Overview
In this unit you will study the pathophysiology, presentation, and prehospital management of various medical / surgical conditions, learning how to discriminate between similar conditions and confounding presentations. Through case-based learning you will develop the critical thinking and clinical judgement skills to confidently reach diagnoses and determine the most appropriate clinical management in accordance with contemporary industry guidelines and protocols. A residential school consolidates knowledge with practice in high-fidelity simulation case management exercises.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Pre-requisites: PMSC12002 Clinical Paramedic Practice 1 MPAT12001 Medical Pathophysiology 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 - 2017
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).
Residential Schools
This unit has a Compulsory Residential School for distance mode students and the details are:
Click here to see your Residential School Timetable.
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.
- Take a systematic and responsive approach to clinical assessment and evaluation.
- Evaluate clinical history and assessment data to differentiate between medical pathologies and reach accurate diagnoses.
- Apply critical thinking in case management, justifying clinical decisions with evidence-based rationale.
- Manage clinical cases with appropriate prioritisation of treatment in accordance with industry guidelines and protocols.
The unit increases students' capacity to perform on-road as independent clinicians with Australian ambulance services. This is in direct response to industry feedback (through both direct consultation with management and via clinical placement feedback forms) that students and graduates lack practical skills in clinical case management, noted as a disconnect between medical science studies and the contextual application of this knowledge in the clinical environment. Improving our students' ability to meet industry requirements will strengthen the Paramedic Course ability to meet accreditation requirements.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
1 - Written Assessment - 0% | ||||
2 - Online Quiz(zes) - 0% | ||||
3 - Practical Assessment - 0% |
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
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 - Written Assessment - 0% | ||||||||||
2 - Online Quiz(zes) - 0% | ||||||||||
3 - Practical Assessment - 0% |
Textbooks
Emergency and Trauma Care for Nurses and Paramedics
2nd Edition (2015)
Authors: Curtis,K & Ramsden,C
Elsevier
Chatswood Chatswood , NSW , Australia
ISBN: 978072952050
Binding: Hardcover
Anatomy and Physiology: From Science to Life
Edition: 3rd (2013)
Authors: G.W. Jenkins & G.J. Tortora
Wiley
USA
ISBN: 9780470598917
Binding: Hardcover
Additional Textbook Information
The prescribed text book for this unit will also be the prescribed text for PMSC13011.
The supplementary text book for this unit was the prescribed text for BMSC11001.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 6th Edition (APA 6th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
a.hodgetts@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Week 1 Cardiovascular Emergencies
Chapter
Curtis & Ramsden (2015)
Chapter 22: Cardiovascular Emergencies
Jenkins & Tortora (2013)
Chapter 19: The Cardiovascular System
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Week 2 Respiratory Emergencies Part 1
Chapter
Curtis & Ramsden (2015)
Chapter 21: Respiratory EmergenciesJenkins & Tortora (2013)
Chapter 22: The Respiratory System
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online lecture/tutorial
Module/Topic
Week 3 Respiratory Emergencies Part 2
Chapter
Curtis & Ramsden (2015)
Chapter 21: Respiratory EmergenciesJenkins & Tortora (2013)
Chapter 22: The Respiratory SystemEvents and Submissions/Topic
Online lecture/tutorial
Module/Topic
Week 4 Neurological Emergencies Part 1
Chapter
Curtis & Ramsden (2015)
Chapter 23: Neurological Emergencies
Jenkins & Tortora (2013)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online lecture/tutorial
Module/Topic
Week 5 Neurological Emergencies Part 2
Chapter
Curtis & Ramsden (2015)
Chapter 23: Neurological Emergencies
Jenkins & Tortora (2013)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online lecture/tutorial
Written Assessment Due: Week 5 Friday (11 Aug 2017) 11:45 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Mid-Term Break
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Week 6 Gastrointestinal and Genitourinary Emergencies
Chapter
Curtis & Ramsden (2015)
Chapter 24: Gastrointestinal EmergenciesChapter 25: Renal and Genitourinary Emergencies
Jenkins & Tortora (2013)
Chapter 23: The digestive SystemChapter 24: The Urinary System
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online lecture/tutorial
Module/Topic
Week 7 Endocrine Emergencies
Chapter
Curtis & Ramsden (2015)
Chapter 26: Endocrine Emergencies
Jenkins & Tortora (2013)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online lecture/tutorial
Module/Topic
Week 8 Immunological Emergencies
Chapter
Curtis & Ramsden (2015)
Chapter 27: Healthcare Associated Infections and Communicable Diseases
Jenkins & Tortora (2013)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online lecture/tutorial
Module/Topic
Week 9 Residential School
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Week 10 Residential School
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Week 11
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Week 12
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
This unit has a compulsory residential school for all enrolled students.
