MEDS13002 - Sonographic Skills Development 2

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit advances your preparation for the clinical workplace through the development of ultrasound scanning skills in lower extremity venous, carotid artery and transvaginal female pelvis. Psychomotor skills and professional behaviour techniques gained in previous scanning skills units and during clinical placement will be built upon, with an emphasis on problem solving techniques required to produce appropriate clinical outcomes. You are required to demonstrate the skills, knowledge, and professional behaviours needed to work in a clinical setting, and will be assessed within a simulated environment.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Prerequisites:

MEDS12004 Sonographic Skills Development 1

AND

MEDS12006 Ultrasound of Obstetrics and Gynaecology

AND

MEDS13008 Vascular Sonography

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
Mackay
Melbourne
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 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. Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) 0%
2. Written Assessment 0%
3. Online Quiz(zes) 0%
4. On-campus Activity 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 1 - 2022 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 79.59% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 47.12% 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 survey Student communication
Feedback
Students appreciated the image critique activities provided via the Q&A Forums and Zoom tutorials and found these assisted them to be more efficient with optimisation factors when in the simulated setting (labs).
Recommendation
Maintain and increase opportunities for image critiquing throughout the term.
Action Taken
Image critiquing opportunities were continued in each of the weekly Zoom tutorials, as well as posting optional critiquing activities and answers on the Moodle site. Students were also encouraged to send in their own de-identified images for critiquing.
Source: SUTE survey Student communication Unit coordinator reflection
Feedback
Many students found the introduction of clinical questions within the practical assessments stressful, however, they also acknowledged the importance these played in their learning journey.
Recommendation
Consider different ways to incorporate the clinical questions in the unit so that the Learning Outcomes are still met.
Action Taken
Clinical questions were removed from the practical assessments, and instead replaced with a narrative whereby the student talks through what they are doing and why. The narrative thus helps both student (to better understand what they are doing and what purpose they are fulfilling) and the assessor (to follow the students thought process). This also removes the anxiety of a (seemingly) random question being posed.
Source: SUTE survey Student communication Unit coordinator reflection
Feedback
The week 12 practical assessment (OSCE) was used for the first time in 2021. Whilst student performance did not decrease with this testing method, it was perceived as more difficult by some students.
Recommendation
Increase scaffolding of the assessment for students through the term. Consider different options with the scheduling format of the OSCE on assessment day.
Action Taken
The basic format of the OSCE remained in week 12 but with several changes: more time was allowed in the schedule on the day to avoid feeling rushed; scaffolding was provided in the form of exemplar eARC tools (one for each Module) so students had the opportunity to test it out in their practice times through the term; instructions were written rather than provided verbally; and the exact eARC tool was provided the night prior so that students would be able to familiarise themselves with what would happen the following day.
Source: Unit Coordinator reflection
Feedback
Some students found hypothesis generation from patient history and presentation to be quite challenging, even though this was discussed in tutorials and expected to be predominantly revision from previous theory units.
Recommendation
Consider introducing a formal clinical decision making model to assist with student's hypothesis generation.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE Unit Comment Report & Unit Coordinator reflection
Feedback
Some students ran out of time in Quiz 4. It was noted some students wrote much more information than was required which may have contributed to this.
Recommendation
Consider modifying question style and/or timing for Quiz 4.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE Unit Comment Report
Feedback
Students found the introduction of the narrative to the practical assessments to be very beneficial.
Recommendation
Maintain narrative and provide further exemplars of this for students, such as in demonstration videos.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Complete sonographic examinations of the lower extremity veins, carotid arteries, and transvaginal female pelvis
  2. Critically reflect and improve upon own professional practice and sonographic psychomotor skills
  3. Display professional behaviour, teamwork, and communication skills consistent with safe sonographic practice and industry expectation
  4. Formulate problem-solving and critical-thinking strategies to appropriately address patient presentation

Australasian Sonography Association Competency Standards for the Entry Level Sonographer

Units- 1,2,4,5,9,10 & 13

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) • • •
2 - Written Assessment •
3 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
4 - On-campus Activity •
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 •
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
1 - Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) • • • • • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • •
3 - Online Quiz(zes) • • •
4 - On-campus Activity • • • • • •