Sonographers, like other health professionals, are required to be proactive in professional development activities throughout their career to remain accredited in their profession. To foster this requirement, beginning at university level, students must strive to take responsibility for their own learning during the course to ensure they are well prepared for their life long learning journey.

Examples are:

• Learning in a collaborative partnership with academics and clinical supervisors
• Being an engaged member of your cohort
• Reflecting on your own performance and proactively seeking out ways to improve
• Being inquisitive and seeking out knowledge in a holistic manner

Examples are:

• Complying with CQUniversity academic and non-academic misconduct policies and procedures such as CQUniversity’s Student Charter, Student Misconduct Policy and Student Behavioural Misconduct Procedures and Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
• Complying with professional association (Australasian Sonographer's Association, ASA) and accrediting body (Australian Sonographer Accreditation Registry, ASAR) guidelines and code of practice.
• Treating personal information obtained in classroom and clinical settings as private and confidential.
• Respecting an individual's/group's diversity by demonstrating sensitivity to religious cultural and individual differences.
• Demonstrating an ability to reflect on ethical dilemmas and issues and taking responsibility for ensuring awareness of and adherence to ethical behaviour.

Examples are:

• Interacting positively and effectively with other students while attending activities related to the course.
• Being receptive and responding appropriately to different viewpoints, to constructive feedback and to direction from academics and clinical staff.
• Coping effectively with your own emotions, responses and behaviour when dealing with challenging situations at the university to ensure your safety and well-being, and the safety and well-being of other students and staff.
• Coping effectively with your own emotions, responses and behaviour when dealing with challenging situations in the clinical setting to ensure your safety and well-being, and the patient's safety and well-being.

Examples are:

• Complying with clinical sites requirements. These include criminal record checks and child protection and safety legislation including mandatory reporting requirements. (National Criminal Record Check and Working with Children Check).
• Understanding and adhering to professional policy around the use of social media.
• Knowing, understanding and complying with legislative, regulatory requirements and policy directives which are necessary pre-requisites to clinical placements in order to reduce the risk of harm, to self and others (for example occupational assessment, screening and vaccination against infectious diseases).

Examples are:

• Actively participating in discussion activities related to the course.
• Using language that is appropriate to the context of the individual or group.
• Verbally communicating your knowledge and skills with accuracy, appropriateness and effectiveness.
• Providing team members with clear concise verbal reports related to patient clinical presentation, situation/presentation, background history, clinical assessment and result of the ultrasound examination.
• Communicating with patients in an empathic and caring manner.
• Recognising and interpreting non-verbal cues of peers, patients and others, and responding appropriately.
• Using appropriate facial expressions, eye contact and gestures while being mindful of interpersonal space.
• When required, needing to recognise and interpret non-verbal cues of others and responding appropriately during activities related to the course and clinical placements.
• Constructing your assessment work to academic standards with attention to correct grammar and punctuation.
• Constructing fluent summarised written text from complex and detailed information.
• Constructing legible reports in a timely manner to meet professional standards and clearly communicating the intended message.
• Accurately documenting charts and records, meeting legal and professional requirements.
• Accessing a computer for your studies.
• Regularly accessing the Internet for research, and email for communication with peers and lecturers.
• Analysing, manipulating and displaying scientific information.

Examples are:

• Conceptualising and using appropriate knowledge in response to academic assessment items.
• Applying knowledge of policy and procedures in clinical settings.
• Performing your duties within set time-frames.
• Applying relevant theoretical knowledge to understand a patient's history when undertaking patient assessment.
• Applying theoretical knowledge of the human body systems and sonography to enable sonography information gathering and interpretation.
• Paraphrasing, summarising and referencing in accordance with appropriate academic conventions.
• Actively listening to information within a variety of academic, clinical, and emergency situations.
• Reading and accurately interpreting information related to patients.
• Completing documentation that is accurate, clear and concise.
• Demonstrating competency in applying basic mathematics knowledge and skills in using adaptive equipment that correctly meets measurement requirements in sonographic examinations.
• Applying numeracy skills to interpret and solve problems in a range of educational and clinical settings.
• Having practical skills and able to evaluate data in order to assess patients and evaluate findings in a safe and effective manner.

Examples are:

• Focussing on and recognising objects that are either near or far.
• Safely operating electronic equipment.
• Reading and interpreting diagnostic images, scans, videos, or 3D or 4D volumes of anatomy and diagnostic data.
• Recognising variations in and interpreting diagnostic images using grey scale ultrasound, pulsed wave Doppler and colour Doppler imaging.
• Visually distinguishing red from blue to determine the direction of blood flow.
• Selecting an optimal image and differentiating pathology using visual pattern recognition.
• Sufficiently hearing verbal communication from other students and lecturers during activities related to the course.
• Having sufficient auditory ability to consistently and accurately monitor, assess and manage a patient's needs.
• Accurately interpreting verbal communications and directions from staff.
• Hearing computer generated sounds which indicate pathology in the patient.
• Using touch in an appropriate manner when conveying positive messages for emotional support during difficult circumstances.
• Conducting physical assessments using an ultrasound machine and detecting any anatomical abnormalities.

