PMSC11002 - Foundations of Paramedic Clinical Practice

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit provides you with basic paramedic practice skills and knowledge to start the formulation of a clinical diagnosis and basic treatment plans for patients. You will learn scene assessment, patient assessment, diagnostic evaluations, history taking and treatment integration in cardiac life support. The unit also reviews the concepts of self care, ethics, cultural sensitivities as well as infection control and safety in 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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School Compulsory Residential School
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Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2023

Term 1 - 2023 Profile
Cairns
Mixed Mode
Rockhampton
Townsville
Term 1 - 2024 Profile
Cairns
Mixed Mode
Rockhampton
Townsville

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. On-campus Activity 40%
2. Online Quiz(zes) 30%
3. Portfolio 30%

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 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 21.89% 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: Student feedback (verbal)
Feedback
The word count for the portfolio was very large and made it difficult to achieve at times.
Recommendation
The team will look at the word count and adjust accordingly. A detailed assessment plan will also be developed to assist students with knowing how much detail to include in the assignment.
Action Taken
The word count was reduced. A detailed assessment guide was also included with pointers and directions included to help guide students with developing their responses to each assessment task.
Source: Peer discussion
Feedback
The lectures were difficult to hear at time with poor video quality
Recommendation
It is recommended that a new format delivery will be tried. Switching from a live recorded lecture delivered from a lecture room with an audience, to lectures delivered via Zoom. This will allow for greater control over aspects such as lighting and audio.
Action Taken
The lectures this year were delivered via Zoom. This worked well, with no lighting or audio issues.
Source: Moodle Unit Evaluations
Feedback
Students enjoyed the exemplar video that demonstrated systematic approach.
Recommendation
The video will remain and additional exemplar videos will be created to help with contextualising the practical components of this unit.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Explain how occupational safety, self-awareness, and self-care influence an individual's well-being and paramedic practice
  2. Implement a safe foundational paramedic decision-making framework, incorporating basic clinical assessments and skills used in paramedic practice
  3. Assess and manage a patient being mindful of cultural sensitivities and ethics
  4. Articulate the principles of safe, ethical and professional practice with reference to legislative and regulatory requirements.

It is a requirement of the Paramedicine Board of Australia that units align with the AHPRA professional capabilities for registered paramedics. These are broken down into five (5) domains. Below aligns the proposed learning outcomes with these domains. In addition, the learning outcomes have also been aligned with the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards.
Professional Capabilities for a registered Paramedic
The Paramedicine Board of Australia is responsible for assessing, consulting on and setting the standards for paramedics practicing in Australia. These standards and relevant domains are articulated in the Professional capabilities for registered paramedics document. The learning outcomes of the unit are matched to the relevant capabilities
Standard/Attribute/Criteria Learning Outcome
Domain 1: The professional and ethical practitioner 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.4, 1.1.5, 1.1.7, 1.1.8, 1.1.9, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.2.4, 1.2.5 1.3.1, 1.3.2, 1.3.3, 1.4.1, 1.4.2 LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Domain 2: The communicator and collaborator 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.1.5, 2.1.6, 2.1.7, 2.1.8, 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.3, 2.2.6 LO2, LO3, LO4
Domain 3: The evidence-based practitioner 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 3.2.4, 3.2.5, 3.3.1, 3.3.2, 3.3.3, 3.3.4, 3.4.1, 3.4.2, 3.4.3, 3.4.4 LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Domain 4: The safety and risk management practitioner 4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.4, 4.1.5, 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3, 4.2.4, 4.3.1, 4.3.2, 4.5.2, 4.5.3, 4.6.1, 4.6.5 LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Domain 5: The paramedicine practitioner 5.1.4 5.2.1, 5.2.2, 5.2.3, 5.2.4, 5.2.5, 5.3.1, 5.3.3, 5.3.4, 5.3.5, 5.4.1, 5.4.2, 5.4.3, 5.4.4, 5.4.5, 5.4.6, 5.6.1, 5.6.2, 5.6.3, 5.6.4  LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care Standards developed in this unit are:
Standard Learning Outcomes
Clinical Governance LO1, LO2, LO4
Partnering with Consumers LO2, LO3, LO4
Preventing and Controlling Infections LO2, LO3, LO4
Comprehensive Care LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Communicating for Safety LO2, LO3, LO4
Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration LO2, LO3

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - On-campus Activity • • •
2 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
3 - Portfolio • •
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 • • •
5 - Team Work •
6 - Information Technology Competence • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence • •
8 - Ethical practice • • •
9 - Social Innovation •
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures •
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