ECHO20005 - Cardiac Clinical Unit 5

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This graduate clinical unit builds on the skills, knowledge and attitudes developed during the Bachelor of Echocardiography and Cardiac Physiology. You will perform diagnostic cardiac ultrasound and other cardiac assessment and analyse the outcomes to to meet the professions Competency Standards for the Entry-Level Cardiac Sonographer. You will evaluate clinical findings to formulate a differential diagnosis and initiate further investigation within an ethical framework of best practice and patient safety. You will apply appropriate professional and interpersonal skills to echocardiographic practice in accordance with CQUniversity postgraduate attributes and requirements for external professional accreditation. Critical appraisal of performance will enable you to advance your professional, technical and analytical skills in a work setting under qualified supervision.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level Not Applicable
Credit Points 18
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.375
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Prerequisite

ECHO20004 Cardiac Clinical Unit 4

ECHO20004 Cardiac Clinical Unit 4 must have been successfully completed within the last nine 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 3 - 2024

Term 2 - 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 18-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 37.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 450 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Practical Assessment 0%
2. Performance 0%
3. Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books 0%
4. Case Study 0%
5. Professional Practice Placement 0%
6. Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) 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 2 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 3.57% 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: Student Unit and Teacher Evaluation (SUTE) survey, and individual (face-to-face) student feedback.
Feedback
Time allowance for the OSCE theoretical component is considered too restrictive by some students, with concern that interpretation of diagnostic imaging under time pressure may not lead to answers truly reflective of student comprehension.
Recommendation
The time allowance for the theoretical OSCE component is currently 90 minutes. This time allowance will be re-considered for 2023 delivery. Content distribution and attention fatigue must be taken into consideration though, especially since students undertake their practical OSCE component shortly after this theoretical component.
Action Taken
The time allowance for Part A (theory component) of the OSCE assessment remained at 90 minutes. Moderation of Part A content and consultation within the Echocardiography faculty provided consensus for this decision.
Source: Student Unit and Teacher Evaluation (SUTE) survey, and individual (face-to-face and Zoom) student feedback.
Feedback
The practical component of the OSCE should be more reflective of day-to-day scanning procedures (ie. performing a comprehensive transthoracic echocardiogram).
Recommendation
With continuing disruptions to placement block dates, and the ongoing COVID pandemic, it is not logistically possible to organise real-world patient models across campuses in Perth, Sydney and Brisbane for multiple OSCE dates (which are currently scheduled across a five month period for the HT2 2022 delivery). Competency as an entry-level sonographer, as per industry-agreed standards, is not solely reliant on performance of a comprehensive transthoracic echocardiogram. The practical OSCE component is designed to assess additional attributes including clinical decision making skills and professional behaviour. This assessment will be discussed among faculty staff and improvements made where applicable, prior to 2023 delivery.
Action Taken
The Part B (practical component) of the OSCE was amended to be more reflective of day-to-day scanning procedures, following faculty staff consultation.
Source: Student Unit and Teacher Evaluation (SUTE) survey, and individual (face-to-face and email) student feedback.
Feedback
The unit coordinator provided clear and knowledgeable explanations, challenged students to think and question, provided valuable feedback and showed passion and enthusiasm for the discipline. Students felt supported throughout the unit.
Recommendation
Unit coordination will continue to focus on clear communication and individualised feedback. Student experience is increasingly disjointed due to placement date disruptions among the Echocardiography cohort and as such additional support needs to be considered in many aspects. In this final term unit, students will be encouraged to actively invest in their ongoing professional development and maintain their own enthusiasm for the discipline.
Action Taken
Communication and student pastoral care were prioritised by the unit coordinator.
Source: Individual student feedback via emails and phone or Zoom conversations.
Feedback
Although the majority of students did not attend live tutorials, recordings of these sessions were helpful resources. The unit coordinator was available to clarify points throughout the entire term.
Recommendation
Tutorials will continue in the same format (revision of theoretical concepts and interpretation of echocardiographic imaging) and recordings will be made available on Moodle. Given ongoing disruptions to placement block dates and resulting variable course progression among the student cohort, real-time support— via Moodle forums, email, phone or Zoom— needs to remain an emphasis for each and every student.
Action Taken
Regular tutorials were held via Zoom, and recordings were uploaded to the Moodle site.
Source: SUTE and email communications.
Feedback
Students felt supported in their placement experience, with positive feedback given to the unit coordinator, supporting unit coordinator and the WIL team.
Recommendation
Pastoral care will continue to be a focus in future deliveries.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Face-to-face and email communications.
Feedback
Students are aware of assessment requirements in other (post-graduate) Echocardiography courses within Australia. The main point of difference, from a student's perspective, is the approach to the final OSCE assessment. Other institutions allow remote recordings of assessments to take place, supervised at the student's placement site.
Recommendation
The viability and academic robustness of a remote OSCE assessment will be explored.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Perform diagnostic echocardiographic scans to meet the Competency Standards for the Entry Level Cardiac Sonographer
  2. Evaluate the outcomes of cardiac assessment, using a broad body of knowledge, to solve complex diagnostic problems
  3. Behave professionally, using appropriate professional and personal skills to practice as an echocardiographer and cardiac physiologist (cardiac scientist)
  4. Analyse, and critically reflect upon, clinical cases involving cardiac ultrasound and other 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 - Practical Assessment • • •
2 - Performance •
3 - Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books •
4 - Case Study •
5 - Professional Practice Placement • •
6 - Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Knowledge • • • •
2 - Communication • • • • •
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills • • •
4 - Research •
5 - Self-management • • • • •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility • • • • •
7 - Leadership • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 - Practical Assessment • • • • •
2 - Performance • • • • •
3 - Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books • •
4 - Case Study • • • • • • •
6 - Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) • • • • • •
5 - Professional Practice Placement • • •