Overview
The unit will address the paramedic management of patients with medical and trauma conditions at the critical care level. On the completion of this unit you will be able to, identify the indications, precautions, risks and contraindications of the skills and interventions involved in critical care practice, employ critical thinking and clinical decision making and demonstrate the skills and interventions required at a critical care level. The unit will include clinical skills laboratory and simulation scenarios to develop essential communication, assessment, clinical problem-solving, decision making and management skills required at a critical care level.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Co-Requisite: PMSC20003 Pharmacological Application in the Critical Care setting
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 1 - 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).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate 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 graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
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 Course Evaluation Survey
One student considered the amount and level of content in the course to be too much
Content will be reviewed by additional staff within the paramedic discipline to evaluate if it needs to be revised. Currently, the content covered are all skills within the potential critical care paramedic scope of practice, so it would be hard to revise down.
The content was revised to better reflect the unit's outcomes and the requirements of the Critical Care Paramedic. Some content was removed as it was outside the area of critical care, both nationally and internationally.
- Articulate the concepts and theoretical underpinnings, including the anatomical and pathophysiological reasons, for the application of critical care skills and interventions in the management of a critically ill or injured patient
- Identify the indications, precautions, risks and contraindications of the skills and interventions involved in critical care practice
- Employ critical thinking and clinical decision making for the use of critical care skills and interventions
- Demonstrate the skills and interventions involved in critical care practice
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 40% | ||||
2 - Off-campus Activity - 60% | ||||
3 - On-campus Activity - 0% |
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
1 - Knowledge | ||||
2 - Communication | ||||
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | ||||
4 - Research | ||||
5 - Self-management | ||||
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | ||||
7 - Leadership | ||||
8 - 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 | |
1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 40% | ||||||||
2 - Off-campus Activity - 60% | ||||||||
3 - On-campus Activity - 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: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
n.williams-claassen@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Module 1: Introduction
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Module 1: Introduction
Chapter
Advanced vascular access and medication administration:
- IO
- EJ
- SC Drugs
- Drug Pumps
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Module 2: Perfusion Procedures
Chapter
Arterial lines
Vasopressors
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Module 2: Perfusion Procedures
Chapter
Review of 12-lead, right-sided and 15-lead ECG principles and acquisition
Fibrinolytics
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Module 3: Cardiac Procedures
Chapter
Synchronised cardioversion
Transcutaneous pacing
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Self-study period
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Module 4: Airway and Ventilation Procedures
Chapter
Intubation
Use of a bougie
ET drug administration
OG/NG tube placement
Capnography
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz 1 - is due on the 19th April 2017 0800 AEST.
Module/Topic
Module 4: Airway and Ventilation Procedures
Chapter
Chest decompression (needle and Cook set)
Pneumocath
Thoracostomy and chest tube placement
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Module 4: Airway and Ventilation Procedures
Chapter
IPPV Review
PEEP
CPAP
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Module 4: Airway and Ventilation Procedures
Chapter
Ventilators
Cricothyrotomy
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Module 5: Altered Consciousness and Behavioural Procedures
Chapter
Chemical and physical restraints
Integration of seizure and altered LOC management principles
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz 2 - is due on the 17th May 2017 0800 AEST.
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Skills practice
Events and Submissions/Topic
Assessment of OSCEs
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
No Exam
1 Online Quiz(zes)
You will complete two (2) separate online quizzes. Each quiz will consist of multiple choice questions exploring content included in the unit (such as but not limited to, lecture materials, online modules, links & required readings).
Multiple choice questions will be based upon information provided throughout this unit
Content for the quizzes is based on previous weeks’ topics (as detailed in the schedule) and will test your ability to identify the concepts and theoretical underpinnings, including the anatomical and pathophysiological reasons, for the application of critical care skills and interventions in the management of a critically ill or injured patient , identify the indications, precautions, risks and contraindications of the skills and interventions involved in critical care practice and employ critical thinking and clinical decision making for the use of critical care skills and interventions.
Quiz 1 - Quiz will be available on the 5th April 2017 0800 AEST and is due on the 19th April 2017 0800 AEST.
Quiz 2 - Quiz will be available on the 10th May 0800 AEST and is due on the 17th May 2017 0800 AEST.
Students are reminded that to achieve a pass mark in this unit you must, achieve a pass mark for EVERY skill/procedure and you will need to submit all assessment pieces and achieve a minimum pass mark of 50% for each assessment piece.
2
Other
Quiz 1 - is due on the 19th April 2017 0800 AEST (UTC+10:00, QLD Time). Quiz 2 - is due on the 17th May 2017 0800 AEST (UTC+10:00, QLD Time).
Quizzes will be marked and returned to students after 2 weeks from the due date
There are two quizzes, each quiz is worth 20%. Marks are awarded if the multiple choice question is answered correctly and the total marks are tallied after both quizzes have been attempted.
