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The information below is relevant from 06/03/2017 to 10/03/2019
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PMSC13001 - Mental health for Paramedics and Other Health Professionals

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Within your role as a Paramedic or other health care professional you will encounter consumers experiencing many differing forms of mental health challenge which affect their presentation and recovery. During this unit you will develop communication skills (including the ability to actively listen to consumer and family story), recognise alterations in mental health and gain knowledge of therapeutic options and referral pathways available to assist consumers. As mental health challenges are over represented in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and a number of other communities in Australia you will also examine cultural aspects affecting individual recovery. This unit also introduces the contemporary concepts of lived experience and self-care within your challenging profession.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites Pre-Requisites CG95 – Bachelor of Paramedic Science Students

PMSC12002 Clinical Paramedic Practice 1

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 3 - 2017

Term 1 - 2018 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 1 - 2019 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 1 - 2020 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 1 - 2021 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 1 - 2022 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 1 - 2023 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 1 - 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. Written Assessment 20%
2. On-campus Activity 50%
3. Presentation and Written Assessment 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 50.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 26.87% 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 Evaluation Data
Feedback
Significant student feedback reported that expectations were unclear for the written task, and marking was inconsistent.
Recommendation
The written task shall be completely redesigned for 2023. Assessment criteria shall be clearly explained, and a reliable validated rubric shall be developed with collaboration from Learning and Teaching staff.
Action Taken
The written task was completely redesigned and was reviewed by paramedic academics. The marking rubrics were also redesigned and developed in accordance with the Learning and Teaching templates.
Source: Student Evaluation Data and verbal student feedback.
Feedback
The scenario simulation videos were well received by students who enjoyed the real-life demonstrations and found they greatly enhanced the content. Several students made contact to say they experienced similar cases whilst on clinical placement and felt confident in handling the situation.
Recommendation
Continue creating more content of this nature and expanding the repertoire of examples.
Action Taken
Scenario videos are continuing to be used in this unit.
Source: Student Evaluation Data
Feedback
Students enjoyed using actors at their residential schools as it improved their real-world experience.
Recommendation
This unit has utilised actors, props, and moulage to deliver high-fidelity mental health scenarios for several years. The aim will be to continue high-fidelity residential experiences to prepare students to meet industry standards and expectations.
Action Taken
The unit continued to use actors for the high fidelity scenarios.
Source: SUTE unit report
Feedback
Was a good unit with concise and clear learning objectives. Students were glad it was noted mental health is such a large field, however the unit was able to simplify and stick to relevant aspects for the role of a paramedic.
Recommendation
Continue to set clear learning objectives.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE unit report
Feedback
The workbook was quite confusing and students felt as though there was a lack of guidance for it.
Recommendation
The workbook was a new style of assessment for this unit. A redesign and collaboration with Learning and Teaching staff will occur in 2024 to assist in the redevelopment.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE unit report
Feedback
Students loved being able to work with real people. The actors where exceptional. Students found this unit really interesting and loved the abilities of the actors and their resilience in such difficult scenes.
Recommendation
The unit should continue using actors to simulate real life cases.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE unit report
Feedback
The residential school was outstanding. It was the first res school students felt they were taught to do the job, instead of taught to pass the OSCE.
Recommendation
Residential schools should continue to use actors and run in a way that allows students to train in a way that is the same as in standard practice.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE unit report
Feedback
Students found content sometimes repeated topics that were briefly covered in earlier weeks.
Recommendation
Weekly lectures to be reviewed and redone to go into more depth and to reduce the repetiveness. Additional 'real world' content will continue to be used and added to in 2024.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Identify different presentations in people experiencing mental health challenges.
  2. Plan and deliver within a discipline scope of practice, a range of therapeutic options (using an individual and cultural specific context) to assist a person who may be experiencing mental health challenges.
  3. Apply mental health related legislation within the context of your discipline.
  4. Apply the principles of interpersonal communication and professional behaviours to the standards expected of a health professional.
  5. Compare and contrast various systems of classifying mental health conditions.

This unit is linked to external accreditation requirements for the CG95 program of study.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Written Assessment • • • •
2 - On-campus Activity • • • •
3 - Presentation and 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 • • • •
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 - Written Assessment • • • • • • • •
2 - On-campus Activity • • • • • •
3 - Presentation and Written Assessment • • • • • • • •