Overview
This unit will consolidate your knowledge of the vast array of medical, environmental and mental health issues through varying ages, community groups, and social cohorts. In this unit, you will study the prehospital management of various medical conditions and learn how to discriminate between similar and confounding presentations. Through case-based learning, you will apply clinical knowledge and skills and develop your critical thinking and clinical judgement skills to confidently reach diagnoses. This will enable you to determine the most appropriate clinical management following contemporary industry guidelines and protocols. A residential school will consolidate your 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 PMSC13012 Paramedic Medical Emergencies 3
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 - 2023
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.
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 SUTE Feedback
Loved the content and it was great to go back over the main conditions from throughout the degree to consolidate learnings.
It is recommended that the unit structure remains unchanged. This allows students to review content as necessary to cement their learning. Additionally, student engagement is able to be flexible whilst concurrently undertaking work integrated learning.
Feedback from SUTE Feedback
I would have preferred a new short summary lecture for each week of term, instead of all the lectures from our previous subjects being reposted as there was a lot of content.
Offer short content summary lectures for each week to reduce student study load.
- Take a systematic and responsive approach to clinical assessment and evaluation
- Evaluate clinical history and assessment findings to differentiate between various medical, environmental and mental health pathologies to reach accurate diagnoses
- Apply critical thinking in case management, justifying clinical decisions with evidence-based rationale
- Manage clinical cases with appropriate prioritisation of treatment following professional guidelines and protocols.
Standard/Attribute/Criteria | Learning Outcomes |
Domain 1: The Professional and Ethical Practitioner 1.1.4, 1.1.5, 1.1.9, 1.1.10, 1.1.111.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.5, 1.2.6 1.3.2, 1.3.3, 1.4.1, 1.4.2 | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Domain 2: The communicator and the collaborator 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.1.5, 2.1.6 | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Domain 3: The evidence-based practitioner 3.1.1, 3.1.23.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 3.2.4, 3.2.5, 3.2.6, 3.3.3, 3.3.4 | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Domain 4: The safety and risk management practitioner 4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.54.2.1, 4.2.4 4.3.1, 4.3.3, 4.5.1 | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Domain 5: The Paramedicine Practitioner 5.1.15.2.1, 5.2.3, 5.2.4, 5.2.5 5.3.3, 5.3.6 5.4.1, 5.4.2, 5.4.3, 5.4.4, 5.4.5, 5.4.6, 5.6.1, 5.6.3, 5.6.4 | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Standard | Learning Outcomes |
Clinical Governance | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Partnering with Consumers | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Preventing and Controlling Infections | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Medication Safety | LO4 |
Comprehensive Care | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Communicating for Safety | LO4 |
Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
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 |
Textbooks
Textbook of Adult Emergency Medicine
Edition: 5th (2020)
Authors: Cameron, P. , Little, M. ,Mitra, B. & Conor, D.
Elsevier
Sydney Sydney , NSW , Australia
ISBN: 9780702076244
Binding: Paperback
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.
g.cousens@cqu.edu.au
k.verney@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Resuscitation and Electrophysiology Review.
Chapter
Textbook of Adult Emergency and Trauma Care.
Clinical Practice Guidelines as outlined.
Drug Therapy Protocols as outlined.
Additional readings as directed
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Paramedic Medical Emergencies One Review, Part One.
Chapter
Textbook of Adult Emergency and Trauma Care.
Clinical Practice Guidelines as outlined.
Drug Therapy Protocols as outlined.
Additional readings as directed
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Lecture/Tutorial
Module/Topic
Paramedic Medical Emergencies One Review, Part Two.
Chapter
Textbook of Adult Emergency and Trauma Care.
Clinical Practice Guidelines as outlined.
Drug Therapy Protocols as outlined.
Additional readings as directed
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Lecture/Tutorial
Module/Topic
Paramedic Medical Emergencies Two Review, Part One.
Chapter
Textbook of Adult Emergency and Trauma Care.
Clinical Practice Guidelines as outlined.
Drug Therapy Protocols as outlined.
