ECHO12005 - Cardiac Clinical Unit 2

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This clinical unit will provide opportunities to apply and integrate both theoretical and practical knowledge, skills and professional behaviours in the clinical environment. In addition to the consolidation of skills in electrophysiological assessment, you will be exposed to a range of cardiovascular assessment techniques, including echocardiography. Using clinical cases you will analyse and reflect upon the information provided to produce provisional differential diagnoses and patient management plans within an ethical framework of best practice and patient safety. Behavioural aspects of professional practice are emphasised and you are expected to reflect on your own performance and exhibit the highest level of safe patient care. Critical appraisal of performance will enable you to advance your professional, technical and analytical skills in a work setting under qualified supervision.

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:

ECHO12003 Principles of Cardiac Assessment and ECHO12004 Cardiac Assessment Skills 1

OR

ECHO12008 Doppler Echocardiography and ECHO12007 Cardiac Rhythm Assessment.  


Both ECHO12003 Principles of Cardiac Assessment and ECHO12004 Cardiac Assessment Skills 1 OR ECHO12008 Doppler Echocardiography and ECHO12007 Cardiac Rhythm Assessment must have been successfully completed within the last twelve months.  Should this time limit have elapsed the student must successfully complete one (or more) technical skill, professional behaviour and diagnostic knowledge-based assessment(s) (after completion of technical skill / knowledge revision). Details of this will be articulated in a learning contract created by the Head of Course or designate.

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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2025

Term 3 - 2025 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. Portfolio 0%
2. Online Quiz(zes) 0%
3. Practical Assessment 0%
4. Practical Assessment 0%
5. Performance 0%
6. Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books 0%
7. Professional Practice Placement 0%

This is a pass/fail (non-graded) unit. To pass the unit, you must pass all of the individual assessment tasks shown in the table above.

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 3 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 66.67% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 12% 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 Report
Feedback
There was some confusion with the breakdown of specific hours required for the placement.
Recommendation
Teaching staff will continue to promote the practicum requirements prior to and throughout the placement. Students will be directed to be familiar with the information published in the course handbook and Moodle site.
Action Taken
At the start of term, the UC held a tutorial and clearly stated the requirements of the unit with particular attention made to the hours the placement. This was reiterated again at the start of the second wave of placements.
Source: Industry feedback
Feedback
Some students approached this practicum thinking it was predominantly echocardiogram based and that gaining experience within other modalities was less important.
Recommendation
Teaching staff will emphasise the importance of using this practicum to increase foundational knowledge and experience in a wide range of testing. This practicum is targeted at the level of a cardiac physiologist and the day to day routine of a cardiology department. Echocardiology is a smaller component of this practicum, however still important in regards to achieving accreditation.
Action Taken
An industry representative spoke with the students about the importance of this practicum and how learning the necessary foundational skills will help with future progression.
Source: Unit coordinator
Feedback
Some student assessments were left to the last minute which resulted in clinical staff being either too busy or unavailable, resulting in late submissions and or limited time for a re-attempt, if required.
Recommendation
Unit Coordinator will reinforce assessment due dates before and during placement to assist students in managing their study and timelines.
Action Taken
Reminders were regularly sent out to keep students engaged with assessment due dates and other important events.
Source: SUTE feedback
Feedback
Some students felt there were too many assessments.
Recommendation
Assessment strategies will be reviewed to ensure they are appropriate and align with learning outcomes. Improved guidance will be provided to students to support workload management.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Unit coordinator
Feedback
Attendance and student interaction at tutorials were consistently low throughout the term.
Recommendation
The unit coordinator will seek more interactive and engaging tutorial activities that encourage student participation e.g storytelling, case studies, and group discussions considering student experiences on placement. Drop-in sessions without and agenda will also be considered. Student feedback will be sought on preferred tutorial times and formats to better accommodate their schedules and learning preferences.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Unit coordinator
Feedback
Some students require more detailed and constructive feedback to better support their learning and development.
Recommendation
More guidance will be provided to clinical supervisors on how to structure student feedback,
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Perform electrophysiological and echocardiographic assessment on the cardiovascular system
  2. Analyse and communicate the outcomes of cardiac assessment including consideration of quality assurance
  3. Apply professional behaviour consistent with safe practice
  4. Analyse, and critically reflect upon, clinical cases involving various cardiac assessment techniques
  5. Attend clinical placement as per external accreditation requirements (Australian Sonographer Accreditation Registry).

Linked to National and International Standards
1. ASAR Accreditation Standards for Cardiac Sonography - critical practice Unit 8 - Cardiac, Foundation units of competence 1 - 5.
2. European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging Core Syllabus.
3. American Registry for Cardiac Sonography Core Syllabus.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Portfolio • •
2 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
3 - Practical Assessment • •
4 - Practical Assessment • •
5 - Performance •
6 - Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books •
7 - Professional Practice Placement •
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