Overview
Vascular ultrasound is a common part of clinical practice and with the ageing of the population the incidence of peripheral, abdominal and extra cranial vascular disease is on the rise. In this unit, you will study advanced practice in vascular ultrasound, both arterial and venous. You will acquire knowledge of vascular anatomy, pathophysiology and flow haemodynamics. The application and measurements used in the non-invasive interrogation of peripheral, abdominal and extra cranial vasculature will be explained. You will appreciate the role of ultrasound, and other imaging modalities, in the clinical assessment, diagnosis and management of a patient with vascular disease, including professional, legal and ethical considerations. The classic signs, symptoms, aetiology, prevalence of major peripheral, abdominal and extra cranial vascular disease will be discussed. Case studies will include new developments in vascular ultrasound imaging.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2022
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from "Have Your Say"
Students benefited from the extensive e-reading list of the unit which they could easily access and use as references for their assignments.
Continue to revise and update the e-reading list to expose students to contemporary research in the field of vascular ultrasound.
Feedback from "Have Your Say"
Students commented that the unit coordinator had great communication skills and touched based every week at least once to update the class as what is expected for the coming week.
Continue to maintain regular communication with students throughout the term via the news forum to update students of relevant weekly unit content and expectations.
Feedback from "Have Your Say"
Students commented that the practice online test was beneficial in preparing them for the final assessment.
Continue to offer the practice online test to help students prepare for their final assessment.
- Discuss the classic signs, symptoms, aetiology, and prevalence of major peripheral, abdominal and extra cranial vascular disease
- Analyse sonographic anatomy and haemodynamic appearances of normal and pathological features of the peripheral, abdominal and extra cranial vasculature in order to interpret and communicate the sonographic findings
- Detect vascular pathology through analysis and interpretation of ultrasound images obtained from clinical case studies of common and rare vascular conditions
- Evaluate the role of ultrasound and other imaging modalities in the clinical assessment, diagnosis and management of vascular disease, including professional, legal and ethical considerations.
The Masters course does not lead to entry into the sonography profession but is rather studied by qualified practitioners to support advanced practice. Therefore it does not require external accreditation. The Master of Medical Ultrasound qualifies as Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activity (activity code 10B - Australian Sonographers Accreditation Registry (ASAR)). Thus unit alone does not lead to award of a qualification in specialist vascular ultrasound.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Portfolio - 50% | ||||
| 2 - Online Test - 50% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | ||||
| 2 - Communication | ||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | ||||
| 4 - Research | ||||
| 5 - Self-management | ||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | ||||
| 7 - Leadership | ||||
| 8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| 1 - Portfolio - 50% | ||||||||
| 2 - Online Test - 50% | ||||||||
Textbooks
CLINICAL DOPPLER ULTRASOUND
THIRD EDITION (2014)
Authors: MYRON A POZNIAK and PAUL L. ALLAN
CHURCHILL LIVINGSTONE ELSEVIER
LONDON LONDON , UK
ISBN: 978-0-7020-5015-2
Binding: Hardcover
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Vancouver
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
m.fenech@cqu.edu.au
s.gibb@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Revision of Doppler physics and haemodynamic principles
Chapter
Clinical Doppler Ultrasound, Pozniak and Allan: Chapters 1 and 2: pp 1-38
Vascular Ultrasound, How, Why and When, Thrush and Hartshorn: Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7: pp 23-85
Recorded lectures
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The abdominal aorta and branches
Chapter
Pozniak and Allan: Chapter 6: pp 122-134, Chapter 9: pp 193-213
Thrush and Hartshorn: Chapter 12 pp 175-191
Recorded lectures and reading materials posted on Moodle.
E-reading list.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Peripheral arteries, lower limb
Chapter
Pozniak and Allan: Chapter 4 pp 71-93
Thrush and Hartshorn: Chapter 9 pp 117-141
Recorded lectures and reading materials posted on Moodle.
E-reading list.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Peripheral arteries, upper limb
Chapter
Pozniak and Allan: Chapter 4 pp 77-82
Thrush and Hartshorn: Chapter 10 pp 143-154
Recorded lectures and reading materials posted on Moodle.
E-reading list.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Peripheral veins, lower limb
Chapter
Pozniak and Allan: Chapter 5 pp 94-121
Thrush and Hartshorn: Chapter 13 pp 193-232, Chapter 14 pp 233-249
Recorded lectures and reading materials posted on Moodle.
E-reading list.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Break Week
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Peripheral veins, upper limb
Chapter
Pozniak and Allan: Chapter 5 pp 102-103
Thrush and Hartshorn: Chapter 14 pp 250-253
Recorded lectures and reading materials posted on Moodle.
E-reading list.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Carotid and vertebral arteries
Chapter
Pozniak and Allan: Chapter 3 pp 39-70
Thrush and Hartshorn: Chapter 8 pp 87-116
Recorded lectures and reading materials posted on Moodle.
E-reading list.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Mixed Topics:
Renal artery Doppler
Penile Doppler Ultrasound
Chapter
Pozniak and Allan:
Chapter 9 and Chapter 12 pp 261-272
Thrush and Hartshorn: Chapter 12 pp 188-199
Recorded lectures and reading materials posted on Moodle.
E-reading list.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Mixed Topics:
Pre and post AVF duplex scan
Ovarian veins duplex assessments
Chapter
Pozniak and Allan: Chapter 7
Thrush and Hartshorn: Chapter 16 pp 284-297
Recorded lectures and reading materials posted on Moodle.