Additional readings as directed
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Lecture/Tutorial
Module/Topic
Paramedic Medical Emergencies Two Review, Part Two.
Chapter
Textbook of Adult Emergency and Trauma Care.
Clinical Practice Guidelines as outlined.
Drug Therapy Protocols as outlined.
Additional readings as directed
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Lecture/Tutorial
Module/Topic
No new content is available this week.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Paramedic Emergencies Three Review
Chapter
Textbook of Adult Emergency and Trauma Care.
Clinical Practice Guidelines as outlined.
Drug Therapy Protocols as outlined.
Additional readings as directed
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Lecture/Tutorial
Module/Topic
Special Populations Review, Part One
Chapter
Textbook of Adult Emergency and Trauma Care.
Clinical Practice Guidelines as outlined.
Drug Therapy Protocols as outlined.
Additional readings as directed
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Lecture/Tutorial
Module/Topic
Special Populations Review, Part One
Chapter
Textbook of Adult Emergency and Trauma Care.
Clinical Practice Guidelines as outlined.
Drug Therapy Protocols as outlined.
Additional readings as directed
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Lecture/Tutorial
Module/Topic
Mental Health Review
Chapter
Textbook of Adult Emergency and Trauma Care.
Clinical Practice Guidelines as outlined.
Drug Therapy Protocols as outlined.
Additional readings as directed
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Lecture/Tutorial
Written Assessment Due: Week 9 Monday (11 Sept 2023) 9:00 am AEST
Module/Topic
Self-Care and Resilience
Registration
Employment Preparedness
Chapter
Additional readings as directed.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Lecture/Tutorial
Module/Topic
Online Exam Opens.
Self-Directed Revision.
Chapter
All Unit Material
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Self-Directed Revision.
Preparation for Residential Schools.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Practical Assessment Due: Week 12 Friday (6 Oct 2023) 5:00 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Residential School Block A
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Residential School Block B
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
You will be required to attend a compulsory residential school. You must nominate your preferred residential school location through MyCQU under My Timetable in the My Units tab. Numbers at residential schools are capped, and a position at your preferred residential school is not guaranteed. Geographical proximity to and previous attendance at a residential school location does not guarantee placement at your preferred residential school location. The Unit Coordinator will not be responsible for assisting with students' preferred residential school locations or play a role in swapping with other students who have already been allocated. Attendance at residential schools is compulsory. If, for any reason, you cannot attend a day at residential school, you must provide appropriate evidence, as per Assessment Policy and Procedure, to justify your absence. You will be responsible for making arrangements with the Unit Coordinator to make up for the missed learning and teaching.
1 Written Assessment
Your task is to compile a 2000-word case study on a medical case you encountered during a clinical placement as a primary care officer. This case study will critically analyse and evaluate the patient's pre-hospital care, the treatment administered, and the overall effectiveness of the pre-hospital care management. This exercise will aid in deepening your understanding of pre-hospital care, sharpening your critical thinking skills, and improving your ability to apply theory to practice. It also provides valuable exposure to medical literature and research in the paramedic field.
Requirements
Your assessment should be formatted on A4 International Standard paper with margins of 2.54cm.
Arial font and size set to 12 point, and line spacing should be set to 1.5.
Submission via Microsoft Word
A cover page must include the following:
· Assessment name
· Unit number and name (PMSC13010 Consolidated Paramedic Practice)
· Your Name
· Student Number
· Word count (not including cover page, headings, intext citations or reference list)
· Assessment due date (If you have an approved extension, this needs to be noted here)
You are required to address the written assignment questions in an essay format. Headings and subsections are allowed. The word count for the assessment is 2000 (+/- 10%).
All answers must be based on evidence-based, peer-reviewed literature, and Queensland Ambulance Service clinical policy will provide you with the relevant clinical practice guidelines but should not be referenced as a primary source for appropriate treatment or management.
You must provide a reference list of no less than fifteen (15) recent peer-reviewed scientific journal articles published after 2013. You may also reference additional expert textbooks and websites as appropriate that must be referenced in the APA 7 style. Intext referencing must be utilised with an accompanying reference list in APA format.