Quizzes are open-book, so the use of Clinical Practice Guidelines, book chapters and journal articles etc. are allowed.
Each quiz will have a specific time limit imposed to complete the quiz.
Quizzes will become available on Wednesdays at 0800 AEST and the due date and time for each quiz is by the following Wednesday by 0800 AEST.
In the absence of an approved extension, there will be no opportunity to complete the task after the due date, and there will be no opportunity to apply a late penalty of five percent per day.
Non-attempts will score a zero mark. There will be no negative marking (that is, you will not lose a mark for an incorrect response). Quizzes may not be re-attempted. These are individual assessment pieces, collaboration with other students is not allowed and would result in disciplinary action.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Articulate the concepts and theoretical underpinnings, including the anatomical and pathophysiological reasons, for the application of critical care skills and interventions in the management of a critically ill or injured patient
- Identify the indications, precautions, risks and contraindications of the skills and interventions involved in critical care practice
- Employ critical thinking and clinical decision making for the use of critical care skills and interventions
2 Off-campus Activity
You will witness first hand some of the advanced care skills of the critical care paramedic. By reflecting upon these skills, you will see how appropriate management plans are established from assessment findings such as history and physical examination, how critical thinking, clinical decision making and medical evidence are used for the employment of critical care skills and interventions and the effect these skills and procedures have on the patient’s homeostasis and our ability as CCPs to manage patients.
Within your current practice you will be required to directly observe critical care skills performed by a CCP/Physician on at least two (2) or more patients. You will required complete a case report on two (2) of these patients to critically discuss the skill(s) observed (one report per patient). The case reports must include the following:
- A description of the patient's clinical presentation and diagnosis
- Discussion on the clinical reasoning undertaken for use of this skill in the management of this critically ill or injured patient, as well as the evidenced-based support behind the skill's application.
- Articulate and justify why this skill is clinically significant at a critical care level.
- Documented changes in the patient’s clinical presentation (positive or negative) resulting from application of the skill, providing reasons for this occurrence.
Students are reminded that to achieve a pass mark in this unit you must, achieve a pass mark for EVERY skill/procedure and you will need to submit all assessment pieces and achieve a minimum pass mark of 50% for each assessment piece.
Week 11 Wednesday (24 May 2017) 8:00 am AEST
7th June 2017
While there is no prescribed word limit for your case reports, it is expected that each case report will be clear and concise. The case report will be assessed in accordance with the information and rubric provided on the unit’s Moodle page. The case reports are to be submitted as a Word document.
The case report document is worth 60% of your overall unit mark.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
- Leadership
- Articulate the concepts and theoretical underpinnings, including the anatomical and pathophysiological reasons, for the application of critical care skills and interventions in the management of a critically ill or injured patient
- Identify the indications, precautions, risks and contraindications of the skills and interventions involved in critical care practice
- Employ critical thinking and clinical decision making for the use of critical care skills and interventions
3 On-campus Activity
For this assessment students will be required to attend a compulsory residential school. There will be several assessment pieces, each designed to assess the knowledge and practical skills acquired during this unit. The assessment tasks will consist of OSCE's. The format of the OSCE's will be a clinical skill which relates to the learning outcomes for the unit.
You will be assessed in an OSCE format throughout the compulsory residential school. During an OSCE your clinical skills will tested as well as your theoretical knowledge of that skill. It is essential to learn the correct clinical methods, and then practice these methods repeatedly until you perfect the methods whilst simultaneously developing an understanding of the underlying theory behind the methods used.
Students are reminded that to achieve a pass mark in this unit you must, achieve a pass mark for EVERY skill/procedure and you will need to submit all assessment pieces and achieve a minimum pass mark of 50% for each assessment piece.
Assessed during Residential School Period
Students will be made aware of their results at the end of the Residential School
OSCE sheets for specific skills will be provided on the unit’s Moodle page.
Students will have a maximum of two attempts for each skill assessed.
The assessment will be based on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory marking criteria based on the following key points:
· Successful completion of the skill
· Demonstration of skill in a timely matter
· Ability to minimise missed steps or minor mistakes
· Completion of the skill without making a critical error
· A critical error will result in a failed attempt
If a critical error occurs during your assessment the assessment will immediately cease, no marks will be given for that item and will result in a failed attempt. Critical errors in this unit will be classed as anything that causes immediate harm to yourself, partner, patient or bystanders and/or any procedure that is performed outside the scope of practice of a CCP and/or any of the errors listed below.
During any form of assessment, if any of the following are witnessed the assessment will immediately cease, no marks will be given for that item and it will result in a failed attempt:
- An action which causes immediate harm to yourself, partner, patient or bystanders
- Unsafe use of the defibrillator
- No or incomplete drug check
- Incorrect sharps disposal
- Performing a skill and/or procedure outside the scope of practice of a CCP
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
- Leadership
- Demonstrate the skills and interventions involved in critical care 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.