Overview
This unit is the third of three work-integrated learning units within the undergraduate Paramedic Course, requiring you to apply clinical knowledge, reasoning and practical skills at an advanced level in the acute prehospital care environment. You will complete a total of six weeks of clinical placement at an urban station with an approved ambulance service. Placement activities focus on clinical judgement and decision-making to support your increasingly independent practice, ensuring you are adequately prepared for entry into a graduate internship program.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Pre Requisites: PMSC13002 Clinical Paramedic Practice 2 and PMSC13003 Pharmacology in Paramedic Practice
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 - 2021
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 Undergraduate 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 pass/fail (non-graded) unit. To pass the unit, you must pass all of the individual assessment tasks shown in the table above.
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 Direct feedback
Students appreciated one-on-one contact for those experiencing significant personal trauma or placement-related stress during clinical placement.
Continue delivering support and follow-up phone calls for any student requiring additional support.
Feedback from Moodle feedback
Return of assessment one within one day was fantastic, but marking period for second assessment was too long.
Ensure faster turnaround of marking the larger portfolio task. Marking for this task does not usually coincide with residential schools, but this year twice the number of residentials were undertaken to assist students and to aid in catching up on postponed residentials from term one units.
- Demonstrate clinical reasoning and practical skills within the acute prehospital care setting
- Critically examine and self-evaluate own clinical decision-making processes during case management.
N/A
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |
---|---|---|
1 | 2 | |
1 - Portfolio - 0% | ||
2 - Professional Practice Placement - 0% |
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |
---|---|---|
1 | 2 | |
1 - Communication | ||
2 - Problem Solving | ||
3 - Critical Thinking | ||
4 - Information Literacy | ||
5 - Team Work | ||
6 - Information Technology Competence | ||
7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||
8 - Ethical practice | ||
9 - Social Innovation | ||
10 - 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 | 9 | 10 | |
1 - Portfolio - 0% | ||||||||||
2 - Professional Practice Placement - 0% |
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
j.d.taylor@cqu.edu.au
r.mceachern@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
PRE-PLACEMENT:
- Review your progress from Placement Two and establish your learning goals for this term.
Chapter
Review and test yourself on QAS CPM chapters:
- Behavioural Disturbance CPGs.
- Neurological CPGs.
- All related DTPs.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
PLACEMENT WEEK ONE:
- Discuss your learning goals and support needs with mentors at the earliest opportunity.
Chapter
Review and test yourself on QAS CPM chapters:
- Cardiac CPGs.
- Resuscitation CPGs.
- Respiratory CPGs.
- All related CPPs.
- All related DTPs.
Events and Submissions/Topic
- Primary goal this week is to discuss your learning goals and support needs with your paramedic mentors; it is important to let them know of any challenges that you had during your first and second placements.
- If you experience any challenges having a frank discussion regarding your support needs, please contact your Unit Coordinator.
Module/Topic
PLACEMENT WEEK TWO
Chapter
Review and test yourself on QAS CPM chapters:
- Obstetrics CPGs.
- Obstetrics CPPs.
- All related DTPs.
Events and Submissions/Topic
- Complete Mentor Reports the week.
Module/Topic
PLACEMENT WEEK THREE
Chapter
Review and test yourself on QAS CPM chapters:
- Medical CPGs.
- Other CPGs.
- All related DTPs.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
PLACEMENT WEEK FOUR
Chapter
Review and test yourself on QAS CPM chapters:
- Toxicology & Toxinology CPGs.
- Environmental CPGs.
- All related DTPs.
Events and Submissions/Topic
- Complete Mentor Reports this week.
Module/Topic
PLACEMENT WEEK FIVE
Chapter
Review and test yourself on QAS CPM chapters:
- Trauma CPGs.
- All related CPPs.
- All related DTPs.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
PLACEMENT WEEK SIX
Chapter
Review and test yourself on QAS CPM chapters:
- Review any aspects of the CPM you are least confident / experienced on.
Events and Submissions/Topic
- Complete Mentor Reports this week.
Module/Topic
Placement review period:
- Completion of placement assessment tasks.
- This week ensure your Mentor Reports are complete and ready for submission.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
- Submit your compiled Mentor Reports for grading by Friday 2359hrs.
- For non-standard clinical placement, the due date for your PAPERs is one week after completion of your placement.
Module/Topic
Placement review period:
- Finalise your portfolios for submission.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
- Submit your Portfolios for grading by Friday 2359hrs.
- For non-standard clinical placement, the due date for your Portfolio is two weeks after completion of your placement.
Module/Topic
No further events.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
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Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Clinical placement dates may be affected by COVID-specific guidelines enforced by State and Federal Governments, State ambulance Services and CQUniversity. Where possible, disruptions will be minimized and students informed if any changes need to take place. The requirements pertaining to this are:
- You must adhere to all ambulance service and State-related policies, procedures and communiques in relation to COVID, which can change without notice;
- If you are travelling for placement, travel restrictions may impact your ability to attend placement and/or return home, so please take care in planning travel and check restrictions for your home and placement area;
- If you cannot attend placement due to COVID, we will try for alternative arrangements for you, in conjunction with the industry partner, when biologically safe;
- If you experience any COVID symptoms at all, you MUST NOT attend placement and MUST seek medical advice;
- If you have any concerns or questions whatsoever about your ability to attend placement, please contact your Unit Coordinator for guidance.
There is to be no correspondence between the student and the industry provider outside of clinical placement dates, as all aspects of clinical placement coordination MUST be performed by the university on behalf of the student.
