MEDS20019 - Advanced Vascular Ultrasound

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Vascular ultrasound is a common part of clinical practice and with the ageing of the population the incidence of peripheral, abdominal and extra cranial vascular disease is on the rise. In this unit, you will study advanced practice in vascular ultrasound, both arterial and venous. You will acquire knowledge of vascular anatomy, pathophysiology and flow haemodynamics. The application and measurements used in the non-invasive interrogation of peripheral, abdominal and extra cranial vasculature will be explained. You will appreciate the role of ultrasound, and other imaging modalities, in the clinical assessment, diagnosis and management of a patient with vascular disease, including professional, legal and ethical considerations. The classic signs, symptoms, aetiology, prevalence of major peripheral, abdominal and extra cranial vascular disease will be discussed. Case studies will include new developments in vascular ultrasound imaging.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 9
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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2025

There are no availabilities for this unit on or after Term 1 - 2025

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. Portfolio 50%
2. Online Test 50%

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 2 - 2022 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 0.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 100% 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: "Have Your Say"
Feedback
Students benefited from the extensive e-reading list of the unit which they could easily access and use as references for their assignments.
Recommendation
Continue to revise and update the e-reading list to expose students to contemporary research in the field of vascular ultrasound.
Action Taken
The e-reading list was revised and updated and provided to students.
Source: "Have Your Say"
Feedback
Students commented that the unit coordinator had great communication skills and touched based every week at least once to update the class as what is expected for the coming week.
Recommendation
Continue to maintain regular communication with students throughout the term via the news forum to update students of relevant weekly unit content and expectations.
Action Taken
Regular communication with students was maintained throughout the term.
Source: "Have Your Say"
Feedback
Students commented that the practice online test was beneficial in preparing them for the final assessment.
Recommendation
Continue to offer the practice online test to help students prepare for their final assessment.
Action Taken
The practice online test was made available for students to prepare for the final assessment.
Source: Student email.
Feedback
The tutorials to unpack the assessment tasks were helpful to provide guidance on task completion.
Recommendation
Consider maintaining tutorials to unpack assessment tasks.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Discuss the classic signs, symptoms, aetiology, and prevalence of major peripheral, abdominal and extra cranial vascular disease
  2. Analyse sonographic anatomy and haemodynamic appearances of normal and pathological features of the peripheral, abdominal and extra cranial vasculature in order to interpret and communicate the sonographic findings
  3. Detect vascular pathology through analysis and interpretation of ultrasound images obtained from clinical case studies of common and rare vascular conditions
  4. Evaluate the role of ultrasound and other imaging modalities in the clinical assessment, diagnosis and management of vascular disease, including professional, legal and ethical considerations.

The Masters course does not lead to entry into the sonography profession but is rather studied by qualified practitioners to support advanced practice. Therefore it does not require external accreditation. The Master of Medical Ultrasound qualifies as Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activity (activity code 10B - Australian Sonographers Accreditation Registry (ASAR)). Thus unit alone does not lead to award of a qualification in specialist vascular ultrasound.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Portfolio • • •
2 - Online Test • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Knowledge • • •
2 - Communication • • • •
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills • •
4 - Research •
5 - Self-management •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility • • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 - Portfolio • • • • • •
2 - Online Test • • • •