In the absence of an approved extension, a penalty of 5% of the total assessment will be deducted for each whole or part assessment is overdue, in accordance with the Assessment Policy and Procedure.
Week 9 Monday (11 Sept 2023) 9:00 am AEST
Week 12 Friday (6 Oct 2023)
Introduction:
Begin with a summary of the case. This should include information about the nature of the call, the patient's demographic data, relevant medical history, and the primary complaint. Ensure always to maintain patient confidentiality, using only necessary, non-identifying information.
Initial Assessment and Response:
Describe the patient's condition upon your arrival, symptoms, vital signs, and physical findings. Detail your primary and secondary surveys, the initial working diagnosis and differential diagnoses linked to a detailed pathophysiological thought process (how the patient presented and why).
On-scene Management:
Discuss the pre-hospital management provided. Include the treatment and interventions administered at the scene, the reasoning behind them, and their immediate effects. Highlight any difficulties or unique circumstances encountered during this stage.
Transport and Handover:
Describe the patient's status during transport, any interventions performed during transit, and the handover process at the hospital. Discuss any changes in the patient's condition and how they were managed.
Discussion:
Discuss the case in the context of current pre-hospital emergency medical literature. Refer to relevant guidelines, protocols, and recent research correlating to the case. Reflect on any unusual aspects of the case, lessons learned, and the significance of these findings for future practice.
Conclusion:
Summarise the key learning points, self-reflection and the implications of your pre-hospital care. Highlight any potential areas for further research or unexplored aspects of the case that could have influenced the outcome.
Tips for Approaching the Task:
Critical Thinking:
This case study is an opportunity to demonstrate your critical thinking skills. Examine the decisions made at each step of patient care and consider if there were alternate approaches.
Referencing:
Any guidelines, protocols, medical information, or statistics should be accurately referenced. You will need to supply evidence from peer-reviewed articles. Ambulance Service guidelines should not be used as primary sources.
Language and Structure:
Ensure your case study is well-structured, clear and uses appropriate medical language while being accessible to a broad audience of emergency medical services personnel.
Proofread:
Check your case study for grammatical errors and typos, and ensure ideas flow logically. Multiple reviewers should be utilised before submission.
A passing grade of 75% must be achieved. If required, there may be an opportunity for one (1) resubmission in consultation with the unit coordinator.
This unit has three (3) pass/fail assessment items; you must pass each individual assessment item to pass the unit.
- Evaluate clinical history and assessment findings to differentiate between various medical, environmental and mental health pathologies to reach accurate diagnoses
- Apply critical thinking in case management, justifying clinical decisions with evidence-based rationale
2 Online Quiz(zes)
The quiz will open at 09:00 am on Monday, the 25th of September (Week 11) and will be open for exactly seven days.
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.
The anatomy and pathophysiology of any disease process may be assessed, incorporating presentation (signs and symptoms) and appropriate pre-hospital management.
The assessment aligns with the learning outcomes for this unit, as described in the Unit Profile.
1
Other
Week 12 Monday (2 Oct 2023) 9:00 am AEST
Week 12 Friday (6 Oct 2023)
This is a timed quiz (90 minutes) with a minimum passing grade of 75%
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. This assessment can not be completed after the due date without an approved extension. Failure to achieve a pass mark and/or non-submission will result in a fail for this assessment. 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.
A passing grade of 75% must be achieved. If required, there may be an opportunity for one (1) resubmission in consultation with the unit coordinator.
This unit has three (3) pass/fail assessment items; you must pass each individual assessment item to pass the unit.
- Take a systematic and responsive approach to clinical assessment and evaluation
- Manage clinical cases with appropriate prioritisation of treatment following professional guidelines and protocols.
3 Practical Assessment
You must attend all four days at your nominated residential school.
Your assessment tasks will consist of three (3) Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs).
The assessments will consist of the following.
- One (1) 20-minute Voice Viva
- Two (2) 20-minute Long Cases
All assessment tasks align with the learning outcomes for this unit, as described in the Unit Profile.
