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MEDS11001 - Fundamentals of Ultrasound Practice

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit provides an insight into medical ultrasound by exploring the role and global scope of practice of the medical sonographer and the use of ultrasound in medical imaging, the types of examinations available and the provision of safe patient care as an allied health professional. The aim of this unit is to provide introductory knowledge and skills that will support your learning throughout the Medical Sonography course. Simulation exercises will enable you to apply theory to practice.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 1
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the unit.

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).

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Residential School Compulsory Residential School
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Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2021

Term 1 - 2022 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 1 - 2023 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 1 - 2024 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 6-credit Undergraduate 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. Written Assessment 40%
2. Practical Assessment 0%
3. Online Test 60%

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 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 74.07% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 23.89% 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: SUTE
Feedback
Some students found the task description for the written assessment lacking in clarity.
Recommendation
Consider a revision of the written assessment wording.
Action Taken
The written assessment was revised with more clarity and detail in the task description provided. Students were also supported with a template for their responses, exemplars and specific assessment videos to ensure clear understanding of this assessment item. A detailed rubric was also provided.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Referencing the end of term online test, "the mixture of style of questions is fair - mix/match, T/F, multi-choice, short answer. Overall, suitable and fair final assessment."
Recommendation
Maintain a mixture of question styles for the end of term test.
Action Taken
A mixture of question styles was maintained for the end of term test.
Source: SUTE data
Feedback
Some students expressed that they would like the final online test format to include grouping of question types together rather than a random shuffling of question types throughout the test.
Recommendation
Maintain a range of question types within the online test but consider grouping them together by question type rather than as a random format to allow continuity of work during the test.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE data and UC reflection
Feedback
Some students expressed that they would like to have activities in the residential school that were more interactive when they were not scanning in the sonography labs.
Recommendation
Continue to revise the residential school program. Consider more interactive groupwork to encourage connections between students for sessions when students are not in the sonography lab for practical skills.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: UC and student feedback
Feedback
Students continue to thoroughly enjoy the residential school scanning activities within the sonography labs.
Recommendation
Continue with the current amount of scanning activities in the sonography labs and consider if further scanning activities are possible within the labs allowing for time and schedule limitations.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Discuss the role and scope of practice of the medical sonographer, including professional and legal frameworks
  2. Apply knowledge of ultrasound equipment, transducer / patient positioning and sonographic image appearance using appropriate medical and sonographic terminology
  3. Discuss the role of diagnostic medical ultrasound and how it relates to other diagnostic imaging modalities and picture archiving communication systems
  4. Demonstrate sonographic manual skill development in a simulated environment.

This unit will be one of the core units in the Medical Sonography Course which is externally accredited by the Australian Sonographers Accreditation Registry, an external professional regulatory body. This unit introduces students to the foundational knowledge and skills of medical sonography and enables an appreciation of the use of ultrasound in a national and international context and in the context of the other diagnostic imaging technologies available. The professional body entry level competencies of the accredited sonographer include consideration of safe practice and professional behaviour.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Written Assessment
2 - Practical Assessment
3 - Online Test
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Communication
2 - Problem Solving
3 - Critical Thinking
4 - Information Literacy
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
1 - Written Assessment
2 - Practical Assessment
3 - Online Test