E-reading list.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Contemporary Vascular Imaging
Chapter
Latest research articles and links to latest websites available from the e-reading list.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Revision
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Online test.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
It is important to check your student email regularly as updates about this unit will be sent from the unit coordinator by email. Please ensure email correspondence is done via your CQU student email. This unit is a 6-credit point unit which requires you to allocate around 12.5 hours per week for study. The unit is graded. There are two assessment items, please refer to the assessment information for more details. Recorded lectures are provided, and interactive tutorials will be offered to discuss course content, and assessment preparation. You will be able to ask questions and discuss concepts with your peers and tutor and gain feedback related to assessment tasks at these interactive tutorials. The times and dates of tutorials will be provided at the commencement of the term. The schedule of these may change throughout the term, so check for updates of these on the unit Moodle site and via emails.
1 Portfolio
As a sonographer, a comprehensive knowledge of vascular duplex imaging techniques and recognition of ultrasound appearances in the presence of a vascular disease are imperative. Knowledge of the pathophysiology of vascular disease together with the ability to recognise haemodynamic changes in venous and arterial flow equips sonographers with the skills required to interpret the findings and impart the correct information to the referring clinician.
You are required to submit a portfolio of two sonographic vascular case reports of the same region, one with and one without a vascular pathology. The sonographic vascular examinations included in the case reports are expected to be completed by you.
Your portfolio will include an introduction to describe the two cases and why you have presented these, including the importance of the role of vascular ultrasound in patient management.
A critical review of relevant literature related to the sonographic studies and pathology discussed is required.
Each case report will include a discussion of:
- Brief patient history and discussion of the clinical question of interest.
- Imaging and non-imaging investigations undertaken
- Pre-test clinical diagnosis
- Sonographic examination conducted including discussion of sonographic technique
- Sonographic findings
- Comparison of sonographic findings to any other diagnostic tests performed
- Pathology demonstrated or excluded
- Differential diagnosis
- Impact of imaging findings on management of patient
- Post-intervention ultrasound findings if relevant
The portfolio will also include a discussion to compare the normal and abnormal sonographic findings provided in each case presented.
You must include a conclusion to highlight key learning points, any new findings in literature that could be communicated to other sonographers regarding these cases, and any suggestions for future research to be conducted that may improve sonographic diagnosis of the vascular conditions discussed.
The word count for the portfolio is 2000 words +/- 10% (excluding the title, headings, tables, diagrams, figure legends and the references).
Relevant de-identified sonographic images must be included and referred to within the document.
Week 9 Friday (16 Sept 2022) 2:00 pm AEST
Late submissions (without prior approval of extension) will be subject to deduction of 5% overall marks per 24 hours delay.
Week 11 Friday (30 Sept 2022)
Students' marks together with marking rubrics containing feedback will be uploaded onto the unit Moodle site.
The portfolio must be written in a coherent and cohesive manner with a good flow of ideas which is engaging to the reader.
The rationale behind the imaging request should be clearly discussed and linked to vascular sonographic findings.
Logical evidence-based discussion with sufficient in-text citations is required.
The significance of the sonographic examinations undertaken must be explained.
Adherence to academic writing conventions is required.
- Discuss the classic signs, symptoms, aetiology, and prevalence of major peripheral, abdominal and extra cranial vascular disease
- Analyse sonographic anatomy and haemodynamic appearances of normal and pathological features of the peripheral, abdominal and extra cranial vasculature in order to interpret and communicate the sonographic findings
- Evaluate the role of ultrasound and other imaging modalities in the clinical assessment, diagnosis and management of vascular disease, including professional, legal and ethical considerations.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
2 Online Test
Every health professional needs to possess a body of knowledge that is relevant to their scope of practice whereby the fundamentals are required to be understood which you will build upon clinically. To demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of concepts covered in this unit you are required to complete an online test. The test can be accessed through the assessment tab on the unit Moodle site. It will be open for one week. You will need to provide typed responses to 10 online questions within a 1.5 hour (90 minute) time period (allowing 9 minutes per question). Sonographic image viewing questions will be included and you are required to be familiar with normal and abnormal sonographic appearances of the vascular systems discussed in this unit. You must note opening and closing times to complete the test during this time period. You are required to provide typed answers and only ONE attempt of the test is allowed. Once started, the test cannot be paused or restarted. This assessment is to be undertaken as an individual. The test will open at Friday 7th October 9am (AEST) and close on Friday 14th October 7 pm (AEST), 2022.
Review/Exam Week Friday (14 Oct 2022) 7:00 pm AEST
The access to the online test will be open from Friday 7th October 09:00 am AEST and close on Friday 14th October.
Exam Week Friday (21 Oct 2022)
Responses will be assessed according to
- Use of appropriate terminology and descriptors as well as grammar, spelling, the relevance of response and competence in addressing all elements of the question.
- The student's ability to appropriately interpret sonographic images/graphs/tables and then to succinctly compose an appropriate response based on their learning from the unit.
- Discuss the classic signs, symptoms, aetiology, and prevalence of major peripheral, abdominal and extra cranial vascular disease
- Analyse sonographic anatomy and haemodynamic appearances of normal and pathological features of the peripheral, abdominal and extra cranial vasculature in order to interpret and communicate the sonographic findings
- Detect vascular pathology through analysis and interpretation of ultrasound images obtained from clinical case studies of common and rare vascular conditions
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
