PMSC12001 - Procedures and Skills in Paramedic Care

General Information

Unit Synopsis

In this unit, you will develop an understanding of paramedic care through the investigation of underpinning theory and practice of procedural applications in the discipline. This will include examples of clinical investigations of the neurological, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and endocrine systems including specific paramedic interventions such as cannulation, ventilation techniques, defibrillation and trauma management at an introductory level. Your knowledge and skills will be developed through a series of coursework exercises and practical laboratory sessions. The knowledge and skills developed in this unit ensure you meet the Paramedicine Board of Australia's registration requirements through a series of coursework exercises and practical laboratory sessions.

Details

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

Pre-requisites:

  • PMSC11002 Foundations of Paramedic Clinical Practice
  • BMSC11010 Human Anatomy and Physiology 1 or BMSC11001 Human Body Systems 1

Co-requisite

  • PMSC11004 Paramedic Medical Emergencies 1



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
View Unit Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2024

There are no availabilities for this unit on or after Term 3 - 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. Practical Assessment 0%
2. Online Quiz(zes) 50%
3. Written Assessment 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 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 87.93% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 37.34% 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 (3 students)
Feedback
Students reported that there was inadequate time for the online quiz. The quiz had 100 multiple choice, fill in the missing word and true/false questions on a broad range of skills.
Recommendation
To review the quiz and the timings. The quiz time allocation was designed to reward the student who knew the content and able to recall whilst limiting the opportunity to refer to notes. Consider the time allocation, removing some questions and add more critical thinking questions.
Action Taken
The quiz was reviewed and reduced to 86 questions. Students were provided with example questions. It was communicated to students prior to the task that the timing was tight, and designed to test the student's rapid recall and application of the skill.
Source: Student feedback (1 student)
Feedback
Lack of time for practical application of skill due to student numbers and long scenarios.
Recommendation
Ensure teacher to student ratio is adhered to on all campuses. Delivery of timely skill stations and scenarios to ensure maximum practice time for all students.
Action Taken
The teacher-to-student ratio was adhered to. Academic leads were provided structured guides to ensure ample practice and application of practical skills.
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
Expectations were clearly communicated from the start of the term. Whilst students reported there was a lot of content it was easy to understand, engaging and well presented.
Recommendation
Continue to make expectations clear with regular communication. Continue to develop the content to ensure it is up to date and engaging. Ensure communication continues over residential schools and Zoom sessions are recorded and uploaded.
Action Taken
Expectations continued to be made clear at the commencement of the term. These were conveyed in an introduction video and assessment task video. Communication with students was sent via email and Moodle news forum posts. Weekly Zoom sessions were delivered and recordings made available.
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
Residential schools were excellent and ran smoothly, academics were knowledgeable with practical tips.
Recommendation
Continue to deliver residential schools in this format with utilisation of casual academics to support teaching.
Action Taken
Residential schools were delivered in the same format, utilising casual academics to support teaching. To provide consistency across campuses an assessment day video was provided to academics to guide them on how to mark the assessment task.
Source: Student unit teaching evaluations
Feedback
The lectures were engaging and the skills videos were very helpful. The structure and expectations were made clear.
Recommendation
Continue to deliver lectures in this green screen format, and use of skill videos to ensure expectations are clear. 
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student unit teaching evaluations
Feedback
Practical classes and residential schools were excellent. 
Recommendation
Recommendations- Continue to deliver practical classes and residential schools in this format.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student unit teaching evaluations
Feedback
Quiz timing was challenging, and the total number of questions was unclear. 
Recommendation
Review the number of questions and type of questions and appropriateness of time allocation. Ensure it is noted on all quiz assessment information the number of questions in the quiz
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student unit teaching evaluations
Feedback
Confusion when presented with practical assessment task one as it was different from the expectations outlined.
Recommendation
Provide clarity surrounding this practical task. Ensure students have the opportunity to practice it before their assessment.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Articulate the theoretical underpinnings, including the anatomical and pathophysiological reasons, for the application of advanced care skills and interventions in the management of a critically ill or injured patient relevant to paramedic practice
  2. Identify and interpret the indications, precautions, risks and contraindications of using specific paramedic interventions involved in advanced care prehospital practice
  3. Employ critical thinking and clinical reasoning for using specific paramedic interventions involved in advanced care prehospital skills and interventions
  4. Explain and demonstrate the skills and interventions for specific paramedic interventions involved in advanced care prehospital practice in a safe, ethical and professional manner.

It is a requirement of the Paramedicine Board of Australia that units align with the Australian Health and Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) Professional Capabilities for Registered Paramedics. These are broken down into five (5) domains. Below aligns the 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 a Registered Paramedic document. The learning outcomes of this unit are matched to the relevant capabilities.
Standard/Attribute/Criteria Learning Outcomes
Domain 1: The professional and ethical practitioner 1.1.4, 1.1.5, 1.1.9, 1.1.10, 1.1.11, 1.2.2, 1.2.4, 1.2.4, 1.2.5, 1.2.6 1.3.2, 1.3.3, 1.4.1, 1.4.2 LO2, LO3, LO4
Domain 2: The communicator and collaborator 2.2.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.1.5, 2.1.6, 2.1.7, 2.1.8, 2.2.3 LO1, 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, 3.2.6, 3.3.1, 3.3.2, 3.3.3 LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Domain 4: The safety and risk management practitioner 4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3, 4.1.4, 4.1.54.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3, 4.2.4 4.3.2, 4.3.3, 4.7.9 LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Domain 5: The paramedic practitioner 5.2.1, 5.2.3, 5.2.4, 5.2.55.3.1, 5.3.2, 5.3.3, 5.3.4, 5.3.6 5.4.1, 5.4.2, 5.4.3, 5.4.4, 5.4.5, 5.4.5, 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:

StandardLearning Outcomes
Clinical GovernanceLO1, LO3
Partnering with ConsumersLO4
Preventing and Controlling InfectionsLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Medication SafetyLO2, LO4
Comprehensive CareLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Communicating for SafetyLO4
Recognising and Responding to Acute DeteriorationLO3, LO4


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