ECHO13006 - Adult Echocardiography

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Accurate analysis and assessment of complex cardiovascular disease and their pathological processes is a core part of all echocardiographic examinations. In preparation for clinical placement you will attain the knowledge and skills needed to analyse complex cardiovascular disease. This will include consideration of the echocardiographic generated images and assessment measures, haemodynamic calculations, pressures and valve prosthetics. You will apply knowledge to practical echocardiographic tasks in the laboratory setting, and utilise simulated clinical scenarios and case studies to analyse diagnostic data to provide differential diagnoses within an ethical framework of best practice and patient safety. You will demonstrate the professional knowledge, attitude and skills required to perform a complete echocardiographic study within a time frame related to clinical expectations. This unit prepares you for the clinical environment using the Assessment of Readiness for Clinical tool (ARC) in conjunction with other assessment tasks. Attendance at practical activities is a requirement of this unit.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 12
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.25
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-requisites

MPAT12001 Medical Pathophysiology

AND

ECHO12003 Principles of Cardiac Assessment OR ECHO12008 Doppler Echocardiography

AND

ECHO12005 Cardiac Clinical Unit 2

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 - 2023

Term 1 - 2023 Profile
Brisbane
Perth
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. In-class Test(s) 50%
2. In-class Test(s) 50%
3. Practical Assessment 0%
4. Performance 0%
5. Reflective Practice Assignment 0%

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 - 2022 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 66.67% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 16.67% 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: Moodle unit evaluation
Feedback
In-class tests asked questions that were clinically relevant and they allowed students to demonstrate comprehension of pathology and advanced echocardiographic techniques.
Recommendation
In-class tests rather than online tests are more appropriate for this capstone unit, prior to students entering into clinical placement units. Students recognise the necessity for comprehension of concepts, rather than rote learning facts. Test assessments will continue to be held in-class and will focus on analysis of echocardiographic concepts and interpretation of pathological processes.
Action Taken
In-class tests continue to provide students with firm foundations prior to commencing dedicated echocardiography clinical placement units. The majority of students recognise the benefit to these closed book, supervised test formats.
Source: Moodle unit evaluation
Feedback
Short video presentations before weekly QLAB sessions were very useful and ensured students across all campuses knew the weekly learning objectives.
Recommendation
Short video presentations, targeting theoretical concepts to be put into practice in weekly lab sessions, will continue in 2022 delivery. This will ensure clear weekly learning objectives and equitable delivery across campuses.
Action Taken
Weekly lab presentations were brief, direct, informative and encouraging. These videos provide focus for each lab session and ensure consistent delivery across campuses.
Source: Moodle unit evaluation
Feedback
Direction and feedback from lab tutors was sometimes inconsistent.
Recommendation
The teaching team will ensure all casual staff are properly oriented to CQU standards. The unit coordinator will ensure clear student learning objectives are relayed to casual staff.
Action Taken
Tutors (permanent and casual) were contacted regularly, via Teams and email, and were provided with clear instructions on lab delivery and expectations within the CV69 course.
Source: Moodle unit evaluation
Feedback
Unmanned sessions run during the week as well as the weekend would benefit student attendance. Opening sessions to second and third years in tandem could allow for greater flexibility in scheduling.
Recommendation
Lab scheduling is limited by student numbers, equitable delivery across campuses and sometimes disruptions to standard schedules due to COVID-19. The teaching team will continue to offer maximal lab access to students. Combined second and third year sessions will be considered.
Action Taken
Lab sessions, manned and unmanned, were organised whenever possible. This included unmanned session availability post lab sessions every week. Due to student numbers and equipment availability on the Brisbane campus, combined second- and third-year sessions could not be offered. Equitability across campuses remains a priority in lab scheduling.
Source: Student and Unit Teaching Evaluation
Feedback
Online tests in prior CV69 units are conducted remotely. Some students did not fully appreciate the requirement for closed book conditions in this third-year unit.
Recommendation
Echocardiography requires a high level of independent thinking and analytical interpretation, and requires the ability to immediately access a vast pool of foundational knowledge, particularly in urgent clinical situations. Proper comprehension and recall of foundational concepts is vital for scaffolding of skills before extended clinical placements in follow-on units of the CV69 course. Open book tests cannot assess the recall and comprehension necessary at this level of study, immediately prior to clinical placement. For this reason, ECHO13006 tests will continue to be scheduled in-class and under closed book conditions. Many academic lecturers within Echocardiography have expressed a view that closed book conditions should be introduced earlier than third year and this will be discussed further, prior to 2023 unit deliveries.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student and Unit Teaching Evaluation
Feedback
Some students did not appreciate the requirement to recall equations, and felt that a list of equations should have been provided for reference in the first in-class test.
Recommendation
While equations are often programmed into industry software, all practising sonographers have learned the theory behind common equations and understand their application. Recall of equations during the ECHO13006 test is necessary to assess understanding of (sometimes non-standard) requisite parameters and application to specific pathologies. As such, students will be required to recall and apply equations in future deliveries.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student and Unit Teaching Evaluation
Feedback
Some students felt that on-campus time with tutors was insufficient and that more time should be afforded for explanation of concepts.
Recommendation
Weekly lab sessions provide students with an opportunity to apply concepts taught in lectures. Lab schedules for QLAB are carefully considered so that content follows on from the previous week, to afford students the opportunity to learn theoretical concepts and attend tutorials before their lab session. This approach will be made clearer to students in future deliveries. Scanning sessions are inevitably constrained by equipment and staffing availability and are scheduled to enable staff to support students as equitably as possible across campuses.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student and Unit Teaching Evaluation
Feedback
The revised rubrics for practical assessments were unfamiliar and some students found assessment requirements difficult to understand.
Recommendation
Redevelopment of the practical assessment rubric was necessary, to move from a negative-marking approach to a competency-led approach. Students may have been unfamiliar with the competency framework and where their skill progression should sit within this context. The industry-recognised competency framework for sonographers will be introduced to students early on in the CV69 course in future deliveries— this will likely improve student comprehension of unit expectations and assessment criteria.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student and Unit Teaching Evaluation
Feedback
Students felt they would have benefitted from additional time and lab access between the mock and final practical assessments.
Recommendation
Given student numbers, staffing and equipment constraints, optimal lab scheduling is always difficult. The lab delivery schedule will be reviewed close to term commencement to ensure optimal lab deliveries across campuses. This will potentially provide more time or additional sessions between the mock and formal practical assessments.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student and Unit Teaching Evaluation
Feedback
Students appreciated the commitment and care demonstrated by tutors.
Recommendation
Pastoral care is recognised as an important aspect of student interaction and will continue to be a strong focus within the CV69 teaching team.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Differentiate between the aetiology, pathophysiology and echocardiographic assessment process associated with a variety of cardiovascular disease processes
  2. Perform and interpret measurements and advanced haemodynamic calculations applied to 2D, colour and spectral Doppler derived echocardiographic measures
  3. Differentiate prosthetic valve and valvular surgical intervention functionality and disease processes
  4. Analyse case-based clinical information to formulate differential diagnoses and plan patient management
  5. Perform an echocardiographic examination efficiently and effectively
  6. Display 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 - In-class Test(s) • • • •
2 - In-class Test(s) • • • •
3 - Practical Assessment • •
4 - Performance •
5 - Reflective Practice Assignment •
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 • • •
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