Residential school locations and dates are:
Cairns:
10th - 12th September
Rockhampton:
18th - 20th September, or
29th September - 1st October
Townsville:
21st - 23rd September
You must nominate for a position at your preferred residential school through MYCQU.
Numbers at residential schools are capped and a position at your preferred residential school is not guaranteed.
Please note that PMSC13011- Paramedic Trauma and Environmental Emergency directly follows on from the PMSC13010 residential school. Don't forget to nominate for a position in the PMSC13011 residential school at the same time.
Further information about the format of the residential school will be released closer to the date.1 Written Assessment
In this assessment you are required to describe and discuss the presentation and management of a case you have encountered whilst on a placement. You will then discuss the clinical presentation specific to the case and how it relates to contemporary pre-hospital care in Australia. Finally you will reflect upon the case and how it has influenced your approach to patient care and any lessons you have taken away from the experience.
Your chosen case must reflect one of the conditions specifically covered in the first five weeks of the unit.
Requirements
This assessment builds on the knowledge and experiences you have gained over your progress throughout the entire Paramedic Science course.
You will describe the methods by which you undertake a clinical examination and obtain an accurate medical history from a patient. You will then use this information to formulate a working diagnosis and initiate appropriate interventions.
You will be required to research and define a medical condition encountered in the pre-hospital environment. With this knowledge you will gain an understanding of clinical management within the context of pre-hospital care as a component of an integrated healthcare continuum.
Finally you will reflect upon your own practice as a novice clinician to learn and grow from your experiences in preparation to transition from an undergraduate student to a graduate paramedic.
Week 5 Friday (11 Aug 2017) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 7 Friday (1 Sept 2017)
Results and feedback will be provided within two (2) academic calendar weeks of the due date.
Presentation
The document should be formatted on A4 International Standard paper with margins of 2.54cm. Line spacing should be set to 1.5 and font size set to 12 point.
Format
Cover Page
A cover page must be included for this assessment in the following format: Assessment number and name, unit number and name (PMSC 13010 Consolidated Paramedic Practice), your name, student number, word count, assessment due date. If you have an approved assessment extension this needs to be noted on the cover page.
Case Description
In this section you will describe the case you have selected using the following format:
Called To: What specifically were you called to i.e. dispatch code and information given.
General Information: Crew mix (CCP, ACP, GPIP), Time of day.
On Arrival: What did you see on arrival at the scene? Initial scene appraisal. Where was the patient? What was their presenting posture? What was their initial appearance? Were there any family/bystanders?
Patient Complaining Of: What specifically was the patient complaining of?
Patient Narrative: What did the patient tell you? Why did they call the ambulance? Pertinent and non-pertinent history, symptoms they described, current medications, medical history, allergies. Anything else of importance or interest?
On Examination: What did you find? Include observations (be specific, list the components of the Perfusion Status Assessment, Neurological Assessment, Respiratory Status Assessment, ECG etc), signs and symptoms you discovered. Include pertinent and non-pertinent signs, symptoms and observations, Head-to-Toes examination.
Provisional Diagnosis: What did you thinks was wrong with this patient and why? Link your provisional diagnosis to all the information you gathered from the above sections.
Patient Management: What did you do for the patient? List all interventions performed, don’t forget the basics like posture and reassurance. Outline why you performed these interventions and any effects they had on the patient.
Clinical Presentation
In this section you will describe the medical condition discovered from the provisional diagnosis of your patient. You must include the following information:
Pathophysiology: What is going on in this condition? Start with the specific system then explore systematic effects.
Epidemiology: What is the profile of this condition in Australia? Who does it generally effect i.e. age, sex, race, socio-economic status? What is the relevance to pre-hospital care?
Aetiology: Why does this condition occur? Risk factors i.e. genetics, lifestyle, diet etc?
Diagnosis: How is this condition diagnosed in-hospital? Did it reflect your provisional diagnosis? Can our diagnosis in the pre-hospital environment change/improve?
Treatment: What is the acute in-hospital management for this condition? Does it reflect your management? How does pre-hospital management impact this?
Reference List: Include at least 7 high quality scientific articles to support your ideas/discussion for this section.
