Viewing Future Unit Information

The information below will be relevant from 14/07/2025.
Click Here to view current information

PMSC11005 - Ethics and Law in Paramedicine

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Bioethical principles and the law both inform and impact every aspect of contemporary paramedic practice. In this unit, you will gain introductory knowledge of the fundamentals of ethics, law, and professionalism. You will learn the skills you can apply and tools you can use to help navigate common legal issues and challenges in everyday situations. In the process of exploring ethical and legal issues in paramedicine, opportunities for deliberation, discussion, critique, and reflection will arise within a case-based framework.

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 No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2024

There are no availabilities for this unit on or after Term 1 - 2024

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. Online Quiz(zes) 30%
2. Presentation 30%
3. Written Assessment 40%

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

To view Past Exams,
please login
Previous Feedback

No previous feedback available

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.

Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Explain ethical and legal principles and obligations as they relate to paramedic practice
  2. Describe the features of the Australian legal system and statutory bodies
  3. Locate relevant and important legislation, legal concepts and case law, and discuss them with application to paramedicine
  4. Relate professionalism and regulation to paramedicine
  5. Identify and discuss ethical and legal issues arising within paramedicine, and apply relevant skills and tools to resolve these issues.

It is a requirement of the Paramedicine Board of Australia that units align with the Professional capabilities for registered paramedics. These are broken down into five (5) domains. The proposed learning outcomes aligned with these domains are outlined below. In addition, the learning outcomes have also been aligned with the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards.

Professional capabilities for registered paramedics

The Paramedicine Board of Australia is responsible for assessing, consulting on and setting the standards for paramedics practising in Australia. These standards and relevant domains are articulated in the Professional capabilities for registered paramedics document. The learning outcomes are matched to the relevant capabilities:

Standard/Attribute/Criteria Learning Outcome/s

Domain 1: The professional and ethical practitioner

1.1.1, 1.1.3, 1.1.4, 1.1.5, 1.1.7, , 1.1.8, 1.1.9, 1.1.10, 1.1.11, 1.2.4, 1.2.5, 1.2.6, 1.3.1, 1.3.2, 1.4.1, 1.4.2

 LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5

Domain 2: The communicator and collaborator

2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.1.7, 2.1.8, 2.2.2

 LO1, LO3, LO4, LO5

Domain 3: The evidence-based practitioner

3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 3.2.4, 3.3.1, 3.3.3, 3.3.4, 3.4.1, 3.4.2

 LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5

Domain 4: The safety and risk management practitioner

4.1.2, 4.2.1, 4.3.1, 4.4.1, 4.4.2, 4.4.4, 4.5.2, 4.5.3, 4.6.5, 4.7.4

 LO1, LO3, LO4, LO5

Domain 5: The paramedicine practitioner

5.1.2, 5.1.3, 5.1.4, 5.1.5, 5.2.1, 5.2.2, 5.2.3, 5.2.4, 5.2.5, 5.6.1, 5.6.2, 5.6.3, 5.6.4

  LO1, LO3, LO4, LO5

National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care Standards addressed in this unit are:

Standard Learning Outcome/s
Clinical Governance -
Partnering with Consumers LO1, LO5
Preventing and Controlling Infections -
Medication Safety LO1, LO3, LO5
Comprehensive Care LO1, LO3, LO5
Communicating for Safety LO1, LO5
Blood Management LO1, LO5
Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration LO1, LO5

 

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • • •
2 - Presentation • •
3 - Written Assessment • • •
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 • • • • •
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