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MEDS13007 - Musculoskeletal Sonography

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit introduces you to musculoskeletal ultrasound. In the unit you will acquire knowledge of the anatomy, pathophysiology, sonographic appearance, scanning protocols and techniques relevant to the musculoskeletal system. You will demonstrate problem solving strategies to formulate differential diagnoses and produce a sonographic report. You will plan for the provision of safe and ethical patient care.

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:

MEDS12001 Physics of Ultrasound

AND

MEDS12003 Superficial Structures in Ultrasound

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 - 2016

Term 1 - 2017 Profile
Brisbane
Mackay
Melbourne
Sydney
Term 1 - 2018 Profile
Brisbane
Mackay
Melbourne
Sydney
Term 1 - 2019 Profile
Brisbane
Mackay
Melbourne
Perth
Sydney
Term 1 - 2020 Profile
Brisbane
Mackay
Melbourne
Perth
Sydney
Term 1 - 2021 Profile
Brisbane
Mackay
Melbourne
Perth
Sydney
Term 1 - 2022 Profile
Brisbane
Mackay
Melbourne
Perth
Sydney
Term 1 - 2023 Profile
Brisbane
Mackay
Melbourne
Perth
Sydney
Term 1 - 2024 Profile
Brisbane
Mackay
Melbourne
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. Written Assessment 40%
2. Examination 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 42.31% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 21.31% 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: Unit Coordinator reflection, Moodle logs and CQUSuccess data
Feedback
Some students had poor engagement with the unit content until immediately before an assessment item was due.
Recommendation
Consider modifying timing of lab (scanning) sessions to ensure early and regular engagement with the learning content.
Action Taken
Scanning labs were scheduled to enable students to have hands-on experience early in the term.
Source: SUTE Unit Report and student communication.
Feedback
Some students felt the lectures are too textbook-oriented and would like to have more real-world applications included.
Recommendation
Adjust the lectures to include more explanation on theoretic contents and their clinical relevance, as well as clinical stories, scanning tips and examples of the unit coordinator's own experience. This may increase the authenticity of the learning experience.
Action Taken
More than half of the lectures were updated to include more explanation on theoretic contents and their clinical relevance, as well as clinical stories, scanning tips and examples of the unit coordinator's own experience.
Source: SUTE Unit Report and Unit Coordinator reflection
Feedback
Some students felt confused about the referencing and academic integrity requirement, even though an ALC workshop and learning resources had been provided at the beginning of term.
Recommendation
Provide more specific explanation on the assessment tasks with more exemplars.
Action Taken
Exemplars and template were provided at the beginning of the term.
Source: SUTE Unit Report
Feedback
Students like the layout of the quiz with a variety of question types which keeps it interesting and engaging.
Recommendation
Consider maintaining the quiz layout.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE Unit Report
Feedback
Students found the ultrasound images with detailed labels provided in lecture very useful for learning normal sonographic anatomy of musculoskeletal structures.
Recommendation
Provide more labeled ultrasound images in lectures, reading materials and other resources.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE Unit Report, student communication and Unit Coordinator reflection
Feedback
Students wanted more hands-on scanning opportunities while learning the theory of musculoskeletal sonography.
Recommendation
The course structure has been updated via Update Course Proposal to move Musculoskeletal Sonography into Year 4 where students will have daily access to scanning opportunities at their clinical placement. This will provide opportunities to apply the theory in practice and increase understanding of complex structures and common pathology encountered.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Describe musculoskeletal anatomy and body mechanics.
  2. Differentiate the variance of normal and abnormal sonographic appearances of the musculoskeletal system.
  3. Describe sonographic techniques and protocols appropriate to musculoskeletal ultrasound.
  4. Analyse clinical scenarios to provide a differential diagnosis and produce a sonographic report.
  5. Formulate strategies for the provision of safe and ethical patient care.

The learning outcomes for this unit have been linked to:

ASAR Required Graduate Competency Outcomes for General Sonography Accreditation Standards 1.2.

1,2,3,4, 5 and 9

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Written Assessment
2 - Examination
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Communication
2 - Problem Solving
3 - Critical Thinking
4 - Information Literacy
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 - Examination