The safe and competent performance of medical procedures and skills forms a core aspect of paramedic practice, and as such all qualified Paramedics need to be assessed on a regular basis to ensure continued excellent standards of practice. In this assessment, you will be graded on your procedural and declarative knowledge of the various skills and procedures which you will learn throughout this course.

Your procedural knowledge of each skill will be assessed during laboratory sessions, either on a weekly basis for Internal Students or during Residential School for External Students. During lab sessions you will learn the skills from both the lecturer and from your peers. Assessment of your skill performance will be undertaken by the lecturer during lab sessions prior to moving on to the next skill.

Your declarative knowledge of each skill or procedure will be assessed with the pre-lab lessons that will be submitted prior to attending that weeks laboratory for Internal students and before the residential school for external students. Failure to complete the lessons will make you ineligible to attend that week’s laboratory session.

Attendance at each Laboratory session and Residential school is compulsory. Inability to attend any lab session must be discussed as soon a possible with your lecturer BEFORE THE SCHEDULED TIME.

Internal students procedures and skills will be assessed during each Lab session, with external students being assessed during the residential schools. You will by assessed by structured scenarios, voice vivas, skills stations, as well as via general observations made throughout the relevant session.

Preamble:

Pre-hospital care in Australia is a dynamic and constantly evolving environment. With the introduction of new technology, and emerging research, the way paramedics assess and treat patients will also evolve and change.

Details:

You are to investigate and report on a skill or procedure in patient assessment or management that is not currently taught or utilised in any Australian Ambulance Service. You will deliver your findings as a scientific poster presentation.

Objectives:

Research a skill or procedure not taught or utilised by any Australian Ambulance service.

Using evidence based data discuss:

· Why this new skill or procedure would be a valid inclusion for paramedic practice,

· What skill levels would be authorised to perform the skill or procedure and why,

· What, if any, limitations are associated with the skill or procedure i.e. cost of the device, short shelf life etc., and how would you mitigate these issues,

· What Clinical Practice Guidelines would this new skill or procedure relate to i.e. Cardiac Arrest, Seizure, Burns etc.

Create a Clinical Practice Procedure to complement the new skill or procedure. Including:

· A brief introduction of the skill or procedure,

· Indications,

· Contraindications,

· Complications/Precautions/Potential side effects (as relevant),

· Special notes/Additional information,

· Procedure (step-by-step explanation on how the skill or procedure is performed).

Rationale:

Pre-hospital care is more and more becoming an evidence based profession, all new skills and procedures should therefore be based on evidence. As a health care professional we need to deliver best practice for all our patients and remain current in our clinical practice. Clinical Practice Guidelines are the framework for delivery of pre-hospital care, they ensure standardisation of delivery across the entire service and provide a safety net for both the patient and the clinician.

To achieve a High Distinction for this assessment item students must:

• Work presented in a logical sequence and all elements included
• Work presented to a high grammatical standard with less than 2 grammatical errors
• Chosen skill meets selection criteria supported with strong evidence to support inclusion
• Strong evidence to support authority to practice
• Strong discussion and solution using current evidence to support argument
• Strong evidence to support inclusion in relevant CPG’s
• Strong introduction of skill that displays advanced knowledge of skill
• All elements included, excellent presentation with logical progression
• Consistently acknowledges sources of information to support & reflect all ideas, factual information & quotations
• Utilised <10 relevant articles
• All elements included and researched to a high academic standard
• All elements of CPG included and researched to a high academic standard
• Excellent presentation, visually appealing, excellent use of colour and graphics, well defined with logical flow
• Work presented to a high grammatical standard with less than 2 grammatical errors

• Consistently acknowledges sources of information to support & reflect all ideas, factual information & quotations

Preamble:

Pre-hospital care in Australia is a dynamic and constantly evolving environment. Today's paramedics are required to think laterally and problem solve within the requirements of their role.

Details

Part A: PeerWise (20%)

You are required to produce a minimum of three (3) multiple choice questions related to the skills/procedures taught to you in this course (PMSC12001), using the PeerWise software.

The questions must be uploaded to the PeerWise software and you must also answer a minimum of seven (7) of your peers questions and provide appropriate feedback on those questions. The review of other student’s questions will be anonymous.

Part B: Short Answer Response (30%)

Using evidence based data discuss your thoughts on the following situations:

1. You have been called to a traffic accident on the highway. Your patient has been reported to have chest injuries. After examination (patient is extricated and supine on the side of the road) you find your patient to be in a traumatic cardiac arrest. You determine the need for bilateral chest decompression, however your patient is morbidly obese and you and your partner struggle to find any landmarks on the patient’s chest. What are your options and how will you perform this procedure?
2. You have been called to a 65yr male complaining of chest pain. After assessment you determine that your patient is suffering from an acute inferior Myocardial Infarction, and determine the need for IV access. You set up your equipment and begin to cannulate the (L) ACF. During the procedure you become concerned that you have cannulated an artery instead of a vein. How would you determine this? Once you have confirmed that you have cannulated an artery, how would you rectify this situation? Identify some common causes for mistaken arterial puncture as well as provide solutions to help reduce these.
3. You have been called to the local horse stables to a 22yr old female who was kicked by a horse. After examination you note that the patient is in significant pain, with obvious deformity to their right upper thigh. You suspect that the patient has a broken femur and determine the need to apply the Femoral Traction Device. Why are fractured femurs treated differently to any other limb fracture? If this patient had bilateral fractured femurs, how would you size up the traction splint and how would you know when enough traction has been applied?

Word Count: 300 (+/-10%) for each short answer response

Rational:

The ability to write a good question requires you to have truly understood a topic and shows evidence of a deeper level of understanding. The combination of a deeper understanding and ability for lateral thinking are vital skills required for today's paramedics

This assessment task also provides you with the opportunity to use the question and answers provided as revision for your own study.

To achieve a pass mark in this assessment students must submit all three (3) questions and must answer at least seven (7) other questions from your peers and provide constructive feedback for those questions.

As you contribute to PeerWise, you will accumulate a score which is composed of three parts:

• Writing questions (Questioning),

• Answering questions (Answering), and

• Rating questions you have answered (Rating).

This score will then be converted to a marking matrix provided on the Moodle Page. The more questions you create and answer the better your overall score will be.

The PeerWise software will be open from the beginning of term until the end of week 11.

The PeerWise score will contribute to 20% of this assessment item with the Short Answer Questions contributing to the final 30%

Further information will be available on the Moodle page