Examples are:

• Collaborating with fellow students and clinical staff in planning, modifying and completing projects and procedures.
• Demonstrating respect for and consideration of divergent points of view within teams.
• Adapting to a variety of styles of instruction, feedback and supervision on clinical placements.
• Rapidly building rapport with patients to engage cooperation, elicit information and provide effective care in carrying out imaging examinations.
• Interacting and engaging with individuals and groups in a respectful and culturally competent manner.
• Responding constructively to feedback on performance.

Examples are:

• Assessing your own performance in a range of environments, including the classroom, clinical simulation laboratories and clinical workplace.
• Identifying contributing factors to your thinking patterns, actions and behaviours.
• Identifying when your performance may be negatively affected by your emotional response.
• Evaluating your knowledge and skills to determine whether or not a clinical activity is within your scope of practice.
• Being able to evaluate the effectiveness of assessment data that has been determined and identify areas for improvement.
• Ability to relate new knowledge to prior understanding.
• Formulating an action plan to address an identified performance gap.

Examples are:

• Actively participating in activities related to the course with adequate, sustained levels of physical energy and concentration.
• Participating in learning clinical skills and fully engaging in clinical practice activities.
• Having a sustained level of concentration and physical endurance during on-campus practical skills teaching and practise, clinical placements, and in your professional daily activities.

Examples are:

• Incorporating a range of gross motor skills while participating effectively in activities related to the course.
• Maintaining balance while safely transferring delicate and large equipment.
• Moving with ease and efficiency around patients and equipment items, such as wheelchairs and beds, while performing delivery of care.
• Safely retrieving and utilising stock and equipment.
• Manipulating delicate, breakable and sensitive equipment such as ultrasound transducers and other ultrasonic equipment, with ease and care.
• Moving an ultrasound transducer dexterously on a patient in multiple planes.
• Undertaking fine motor manipulations of the ultrasound transducer in order to slide, rotate, tilt and fan through a structure to detect pathology.
• Maneuvering bulky, heavy and sensitive equipment such as ultrasound machines to ensure appropriate ergonomic positions which may include moving the machine to other locations by pushing on wheels, and application and release of brakes by foot control.

Examples are:

• Being a productive team member during learning activities in simulation and during clinical practice.
• Providing feedback to and responding to feedback from peers in learning teams.
• Developing and sustaining rapport with supervising clinicians during clinical practice to support effective working relationships, positive learning environments and positive outcomes for patients.

Examples are:

• Using the Moodle learning management system to engage with classmates and your academics, access learning materials and undertake assessments.
• Using word processing, presentation and spreadsheet applications in undertaking assessments.
• Using ultrasound systems to produce, process and optimise sonographic images.
• Using facility Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS) to retrieve, view and manipulate medical diagnostic images.
• Retrieving patient information and documenting procedures in Hospital Information Systems (HIS) and Radiology Information Systems (RIS) during clinical practice.

Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) placements apply to this course and as such are subject to compulsory pre-placement conditions referred to as mandatory checks and are outlined in the health, security and other compulsory requirements sections. Mandatory checks are determined by industry, organisations, legislation, regulations, policies, and procedures. To be eligible for a WIL placement, students must first achieve compliance with mandatory checks by each closing date prior to a WIL placement and maintain current evidence for the duration of the course. 

Mandatory health requirements include immunisation and vaccination evidence (and serology where required) to the following diseases: Hepatitis B, Measles, Mumps and Rubella, Varicella, Pertussis, Influenza, and Tuberculosis screening. Additional vaccinations and screening are subject to the site or state health authority. Respirator mask fit testing is also an annual requirement for this course. 

Effective 25 September 2023, updates have been made to the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for Queensland Health sites and the Queensland Ambulance Service. While Queensland Health does not currently mandate evidence of COVID-19 vaccination, it's essential to recognise that other organisations may enforce their own vaccination specific criteria. This situation is similar across other states and territories, with the exception of Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, where COVID-19 vaccination is mandatory for all healthcare students.    

Mandatory security requirements include an Australian Federal Police clearance and working with children check.

Other mandatory requirements include a student agreement to privacy and confidentiality, fitness to participate in WIL student declaration, jurisdictional and site-specific compulsory requirements, and other training modules.