Overview
This unit introduces you to fundamental aspects of podiatry practice. In preparation for future clinical practice units, you will learn about the standards, policies, codes, and guidelines which inform practice as a podiatrist in Australia, including those related to culturally responsive and safe practice. You will also set up your clinical workspace, comply with infection control principles, and occupational health and safety standards. You will learn to take a patient medical history, conduct general assessments of the foot and lower limb, and apply basic podiatric interventions in a simulated clinical setting.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
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 - 2026
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 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 Informal student feedback
Weekly lecture and tutorial content should be uploaded in a more timely manner to assist students preparing for the teaching time.
It is recommended the UC will ensure content is uploaded at least one week prior to the lecture/tutorial time in subsequent years of delivery.
Feedback from Informal student feedback
Content delivered in the early weeks of term could be more engaging.
It is recommended that the methods and timing of delivering content related to policies, codes, and guidelines be reviewed such that this content does not occupy the full first two-weeks of content.
- Identify standard policies, codes and guidelines that inform the scope of practice for podiatrists including collaborative practice and team-based care.
- Discuss the basic aetiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation and treatment of common neurovascular, nail and skin disorders in podiatry practice.
- Demonstrate knowledge of safety legislation during application of manual skills using general podiatry equipment.
- Conduct a basic podiatric assessment in a professional manner demonstrating ethical and inclusive behaviour.
- Discuss culturally safe healthcare in Australia, particularly as it relates to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
The Learning Outcomes are linked to the professional standards set by the Podiatry Board of Australia.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Oral Examination - 20% | |||||
| 2 - Presentation - 40% | |||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 30% | |||||
| 4 - On-campus Activity - 10% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 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 - First Nations Knowledges | |||||
| 11 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||||