PMSC13010 - Consolidated Paramedic Practice

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit deepens understanding of diverse medical, environmental, and mental health challenges across various demographics, focusing on prehospital management of wide-ranging medical conditions. Emphasis is placed on discerning between simple and complex presentations by applying case-based learning to bolster clinical knowledge, critical thinking, and judgement, leading to accurate diagnoses. You will develop comprehensive, evidence-based clinical management plans, integrating patient safety, professional limitations, and consultation strategies. The unit underscores the importance of patient-centred care, advocating for solutions that consider social, cultural, and individual preferences, ensuring continuity of care. Additionally, it examines the paramedic's role in primary health care, contrasting healthcare models to optimise patient entry into the health system, aligning with current industry standards and protocols.

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
    • PMSC13014 Paramedic Trauma and Emergency Management
  •  Co-requisites:
    • 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 1 - 2025

Term 2 - 2025 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

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 55.56% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 18.62% 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 REPORT - T2, 2023
Feedback
Students stated the tutorials were very beneficial; however, more work must be done to mediate other students' interjections and disruptions during live tutorial sessions.
Recommendation
It is recommended that a recorded tutorial session presents the main learning outcomes of the weekly case studies.
Action Taken
This term both pre-recorded and live tutorial sessions were utilised to deliver weekly case studies. The reduction in live sessions reflected poor student attendance of these offerings due to conflicting work-situated learning demands, and instead offered a more streamlined alternative that students could pause to answer questions for themselves without others' interjections. The pre-recorded format therefore provided uninterrupted access to important case-based content, enhancing clarity and comprehension.
Source: Direct Email
Feedback
A student suggested that an end-of-week video could be posted with a PDF or Word document with the specific case or pathophysiology answers to accompany each case.
Recommendation
It is clear that students, while they have enjoyed the format, are requesting additional specific answers for each case study. This can be incorporated in the next offering; however, it must be weighed against the concern that students only read the answers and do not understand the content.
Action Taken
End-of-week resources were provided for this offering, comprising a PDF or Word document summarising specific case answers. This addition supported understanding of complex material while encouraging greater engagement with and reflection upon each case study.
Source: SUTE UNIT COMMENTS REPORT - T2, 2023
Feedback
Students thought the case studies provided real-world scenarios and were great learning tools.
Recommendation
The case studies have proven to be popular and will be a cornerstone in the next delivery. Before the upcoming offering, efforts will be made to enhance both the format and the delivery method of the information to enhance student satisfaction further.
Action Taken
Given the popularity of case studies as practical learning tools, the format and delivery of these was improved for visual quality and to include pre-recorded versions for some weeks. The focus remained real-world paramedic practice and the contextualisation of theory into practice.
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
In Progress
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
In Progress
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
In Progress
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
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Demonstrate critical thinking in complex, multifactorial cases to diagnose the patient and synthesise an evidence-based and responsive clinical management plan
  2. Evaluate and address patient safety considerations, including risk assessments, professional limitations, and appropriate consultation both within and beyond the ambulance service
  3. Identify patient-centred aspects of care in clinical management decisions, and advocate for the patient to reach management solutions that accommodate social and cultural factors, patient wishes, and continuity of care
  4. Describe the paramedic role in primary health care, and compare models of health care to determine the most appropriate pathway into the health system.

It is a requirement of the Paramedicine Board of Australia that units align with the 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 practising in Australia. The Professional Capabilities for Registered Paramedics document articulates these standards and relevant domains. The unit's learning outcomes 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, 1.1.111.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.5, 1.2.6 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 LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Domain 3: The evidence-based practitioner 3.1.1, 3.1.23.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 3.2.4, 3.2.5, 3.2.6, 3.3.3, 3.3.4 LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Domain 4: The safety and risk management practitioner 4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.54.2.1, 4.2.4 4.3.1, 4.3.3, 4.5.1 LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Domain 5: The Paramedicine Practitioner 5.1.15.2.1, 5.2.3, 5.2.4, 5.2.5 5.3.3, 5.3.6 5.4.1, 5.4.2, 5.4.3, 5.4.4, 5.4.5, 5.4.6, 5.6.1, 5.6.3, 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:
Standard Learning Outcomes
Clinical Governance LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Partnering with Consumers LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Preventing and Controlling Infections LO1, LO2
Medication Safety LO1, LO2
Comprehensive Care LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Communicating for Safety LO1, LO2, LO3
Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration LO1, LO2, 
 

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