ECHO12006 - Cardiac Science

General Information

Unit Synopsis

The accurate diagnosis of cardiac conditions requires comprehensive knowledge of cardiac pathophysiology, and the outcomes of a variety of cardiovascular assessment procedures. In this unit you will be introduced to cardiac assessment within the catheterisation laboratory. You will learn how to interpret a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), and how to assess cardiac structure and function by performing a two-dimensional echocardiographic examination. Within the ethical framework of best practice, you will examine simulated case-based clinical information. You will explore the outcomes of cardiac diagnostic procedures, formulate differential diagnoses and patient management strategies for a variety of common cardiovascular pathologies. Attendance at practical activities is a requirement of this unit.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 12
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.25
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-requisite
ECHO11002 Cardiac Structure and Function

and

ECHO11003 Fundamentals of Cardiac Science

Co-requisite
MEDS12001 Physics of Ultrasound

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 3 - 2024

Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
Sydney

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 12-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 25 hours of study per week, making a total of 300 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Online Quiz(zes) 20%
2. Written Assessment 30%
3. Practical Assessment 0%
4. Performance 0%
5. Reflective Practice Assignment 0%
6. 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 1 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 45.45% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 28.21% 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: My Experience and SUTE feedback
Feedback
The lecture's face covers information on some lecture slides.
Recommendation
Lectures should continue to be reviewed with attention to slide content visibility.
Action Taken
Lectures were reviewed, and any lectures where the content of the slides was obscured by the lecturer's face were updated.
Source: My Experience and Student
Feedback
The quality of ECG traces on the ECG quiz made if difficult to see the squares on some of the ECGs.
Recommendation
The format of saving and displaying ECGs should continue to be reviewed with resolution and image size being taken into consideration. Students should continue to be reminded that a larger screen such as a PC or laptop and a faster internet connection will improve the quality of the image displayed and the loading time of the ECGs.
Action Taken
The format of the ECGs was reviewed. The ECGs were presented in .png format to enable high resolution and faster loading times.
Source: SUTE Feedback
Feedback
Students felt there was a large amount of content
Recommendation
Students should continue to be reminded of the significant study commitment involved in a 12-credit point unit. Study planners are available on Moodle and students should be encouraged to continue to utilise this resource to assist in planning study commitments.
Action Taken
The content volume was reviewed and evaluated as consistent with workload expectations for a 12 credit point.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Students found the cardiac catheterization lectures difficult to follow due to the extensive verbal content, sparse slide information, and lengthy duration.
Recommendation
The cardiac catheterisation lectures should be reviewed with a focus on highlighting the important information on the lecture slides and presenting information in a concise way.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Feedback
The ECQ quiz had many images that took time analyse making it difficult to complete the task in the required time frame.
Recommendation
The format and timing of the ECG quiz should be reviewed. Students will continue to be reminded to complete the online quiz on campus to ensure adequate computer speed to access the images in a timely manner.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: My Experience
Feedback
Feedback from tutors in laboratory sessions did not consistently offer clear guidance on areas for improvement.
Recommendation
Resources should be provided to tutors to enhance their feedback provisions.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Perform the standard two-dimensional echocardiographic protocol including associated anatomical quantification.
  2. Formulate and evaluate reasoned arguments for the exclusion of artefactual and discordant two-dimensional echocardiographic findings.
  3. Analyse case-based clinical information to formulate differential diagnoses and plan patient management strategies for a variety of common cardiovascular pathologies.
  4. Discuss common cardiac catheterisation procedures including radiation safety.
  5. Analyse the output of 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) studies.
  6. Apply professional behaviour, teamwork and communication skills consistent with safe practice.
  7. Apply reflective feedback to professional practice improvement.

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 6 7
1 - Online Quiz(zes) •
2 - Written Assessment • • • •
3 - Practical Assessment • • •
4 - Performance •
5 - Reflective Practice Assignment •
6 - Examination • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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 • • • •
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures • • •
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