Objective

As the paramedicine profession continues to move forward, calls are increasing for nationalised curriculum and management protocols. Standardising treatment guidelines and protocols across the nation will prompt a thorough review of current evidence to ensure that all ambulance patients receive best-practice treatment regardless of location. In addition, introducing nationalised treatment guidelines will increase the mobility of the registered paramedic workforce between statutory services, particularly in times of disaster response, and simplifies undergraduate paramedic education.

As part of your ongoing professional development, you have been tasked by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency to contribute to a set of nationalised Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) to be utilised by all statutory ambulance services. In addition, you are required to research and produce a report upon current evidence-based best-practice in the prehospital management of a medical condition of your choice.

The report will utilise the usual headings of a standard CPG, as listed below. In addition, you must review current literature to give up-to-date information for each section, explaining the pathophysiology and clinical features of the condition and justifying the management approaches that you recommend. Your contribution is the first stage of the CPG synthesis; your report will later be utilised as the supporting evidence from which a nationalised standard practice CPG is drawn for that medical condition.

Style

Your report is to be written in a professional, academic voice for a professional medical audience of AHPRA members. Writing must be in essay (narrative) style, without reliance upon bullet points or tables. Style should be clear and concise, with correct grammar and syntax, and without typographical errors. Common medical abbreviations should be written in full at first use, and all information should be fully cited and referenced.

Content

The report sections are as follows:

• Introduction
• Pathophysiology and epidemiology
• Clinical features
• Differential diagnoses
• Risk assessment
• Additional information (not compulsory; only include if appropriate to your report)
• Clinical management
• Conclusion
• References.

Your word limit for the entire report is 2,000 words +/- 10%, excluding cover page, headings, citations, and reference list. Use your own judgement as to how much content you place beneath each heading; different medical conditions will require different writing volumes for each section. A basic guide to the report body sections is below and will be expanded upon during term with a brief explaining the assessment task.

• The information on pathophysiology and epidemiology should be a concise outline, presenting an up-to-date summary of current understanding of the condition, its causative factors, and epidemiology.
• Clinical features should inform on both an early presentation and that of the patient in extremis, supporting recognition and diagnosis at any severity.
• Differential diagnoses should note which other conditions might be considered and how their clinical features differ from that of the primary diagnosis.
• Risk assessment notes important considerations to keep in mind with the presentation and management of this condition.
• The clinical management section must present the latest evidence-based best practice in managing this condition. This section should be the most detailed of your report, including all aspects of treatment and their supporting rationale. In addition, your condition may require procedural and pharmacological interventions. For these, you must consider the indications, contraindications and possible side effects of any pharmacological agents used and considerations to any procedures implemented.

Report formatting:

• Cover page: State the title of your paper, your name and student number, your course of study, this unit code and title, and the word count excluding title page, in-text citations, reference list and any appendices. Start these 1/3 down from the top, and make them horizontally centred.

• Margins: One-inch margins (2.54cm) on all sides (usually MS Word default margins).

• Page numbers: Top right in the header, starting from the cover page.

• Alignment: Left margin alignment throughout; do NOT use justified margins.

• Body indentation: The first line of each paragraph of the report body is indented 3-5 characters.

• Font: Times New Roman or Arial font, size 12. Either is fine, but use just one font for the entire document.

• Spacing: Double spacing throughout the entire document; no extra returns after each paragraph or reference (this is why we have the indentations, headings, and hanging indents).

• Headings: Section headings are centred and bolded in title case; use APA style headings for any subheadings.

• Content: All required subsections are present and completed as directed.

• Referencing: All sources must be cited and referenced appropriately throughout this task in correct APA 7th Edition style; ensure that you use the Library guide for APA 7E style.

• Word count: 2,000 words +/-10%, excluding the cover page, in-text citations, the reference list and appendices. Calculate your word count minus exclusions prior to submission and include this on the cover page; if you do not do this, your submission will be returned.

• File format: Submit your document in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx).

Grading

The report is graded according to a rubric provided upon the assessment tab in Moodle.

A minimum of twenty (20) appropriate reference sources should be used in total, including ten (10) scientific, peer-reviewed studies.

As this report is being reviewed for use in a national guideline, current ambulance service protocols cannot be cited.

Only one (1) attempt will be granted to achieve a pass mark for this assessment, and you must achieve a passing grade to pass the unit.

If this unit has been previously attempted, a new assignment must be submitted.

This is a pass/fail task with a passing grade of 75%.

You must pass this assessment task to pass the unit.

This unit has three (3) pass/fail assessment items; you must pass each individual assessment item in order to pass the unit.

The online quiz will incorporate multiple-choice questions and short answer responses to assess your theoretical knowledge of topics covered throughout the unit.

You may be assessed on any topic covered in this unit, including review material.

Anatomy and pathophysiology of any disease process, incorporating presentation (signs and symptoms) and appropriate pre-hospital management, may be assessed.

The assessment aligns with the learning outcomes for this unit, as described in the Unit Profile.

The pass mark for each individual assessment task is 75%.

This unit has three (3) assessment items. Each assessment is a Pass/Fail. You must pass each individual assessment item to pass the unit.

This is a timed quiz (90 minutes) with a pass mark of 75%.

At least one (1) attempt at the quiz must be made. Students will be offered two (2) attempts of the quiz during the allocated open time frame, with the higher grade taken into account and the lesser grade having no effect on your overall result. They are not accumulative. Your second attempt does not have to be taken immediately after the first; however, it must be done during the week the quiz is open. There will not be an opportunity to review your first attempt before attempting the second.

Failure to achieve a pass mark on either attempt and/or non-submission will result in a fail for this assessment.

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.

There will be no opportunity to complete this assessment after the due date in the absence of an approved extension.

No opportunity for a supplementary assessment will be offered.

This quiz is an individual assessment task. Therefore, 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.

This unit has three (3) assessment items. Each assessment is a Pass/Fail. You must pass each individual assessment item in order to pass the unit.