ECHO28006 - Clinical Practice and Quality Assurance

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit builds on the skills, knowledge and attributes developed during the Graduate Diploma of Cardiac Ultrasound. You will perform diagnostic cardiac ultrasound and analyse the outcomes to meet the profession's 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. You will apply quality assurance assessment strategies and risk evaluation in routine practice to effective positive outcomes. You will be required to demonstrate appropriate clinical exposure and attendance consistent with accrediting body graduate expectations. You will be required to attend your campus of enrolment for final Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs).

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 8
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-requisite:

Completion of 36 credit points of the Graduate Diploma of Cardiac Ultrasound AND

1,500 hours of clinical placement hours documented in the logbook and signed by the Clinical Supervisor.

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 - 2024

There are no availabilities for this unit on or after Term 1 - 2024

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 Postgraduate 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. Online Quiz(zes) 0%
2. Professional Practice Placement 0%
3. Practical Assessment 0%
4. Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books 0%
5. 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 50.00% 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: Individual student feedback via Zoom.
Feedback
The practical component of the OSCE should be more reflective of day-to-day scanning procedures (ie. performing a comprehensive transthoracic echocardiogram).
Recommendation
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 approach will be discussed among faculty staff and improvements made where applicable, prior to 2023 delivery.
Action Taken
The practical component of the OSCE assessment was amended to be more reflective of day-to-day scanning procedures, following faculty staff consultation.
Source: Email and face-to-face communications.
Feedback
Students felt supported in their final clinical unit. They felt their individual circumstances were taken into account and respected by the unit coordinator.
Recommendation
As these postgraduate students are placed in their own industry employment site, university requirements should continue to be considered with respect to the individual circumstances of each student.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Apply quality assurance and risk assessment strategies to effect positive outcomes in clinical practice
  2. Demonstrate professional and ethical behaviour, and appropriate communication skills consistent with scope of practice of a cardiac sonographer (echocardiographer)
  3. Analyse, and critically reflect upon, clinical cases involving cardiac ultrasound and other assessment techniques
  4. Critically evaluate the outcome of a variety of cardiac assessment data, using a broad body of knowledge, to solve complex diagnostic problems
  5. Perform diagnostic echocardiographic scans to meet the 'Competency Standards for an Entry Level Cardiac Sonographer'
  6. Engage in cardiac ultrasound practice as per external accreditation requirements (Australasian Sonographer Accreditation Registry).

Linked to the Australian Sonographers Accreditation Registry (ASAR) Accreditation Standards for Cardiac Sonography:

Foundation Units of Competence

  • Unit 1: Deliver safe, patient centred service
  • Unit 2: Practice within professional and ethical frameworks
  • Unit 3: Locate, analyse and synthesise information to support evidence based practice
  • Unit 4: Contribute to workplace health and safety and quality assurance
  • Unit 5: Communicate effectively

Critical Practice Unit of Competence

  • Unit 8: Cardiac

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
2 - Professional Practice Placement •
3 - Practical Assessment • •
4 - Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books • •
5 - Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Advanced Level
• Professional Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
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
• Advanced Level
• Professional Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8