The Case Management Exercises (CMEs) will take the format of clinical scenarios (whole or in-part) designed to assess your knowledge and understanding of any topic or material covered throughout the unit using structured, simulated patient interactions. Furthermore, the CMEs are designed to assess your ability to perform a thorough and accurate patient assessment and use this information to formulate a provisional diagnosis. In combination with your patient assessment and provisional diagnosis, you must implement appropriate and timely clinical interventions, procedures and/or skills commensurate with your current scope of practice. Scene management and effective communication skills will also be assessed, including the ability to deliver a clinical handover to a senior clinician (i.e. CCP/ICP/MICA) or other healthcare professionals.
The Viva Voce is a verbal or interview-style assessment where you must answer a series of questions to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the material covered throughout the unit.
Week 12 Friday (6 Oct 2023) 5:00 pm AEST
By the end of the allocated residential school.
Week 12 Friday (6 Oct 2023)
Two weeks post completion of all the residential schools for this unit.
You must pass all three assessment tasks to pass the residential school.
You must attain a minimum grade of 75% to pass each assessment task.
One (1) resit will be offered to correspond to the assessment piece if a passing grade is not awarded.
Inability to achieve a pass on two or more assessments initially will result in a fail for the unit, and a resist will not be offered.
The inability to achieve a pass on any resit attempted will result in a fail for the unit.
Further assessment criteria and relevant points are as follows:
All resits will be conducted by the end of the residential school you attend.
All clinical management decisions, procedures, and drug therapies must be in accordance with Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) guidelines and protocols as current at the date of assessment.
The use of Field Reference Guides will be permitted during practical case management simulation only. No other protocols or reference material can be utilised for other examinations conducted.
If you are an interstate student practising with your home statutory service, don't hesitate to contact the Unit Coordinator directly during the term to discuss the use of alternative guidelines or protocols during residential assessments.
Critical Errors
Critical errors in this unit will be classed as anything, by act or omission, that: causes immediate harm or has the potential to cause harm to yourself, partner, patient or bystanders and/or any procedure/skill or pharmacology administered, that is performed outside your scope of practice.
If any of the following critical errors are witnessed during any assessment, the assessment will continue and be moderated. No marks will be awarded for that assessment item upon review and confirmation of a critical error. Furthermore, any critical error discovered on review or moderation will result in no marks being awarded for that assessment item.
Critical errors are as follows:
· Unsafe defibrillation
· Incorrect joules delivered during defibrillation
· Defibrillation of a non-shockable rhythm
· Failure to recognise a cardiac arrest within one (1) minute
· Failure to defibrillate a shockable rhythm within two (2) minutes
· Failure to perform a complete drug check, including dose, volume, indications and all contraindications
. Failure to check indications and contra-indications before performing drug administration
· Incorrect sharps disposal or unsafe practice with a sharp
· Performing a skill or procedure outside your scope of practice
· Administering pharmacology outside your scope of practice or administering an incorrect drug or drug dose
· Any grossly unsafe practice, as determined by the assessing academic
If you do not understand any of the above, please clarify with your unit coordinator.
Failure to attempt/undertake an assessment task will result in a fail for this assessment.
If you do not understand any of the above, please do not hesitate to clarify with your unit coordinator.
A passing grade of 75% for each assessment piece must be achieved. If required, there may be an opportunity for one (1) resubmission in consultation with the unit coordinator. No resubmission will be offered if two or more assessments do not achieve a passing grade and will result in an overall fail for the unit.
This unit has three (3) pass/fail assessment items; you must pass each individual assessment item to pass the unit.
No submission method provided.
- Take a systematic and responsive approach to clinical assessment and evaluation
- Evaluate clinical history and assessment findings to differentiate between various medical, environmental and mental health pathologies to reach accurate diagnoses
- Apply critical thinking in case management, justifying clinical decisions with evidence-based rationale
- Manage clinical cases with appropriate prioritisation of treatment following professional guidelines and protocols.
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.