Reflection:
In the final section you should reflect upon you chosen case and lessons learnt from this experience. What made you choose this specific case, what stood out for you? How did you feel about interacting with the patient? Were they co-operative?
Did you undertake any of the interventions and/or management? If yes; how did you feel about it, were you successful? If no; why not? Was it a confidence issue, was the patient time critical?
Did you receive and feedback from your mentors for this case? Did this feedback assist with your learning and/or practice?
The pass mark for this assessment is 75%. One (1) additional submission will be offered if you are unable to achieve a pass mark on the first attempt.
Failure to achieve a pass mark on the second submission and/or non-submission will result in a fail for this assessment. No opportunity for a supplementary assessment will be offered.
- Evaluate clinical history and assessment data to differentiate between medical pathologies and reach accurate diagnoses.
- Apply critical thinking in case management, justifying clinical decisions with evidence-based rationale.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
2 Online Quiz(zes)
The online quiz will incorporate multiple choice questions and short answer responses to assess your theoretical knowledge of topics covered throughout the unit.
The assessment aligns with the learning outcomes for this unit, as described in the Unit Profile.
1
Other
Week 9 Friday (15 Sept 2017) 11:45 pm AEST
The quiz will open on Friday 8th September at 0900.
Week 11 Friday (29 Sept 2017)
Case based management exercises and knowledge surrounding pathophysiology of disease processes will be assessed.
This is a timed quiz with a pass mark of 75%. One (1) additional attempt/resit will be offered if you are unable to achieve a pass mark on the first attempt.
You must complete the quiz in the allocated time. There will be no opportunity to save your answers and return to the quiz at a later time.
In the absence of an approved extension there will be no opportunity to complete this assessment after the due date.
Failure to achieve a pass mark on the additional attempt and/or non-submission will result in a fail for this assessment. No opportunity for a supplementary assessment will be offered.
This quiz is an individual assessment task. You are not permitted to collaborate with other students whilst undertaking this assessment. Any attempt or evidence of collaboration will result in an Academic Misconduct investigation.- Evaluate clinical history and assessment data to differentiate between medical pathologies and reach accurate diagnoses.
- Apply critical thinking in case management, justifying clinical decisions with evidence-based rationale.
- Manage clinical cases with appropriate prioritisation of treatment in accordance with industry guidelines and protocols.
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
3 Practical Assessment
For this assessment students will be required to attend a compulsory residential school.
There will be a total of three (3) assessment tasks throughout the compulsory residential school. These tasks are designed to test your theoretical knowledge in combination with your clinical assessment and patient management skills. All assessment tasks align with the learning outcomes for this unit, as described in the Unit Profile.
The assessment tasks will be in the following formats: One (1) Viva Voce and two (2) Case Management Exercise (CME).
Viva Voce
The Viva Voce is a verbal or "interview style" assessment. You will have 20 minutes to answer a series of questions to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the material covered throughout the unit. You may be assessed on anatomy and pathopysiology of disease processes covered throughout the unit, in combination with the appropriate pre-hospital management as described throughout the course.
Case Management Exercise (CME)
The two (2) CME's will take the format of a structured scenario where you will be allocated 20 minutes to complete each CME. The CME is designed to assess your knowledge and understanding of the material covered throughout the unit in a structured practical environment. Furthermore the CME will assess your ability to take a thorough and accurate patient assessment and history and use this information to to formulate a provisional diagnosis. In combination with your patient assessment and provisional diagnosis you will implement appropriate and timely interventions, procedures and/or skills. Your ability to communicate effectively and overall scene management will also be assessed. Finally you will be required to demonstrate your ability to give a patient handover to a senior clinician (i.e. CCP).
During residential school. Please refer to timetable for residential school dates.
At completion of residential school.
You must achieve a pass mark on each individual assessment task to be awarded an overall pass for this assessment.
The pass mark for each individual assessment task is 75%.
The inability to achieve a pass mark for two (2) or more individual tasks will result in an automatic fail for this assessment.
One (1) additional attempt/resit will be offered if two (2) individual tasks have been completed successfully.
Failure to undertake and/or achieve a pass mark on the additional attempt/resit will result in a fail for this assessment.- Take a systematic and responsive approach to clinical assessment and evaluation.
- Evaluate clinical history and assessment data to differentiate between medical pathologies and reach accurate diagnoses.
- Apply critical thinking in case management, justifying clinical decisions with evidence-based rationale.
- Manage clinical cases with appropriate prioritisation of treatment in accordance with industry guidelines and protocols.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
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.