PMSC13010 - Consolidated Paramedic Practice

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit expands your paramedic skills by enabling you to evaluate and integrate advanced clinical assessment findings to provide evidence-based care tailored to diverse populations. You will consider complex clinical findings with an understanding of individual patient needs, including social, cultural, and personal factors, to deliver comprehensive, patient-centred care. Core to this unit is a thorough appraisal of patient safety and quality improvement as it applies to paramedicine, highlighting the critical importance of continuous improvement in professional practice. You will build your ability to perform comprehensive risk assessments in the pre- and out-of-hospital environment to identify potential hazards and implement appropriate strategies to mitigate risks to patient safety. Finally, you will reflect on primary health care and the paramedic's role in facilitating referral pathways.

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:

  • PMSC13002 Clinical Paramedic Practice 2
  • PMSC13014 Paramedic Trauma and Emergency Management

 Co-requisite:

  • PMSC13013 Transition to Paramedic Practice and Professionalism 

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 3 - 2025

Term 2 - 2026 Profile
Online

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 40%
2. Written Assessment 60%

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

Term 2 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 64.29% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 11.02% 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: SUTE Unit Comments
Feedback
Students provided much positive feedback on unit delivery, particularly noting the relevance and value of the weekly case studies.
Recommendation
Weekly case studies should remain a key aspect of content delivery and a means of student engagement. Improvements can continue, particularly in creating engaging and thought-provoking content around less clinical topics that received poor student engagement and/or feedback in 2024.
Action Taken
Weekly case studies were maintained throughout the 2025 offering as a core component of content delivery and student engagement. These cases continued to provide clinically relevant, scenario-based learning aligned with unit outcomes and professional capabilities. Drop-in sessions complemented the case studies, offering students additional opportunities for clarification and application of concepts. Based on positive feedback and observed improvements in student performance, weekly case studies will remain a key feature in the 2026 offering, with ongoing refinement to ensure relevance and engagement.
Source: SUTE Unit Comments; direct feedback
Feedback
Students recommended a more practical, hands-on approach for the clinical aspects of this unit.
Recommendation
The recent accreditation process for this course recommended a less hands-on approach to delivering higher education in paramedicine, arguing that these 'polish' skills are taught by the statutory services during on-boarding and the internship year. This unit accordingly updated its content to include broader aspects of paramedicine and to remove its now unnecessary practical component. As such it is recommended that the current online-only delivery be maintained, but that content be better contextualised to real-world practice. This can include greater dicussion of practical considerations of case management as may logically arise from content topics.
Action Taken
To address student feedback requesting a more practical approach, content was enhanced to provide greater real-world context. This included integrating detailed discussions of practical considerations within weekly case studies and assessment tasks, ensuring students could apply theoretical knowledge to realistic clinical scenarios. These contextualised elements will continue to be refined in future offerings to maintain relevance and engagement.
Source: SUTE Unit Comments; direct feedback
Feedback
The students considered some content topics unengaging and irrelevant to their professional development. Students expected a greater focus on critical thinking, case management, and application of clinical skills in a final year medical unit.
Recommendation
The unit introduction and delivery should clearly demonstrate content relevance and utility to modern pre-hospital care. There is room to better convey that both clinical and non-clinical topics are vital aspects of professional competencies and practice, and important in future-proofing our graduates. This can include exploration of other delivery methods besides clinical case studies to improve engagement with all content and overall satisfaction with the unit. 
Action Taken
The 2025 offering placed a strong emphasis on a patient-centred approach throughout the unit. This strategy was designed to contextualise non-clinical topics within real-world paramedic practice and highlight their importance for professional competency and future-proofing graduates. Weekly case studies and discussions were adapted to integrate themes of primary healthcare and referral pathways, enabling students to apply critical thinking and case management principles to scenarios involving broader healthcare systems. This approach will continue into the 2026 offering, with further refinement to maintain relevance and engagement.
Source: SUTE Unit Comments
Feedback
Weekly formative quizzes were suggested as an additional value-added initiative that could be added for future offerings.
Recommendation
The inclusion of formative quizzes to be considered for those weekly topics that are best suitable for this type of review and self-testing.
Action Taken
A formative quiz was introduced in the 2025 offering as a non-graded activity to support student learning and self-assessment. This initiative aimed to provide immediate feedback and reinforce understanding of key concepts. Based on positive engagement, the inclusion of formative quizzes will be considered for expansion across additional weeks in the 2026 offering to further enhance learning and preparation for summative assessments.
Source: SUTE Unit comments
Feedback
Students thought the unit was informative and well delivered. They suggested enhancements such as including more videos of specific interventions and ensuring a more balanced distribution of content across weeks, particularly with additional focus on patient cohorts in the later weeks of the term.
Recommendation
Review and enhance multimedia resources by incorporating additional videos of specific interventions and patient cohort scenarios, particularly those referenced in the later weeks of the term. Ensure content distribution across weeks is balanced to support progressive learning and engagement.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE Unit comments & direct student feedback
Feedback
Students found the revision questions, case studies, and formative quiz useful. They suggested adding more quizzes and revision materials specific to paramedic practice to further support learning.
Recommendation
Expand formative assessment opportunities by incorporating additional quizzes, targeted revision resources, and interactive H5P activities focused on paramedic-specific content. These enhancements will reinforce key concepts, improve engagement, and support student preparedness for summative tasks.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE Unit comments
Feedback
Students indicated that the marking criteria could be clearer, and that Assessment 2 was challenging to relate to and understand.
Recommendation
Enhance clarity of marking criteria and assessment guidelines, and provide additional resources to better support students in completing the assessment tasks.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Evaluate and integrate advanced clinical assessment findings to provide evidence-based care while accommodating a patient’s needs and preferences, including social, cultural and personal factors
  2. Appraise patient safety and quality improvement as it applies to paramedicine
  3. Perform comprehensive risk assessments in the pre-and out-of-hospital environment to identify potential hazards and implement appropriate strategies to mitigate risks to patient safety
  4. Reflect on primary health care and the paramedic's role in facilitating referral pathways.

The Paramedicine Board of Australia requires that units align with the Professional Capabilities for Registered Paramedics, which consist of five (5) domains. The below section aligns the proposed learning outcomes with these domains. In addition, the learning outcomes have been aligned with the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards.

Professional Capabilities for Registered Paramedics

Standard/Attribute/Criteria Learning Outcomes
Domain 1: The Professional and Ethical Practitioner 1.1.4, 1.1.6, 1.1.8, 1.1.9, 1.1.10, 1.1.11, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.2.4, 1.2.5, 1.2.6, 1.2.7, 1.2.8, 1.2.9, 1.2.10, 1.3.1, 1.3.2, 1.3.3, 1.4.1, 1.4.2 LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Domain 2: The communicator and the 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, 2.2.5, 2.2.6 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, 3.3.4 LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Domain 4: The safety and risk management practitioner 4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3, 4.1.5, 4.2.1, 4.2.3, 4.3.1, 4.3.1, 4.3.2, 4.3.3, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.5.3, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.6.3, 4.6.5 LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Domain 5: The Paramedicine Practitioner 5.1.1, 5.2.1, 5.2.2, 5.2.3, 5.2.4, 5.2.5, 5.3.3, 5.3.4, 5.3.5, 5.3.6, 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
 
Standard Learning Outcomes
Clinical Governance LO1, LO2, LO3
Partnering with Consumers LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Preventing and Controlling Infections LO1, LO2, LO3
Medication Safety LO1, LO2, LO3
Comprehensive Care LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Communicating for Safety LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
 

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Written Assessment • • •
2 - 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 • •
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