BMSC12010 - Clinical Biochemistry

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit provides you with an understanding of the role of the clinical biochemistry laboratory in the diagnosis and management of human diseases and disorders. The unit focuses on quality control in the pathology laboratory setting, the biochemical rationale for the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of blood electrolyte balance, blood gases, blood acid-base balance, hormones, diabetes mellitus, jaundice, cardiac and liver disease, gout, inherited metabolic disorders, renal dysfunction and malignant diseases. You will be instructed on correct procedures for preparing blood and urine samples for analysis, and for interpreting results in a clinical biochemistry laboratory.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-requisites

BMSC11004 Introductory Biochemistry OR BMSC11005 Foundations of Biochemistry

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).

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Residential School Compulsory Residential School
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Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2023

Term 3 - 2023 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 1 - 2024 Profile
Bundaberg
Mixed Mode
Rockhampton
Term 3 - 2024 Profile
Mixed Mode

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).

Assessment Overview

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.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 25%
2. Practical and Written Assessment 25%
3. Examination 50%

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

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2022 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 40.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 25.00% response rate.

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.

Source: SUTE teacher evaluations and unsolicited student email correspondence
Feedback
The Dr House Case study assessment item was really interesting and enhanced engagement and learning
Recommendation
Continue to provide interesting, informative and stimulating case study examples.
Action Taken
Continue to provide interesting, informative and stimulating case study examples.
Source: SUTE teacher evaluations and unsolicited student email correspondence
Feedback
The residential school was engaging and helped to develop confidence and laboratory skills
Recommendation
Continue to provide an engaging and real world laboratory experience.
Action Taken
Continue to delivery the engaging residential school in future offerings
Source: Self reflection
Feedback
Students raised concerns over the consistency in the residential school scheduling and delivery.
Recommendation
Develop a delivery model where the residential school is consistently scheduled and delivered.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Describe basic cell signalling, communication and metabolism (breakdown of proteins, fats and carbohydrates under aerobic conditions)
  2. Recall, classify and evaluate significant pathological conditions which occur in the human body and their respective biochemical tests and assays
  3. Recall and describe the major functions of a clinical pathology laboratory
  4. Demonstrate competency in biochemical laboratory methods, test and techniques
  5. Evaluate the scientific literature and communicate this knowledge and understanding via scientific writing tasks such as practical reports and case study problem based learning assessment items.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Written Assessment • • • •
2 - Practical and Written Assessment • • • • •
3 - Examination • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
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 • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10