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PMSC12003 - Special Populations in Paramedic Practice

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Students will develop an understanding of the need to adapt paramedic practice for special populations. At the completion of this course the student will be able to effectively integrate pathophysiological principles and assessment findings to manage the treatment of the obstetric patient, neonate, paediatric, and elderly patients. Knowledge and skills will be developed through a series of coursework and practical exercises. Distance education (FLEX) students will be required to have access to a computer to make frequent use of internet resources and to attend a residential school on Rockhampton campus to promote development of course learning outcomes.

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

PMSC12001 Procedures and Skills in Paramedic Care

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 1 - 2015

Term 2 - 2017 Profile
Cairns
Mixed Mode
Rockhampton
Townsville
Term 2 - 2018 Profile
Cairns
Mixed Mode
Rockhampton
Townsville
Term 3 - 2018 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 2 - 2019 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 3 - 2019 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 2 - 2020 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 2 - 2021 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 2 - 2022 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 2 - 2023 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 2 - 2024 Profile
Mixed Mode

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) 50%
2. Practical 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 92.86% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 27.27% 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 (2 students)
Feedback
Students reported a lack of time for practical application of paediatric scenarios during the residential school.
Recommendation
Ensure academic-to-student ratios are adhered to on all campuses. Incorporate student led scenarios, allowing for more scenarios to be run concurrently and therefore more exposure in the primary care role for all students.
Action Taken
Equal time was allocated at residential school for both obstetrics and paediatrics to ensure all students had the same amount of practice for the scenarios. All students were encouraged to participate and lead scenarios. There was also time allocated for students to do student-led scenarios for paediatric and/or obstetric scenarios, or participate in student-led study.
Source: Student feedback (4 students)
Feedback
Unit reported by students to be content heavy, however, this was offset by well-structured lectures, resources and regular zoom sessions making it manageable.
Recommendation
Maintain communication and encouragement to students to be aware of the content load in PMSC12003, promoting the need to be organised and to stay on top of workload. This is particularly relevant given that most students also attend there first on road placement during this semester.
Action Taken
Students were encouraged to stay on top of the workload and to contact staff if any concerns or issues, especially surrounding workload. All efforts were made to cater to those struggling with the content, including granting extensions and communicating with students as needed.
Source: Student feedback (1 student)
Feedback
Consideration for PMSC12003 to be split into two separate units within the degree structure.
Recommendation
Consider team discussion around the structure of the degree and whether it would be achievable for obstetrics and paediatrics to be covered individually due to the large amount of content covered within each topic.
Action Taken
This is a discussion that will continue with the paramedic science team.
Source: Student feedback (15 students)
Feedback
Students reported a positive residential school experience outlining clear expectations, structure and learning materials that created an learning environment that was less intimidating than previous residential schools.
Recommendation
Continue to provide clear residential school outlines and incorporate the revision workbooks for all students at the beginning of residential schools. Encourage all campuses to use the smaller group student-run scenarios as this creates a less intimidating environment for learning.
Action Taken
Residential schools were run in a very similar way to previous deliveries, to ensure there were clear expectations with a solid structure for learning.
Source: Student feedback (6 students)
Feedback
Students reported a unit structure that flowed easily and assisted with consolidation of knowledge as each week progressed.
Recommendation
Continue to use and build on the current unit structure which was well received by students.
Action Taken
The unit structure was maintained and built upon, which was received well by students.
Source: Student Feedback
Feedback
Inconsistencies were identified between academics at residential school
Recommendation
All academics teaching in the unit will receive identical explicit instruction. A Zoom meeting will be held before residential school to ensure all academics are consistently trained in assessment facilitation.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student Feedback
Feedback
There was limited opportunity to complete enough scenarios at residential school due to large group numbers
Recommendation
Attempt to employ more casual staff members to ensure appropriate academic/student ratios to assist students in getting exposure to scenarios.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student Feedback
Feedback
Unit layout was well received by students, with equal time allocated to obstetric and paediatric patients
Recommendation
Keep the layout similar in future deliveries of the unit.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student Feedback/Unit Coordinator reflection
Feedback
The time limit for the first quiz was very tight. An extra 10 - 15 minutes would be beneficial
Recommendation
Increase the allocated time for the first quiz.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Unit Coordinator reflection/student feedback
Feedback
Some students struggled with the understanding and interpretation of the written assessment details.
Recommendation
Provide extra discussion around the written assessment to ensure understanding from students.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
More tutorial sessions would be useful.
Recommendation
Schedule more tutorial sessions throughout the unit.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Describe the major anatomical and physiological changes occurring during pregnancy and their clinical relevance.
  2. Evaluate the assessment and management of an obstetric patient with a high risk pregnancy.
  3. Evaluate the assessment and management of normal or complicated delivery in obstetric patients.
  4. Evaluate the assessment and management of an obstetric patient with post partum complications.
  5. Discuss the use of medications and fluids in pregnancy.
  6. Outline the factors involved in the continued care of the newborn including basic and advanced life support.
  7. Compare and contrast paediatric versus adult anatomy and physiology and implications for the assessment and management of medical, surgical and trauma conditions.
  8. Describe the incidence of conditions requiring ambulance response in elderly patients.
  9. Discuss the physiological changes that occur with age and the implications for the assessment and management of elderly patients.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 - Online Quiz(zes)
2 - Practical Assessment
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
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
1 - Online Quiz(zes)
2 - Practical Assessment