You will complete a 5-week full-time clinical placement as allocated by the unit coordinator. This clinical placement can be in any area of physiotherapy and may be located in any facility ranging from acute hospitals to community programs. The grade awarded is based on your performance during the 5-week clinical placement and evaluated using the Assessment of Physiotherapy Practice (APP) via the APPLink-up. 

In order to pass the Clinical Placement you need to meet an "Adequate" level on the Global Rating Score and achieve the following on your End of Unit APP, as graded by your Clinical Educator:

1. A minimum total score of 49.5% (12/24) for the combined domains of Professional Behaviour and Communication AND

2. A minimum total score of 49.5% (28/56) for the combined domains of Assessment, Analysis and Planning, Intervention, Evidence Based Practice and Risk Management.

If you don't meet the above criteria for the Clinical Placement you will be eligible to sit a Clinical Exam, provided you have achieved an overall grade equal to, or higher than 44.5% (36/80) for your clinical placement. The Clinical Exam is in the format of an OSCE that will be completed on a real or simulated patient within the area that you completed the clinical placement. The clinical exam will be assessed by two clinical educators, one or more will be a CQUniversity Physiotherapy academic. The exam will run for approximately 60 minutes and will be assessed on the APP.

The Clinical Exam is the equivalent of a supplementary assessment for the Professional Physiotherapy Practice units. You will only be given one opportunity at a Clinical Exam per clinical placement. If you complete and pass the Clinical Exam you will only receive exactly 50% for your Clinical Placement grade. If you complete and fail the Clinical Exam, or receive <44.5% on your original APP, you will receive your original APP score as given at the completion of your clinical placement and you will be required to repeat the Unit at a subsequent offering. If your placement has been shortened due to Covid-19 implications, please refer to the Covid-19 Clinical Placement Guidelines on Moodle.

Choose one of the following topics:

A) Write a report based on a community-based programme that is not Queensland Health funded, which you either referred a patient to, or that was available in the health district where you completed your third clinical placement. The programme can be any rehabilitation or community integration opportunity that will assist your patient to achieve some of their physiotherapy based goals.

The following sections should be detailed in your report (these could be in table format):

·Outline of the program;

·Referral process;

·Inclusion and exclusion criteria;

·Financial cost to the patient (if any);

·Location/access;

·Length of program (if there is one);

·Outcomes measures used to monitor patient progress;

·Any other information relevant to the program – team members etc.

Using the published literature, outline the benefits for patients to be linked in with the community programme post-discharge from an acute or subacute health care centre to continue their rehabilitation/subacute care.

Hint: Think outside the box - the program does not have to be run by a health care provider, it could be any organisation that assists patients to achieve their rehabilitation goals.

Queensland Health funded programs such as Transition Care Programs (TCP), Community Based Rehabilitation Teams (CBRT) will not be accepted.

OR

B) Write a report on an innovative community-based programme which you would have liked to refer a patient to, but that was unavailable in the health district where you completed your third clinical placement.

The following sections should be detailed in your proposal (these could be in table format):

·Outline of the programme;

·Aims/s of the programme;

·Inclusion and exclusion criteria;

·Potential financial cost to the patient (if any);

·Location/access;

·Length of program (if there is one);

·Outcomes measures used to monitor patient progress;

·Any other information relevant to the program – team members etc.

Hint: Think outside the box - the innovative program should be designed to assist patients to achieve their rehabilitation goals.

Using the published literature, outline the potential benefits for patients to be linked in with the community programme post-discharge from an acute or subacute health care facility to continue their rehabilitation/subacute care.

Detailed marking criteria will be available on the unit moodle site, and will be based on the following:

• Presentation (20%)
• Program (40%)
• Literature to support the program (40%)

The report should be a maximum of 1500 words. The assignment must be within 1400-1500 words. Failure to meet this requirement will incur a 5% penalty off the initial mark for this assignment. 

Limit references to no more than eight.