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 2 - 2025

Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 2 - 2026 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 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 50.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 7.14% 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 Teaching Evaluation (SUTE) survey data
Feedback
Students feel the unit is well structured and content is delivered well.
Recommendation
A similar structure in content delivery will continue for future deliveries.
Action Taken
Content delivery was similar in structure to previous deliveries but minor adjustments were made, to align with updated CQU branding and ensure currency alongside the publication of newer industry guidelines.
Source: SUTE survey data
Feedback
Students appreciate feedback given to them by the UC and support UC.
Recommendation
Timely, personalised feedback remains a priority for future deliveries of this unit.
Action Taken
Personal student communications and regular feedback remained a focus during unit delivery, which spans the entire calendar year for out-of-sync placement blocks.
Source: Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) survey data
Feedback
Students were usually unable to attend live tutorials, due to clinical placement attendance commitments, but they found the on-demand recordings useful.
Recommendation
Case study discussions will continue in future deliveries, in recorded format.
Action Taken
Recorded video tutorials remained a focus point for content delivery. Real-world case studies were relayed in a similar format to the capstone OSCE assessment.
Source: Student communications (email and face-to-face).
Feedback
Feedback was useful and appreciated.
Recommendation
Relevant and actionable feedback should remain a focus in student communications.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: End-of-unit WIL surveys.
Feedback
Communications with the unit coordinator were timely and supportive.
Recommendation
Timely communications and pastoral care should remain a focus, particularly since many students are on delayed placement schedules.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: End-of-unit WIL surveys.
Feedback
Recorded tutorial videos were appreciated, since fulltime placement attendance often makes live attendance difficult.
Recommendation
Tutorials will continue to be recorded and uploaded to the Moodle site, for students to view on-demand.
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 • • •