1 Professional Practice Placement
On a fortnightly basis, you will complete you Mentor Report with your supervising mentor. This report considers aspects of your clinical and professional performance on-road, including your performance as patient care officer, clinical procedures and skills, communication and teamwork skills, and your professional conduct, attitude, and demeanor. The Mentor Report guides you and your mentor through completion, and the form itself also provides comprehensive information for your mentor on your current stage of learning, your expected performance levels, and information on support and assessment. Please see the unit Moodle site for a complete description of this assessment task, including completion guidelines and examples.
This task is designed to enhance the educational quality and value of your clinical placement by:
- Establishing clear expectations of students’ clinical performance and knowledge, enabling mentors to frame assessment, feedback, and support at the appropriate level.
- Providing a framework for communication and feedback to guide and strengthen the Student - mentor relationship.
- Recording your on-road performance on a week-by-week basis, to demonstrate achievement of unit learning objectives and assessment requirements.
- Ensure adherence to required standards of conduct and attendance during clinical placement.
It is important to note that these documents are not solely to confirm your completion of unit requirements; they are equally valuable as evidence logs of your professionalism, conduct, and clinical performance that will support your future employment applications. For these reasons they are arguably the most valuable documents from your clinical placement, and it is imperative that you are diligent in completing them with your mentors as instructed.
For non-standard clinical placement dates your due date for this assessment is one week after the completion of your clinical placement.
For non-standard clinical placement dates your return date for this assessment is three weeks after submission.
Whilst attending placement you will provide a copy of the Student Information Sheet to all mentors that you work with. This sheet provides information on appropriate performance expectations, the goals of this placement phase, and on the performance review process. Appropriate feedback and grading from your mentor depends upon their access to this information, and it also provides University contact details in the event of emergencies or problems, so please ensure that you do provide this sheet for Mentors. Where problems arise in terms of performance expectations one of the first things that is checked is completion of the Student Information Sheet.
- Your submission must meet the following criteria to pass this assessment task.
- You must attend all scheduled shifts for both placement rotations. Minimum placement hours apply.
- You will complete three Mentor Reports with your mentors across the six weeks of your clinical placement according to the stated schedule: complete your first Mentor Report at end of second placement week, complete your second at end of fourth placement week, and finally the third during (but before the end of) the sixth and final placement week.
- You will submit all three Mentor Reports together on the first Friday following completion of clinical placement.
- All fields must be completed in full according to directions on the Information Sheet at the front of the document.
- Your shift attendance log must be verified as true and correct by either one of your Mentors or your station OIC. Failure to obtain a signature from your Mentor or OIC will result in your PAPER being return for all signatures.
- You must complete the Marking Checklist prior to submission of the Mentor Reports assessment.
- Notify the placement host by phone asap of any unplanned absenteeism; next notify the Unit Coordinator via email and attach a completed Absenteeism Report.
- Absences must be logged on the shift log, and arrangements made to complete missed hours. Minimum total hours apply.
- Minimum expectations of clinical performance grades are detailed within the assessment rubric on Moodle.
- Minimum expectations of professional conduct grades are detailed within the assessment rubric on Moodle.
- Students are expected to uphold the standards and requirements of the Clinical Placement Guidelines as provided within Moodle.
- Direct reports from industry of student misconduct, or of significant concerns regarding clinical performance, are investigated fully and may impact successful completion of this assessment task.
- Please scan all pages of your Mentor Reports, and compile into ONE SINGLE PDF file which has been scanned/printed in consecutive pages with the same page orientation.
Further information and examples of completed documentation are provided on Moodle.
Attendance and Mentor reports are subject to validity checks with placement hosts.
Professional Conduct:
Your professional conduct during clinical placement is subject to evaluation. Significant penalties, ranging from unit failure to course expulsion, exist for students whose conduct and/or actions breach University policies and/or those of the industry placement host. Direct lines of communication exist between placement hosts and the University, and all complaints or concerns raised by industry representatives will be fully investigated. In such circumstances both student and industry perspectives are sought.
Please review the policies and rubrics for this assessment task prior to placement; these are available on the Moodle assessment page.
You must submit and pass all components of this assessment to pass this task. This is a pass/fail assessment. You must pass all assessments to pass the unit.
- Demonstrate clinical reasoning and practical skills within the acute prehospital care setting
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
2 Portfolio
This term you will continue to use reflective practice activities to self-assess your own academic progress and to proactively manage your learning and development during on-road placement.
This assessment comprises a combination of clinical and non-clinical tasks presented in portfolio format. These tasks support your continued professional development through structured reflective practice activities and self-directed learning.
By continuing with this program of self-review through your final clinical placement, you will further cement the core skill set necessary to take charge of your academic and clinical professional development, both during this final clinical placement and future career with an Australian ambulance service.
For non-standard clinical placement dates, your portfolios are due two weeks after the completion of your clinical placement.
For non-standard clinical placement dates, your results will be posted three weeks after actual submission date.
The Portfolio comprises one workbook document, which must be completed to the required standard and submitted as a single combined PDF document. The portfolio will contain the following elements:
- Patient Care Officer Case Log.
- Pre and Post Placement Self-Reviews.
- Clinical Case Reviews, completed to the required standard. Please review the example provided in Moodle. Substandard CCRs will be returned for completion.
- Clinical Skills Sign-Off Sheet.
- DTP Sign-Off Sheet.
- Marking Checklist, to be completed by the student prior to submission.
The portfolio must be submitted as a single PDF file and uploaded to Moodle; please do not submit as image files, and please do not email these to your Lecturer. Please see the unit Moodle for a complete description and discussion of this assessment task, including completion guidelines and word count requirements as relevant.
You must submit and pass all components of this assessment to pass this task. This is a pass/fail assessment. You must pass all assessments to pass the unit.
An exemplar will be posted to the unit Moodle page for reference.
- Critically examine and self-evaluate own clinical decision-making processes during case management.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
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.