the quiz will be open for 32 hours (ie opens at 10:00 Monday and close Tuessday 18:00 AEST).

• The content of these quizzes will be anatomy, scanning planes, image optimisation, pathology, patient care, medico-legal aspects, communication, ergonomics, sonographic terminology and infection control. The purpose of these quizzes is to ensure adequate review of theory from year 1, and that sufficient preparation has been undertaken prior to labs.
  
• Each quiz will have 20 questions.
• You will be allowed three attempts at each quiz. It is not compulsory to attempt the quiz three times. The attempt where you achieved the highest grade will serve as your final score for that quiz.
• There is a minimum requirement in the assessment task: 70% for each quiz.
• In the absence of an approved extension, there will be no opportunity to complete a quiz after it has closed, so ensure adequate time for completion.
• Once the quiz has commenced, approximately 1 minute per question will be given, for example, a 20 question quiz would be given a time limit of 20 minutes to complete.
  
• Quiz dates and topics are available on the unit Moodle site.

You must achieve a pass rate of 70% of the overall cumulative score of both quizzes to pass this component. Answers will be either be correct or incorrect and tabulated by the Moodle online unit system.

Pass/fail units

As per the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework) item 4.62, 'In non-graded (pass/fail) units, all assessment tasks must be submitted by the due date. Students who fail a single assessment task in a pass/fail unit, or who fail a pass/fail component of a graded unit will be deemed to have failed that unit.

This is an open book quiz, so you have the opportunity to consult your notes, lecture slides, textbooks, and Moodle page. However, this assessment is to be undertaken as an individual. As per the Academic Misconduct Procedure document, cheating is defined as "fraud, dishonesty or deceit of any kind in relation to an academic assessment.

Examples include:

a. copying or attempting to copy from other students in either an examination or assessment;

f.Colluding with other students in individual assessments;

g. allowing others to provide you with any material that give you an unfair advantage in an assessment, and

i. completing an assessment for another person or having another person assisting in the completion of your assessment." Colluding with other students on non-group work tasks is considered academic misconduct, and will be reported to the Deputy Dean of Learning and Teaching (HMAS).

Professional behaviour is a critical part of any medical imaging profession, and encompasses the manner in which we treat our colleagues, patients, and the professional settings and equipment provided to us. The purpose of this assessment is to ensure that students from the medical sonography course are well-equipped to embody the high standards of professionalism that are expected from CQUniversity students while on their upcoming clinical placements. This assessment will require you to treat each of your lab sessions as a scheduled "work shift" and to exhibit high quality professional attributes to ensure you are prepared to enter the work force with the skills required to provide safe patient care and professional behaviour. As such, this assessment is based on continuous and ongoing assessment of student application and attendance during labs. Note: this extends to all behaviour exhibited by you during your time studying this unit, up until the end of exam week. This includes participation in forums and online tutorials, labs, social media etiquette, phone calls, attitude towards peers and staff, and all official correspondence with university staff, peers, and community.

This is a PASS/FAIL assessment. This assessment is marked using the Professional Behaviour Assessment (PBA) rubric and incorporates LiPs (lapses in professionalism) - to pass this unit, you need to get 12/15 for your PBA and can receive a maximum of three LiPs across all descriptors. i.e. if a fourth LiP is issued, the maximum mark would be 11/15 and the assessment will be graded as a fail. As this is a pass/fail unit, all assessment are required to pass the unit.

All interactions with staff and peers pertaining to this unit will be treated as a replica of the clinical work environment. You will be expected to demonstrate all of the professional behaviour that will be expected of you in a formal work environment. LiPs can be issued in three different categories:

1. Professional behaviour towards colleagues and staff,

2. Professional behaviour towards patients, and

3. Professional behaviour towards professional settings and equipment.

Expected behaviour and its relevance to the clinical environment is listed under the Assessment 4: Professional Behaviour Assessment Description on the unit Moodle site. You must review this information and be aware of what is expected of you for this unit. Please be aware that having your Formative Feedback Forms signed after your lab day by not bringing them to lab would have consequences in departments in a clinical setting and will warrant a LiP. You will be required to fill out a Formative Feedback Form for each of your labs, but not for the dates of your practical skills tests as outlined in the lab manual. It is very important that you familiarise yourself with the CODE OF CONDUCT in the Lab Manual as well as the ASAR CODE OF CONDUCT and the CQU CODE OF CONDUCT. All of these documents are posted on the unit Moodle site for your information.

If unprofessional attitude or behaviour is reported by fellow classmates and not witnessed by a staff member, a written warning detailing the allegations will be issued to the student, and the student's response documented. If further evidence of an on-going unprofessional behaviour surfaces, then a LiP may be issued. This excludes lack of professionalism displayed in the use of the Google docs practise system, where the unit coordinator is able to access details of when practises are booked or changed.

Up to THREE LiPs can be issued before the assessment is graded as a FAIL. However, if any exhibited attitude or behaviour is deemed as unsafe or inappropriate for clinical practice, the professional behaviour assessment will be graded as a FAIL at the discretion of the unit coordinator.

Note: As a reward for demonstrating the professional behaviour we expect in our students, the names of students who get full marks for this assessment are given to clinical academics and clinical placement sites as students who have displayed exemplary professional behaviour throughout the term.

Pass/fail assessment.

When a LiP is felt appropriate, it will be discussed between the student and either the on-site lecturer or the unit coordinator. Written documentation explaining the reason for the issued demerit will be signed by the on-site lecturer or the unit coordinator and sent to the student via email.

A maximum of THREE demerit points can be obtained to pass this unit - any more than three and the assessment is graded as a FAIL.