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PMSC28005 - Prescribing for Primary Healthcare Practice

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit is designed to equip primary healthcare paramedics with the essential knowledge and skills required for effective medication prescribing across diverse clinical settings. It covers the foundational aspects of pharmacology, including pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, drug interactions, and rational medication use. Additionally, it focuses on interpreting and applying prescribing guidelines, navigating legal, cultural and ethical considerations, and ensuring compliance with professional standards. You will also learn to critically assess patient information, make evidence-based prescribing decisions, and cultivate effective communication and collaboration skills vital for interprofessional practice. This comprehensive unit provides a well-rounded foundation for primary healthcare paramedics seeking to excel in medication prescribing, ultimately improving patient care and outcomes.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 8
Credit Points 12
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.25
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

PMSC20013 - Primary Healthcare 2 as a pre-requisite unit

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 - 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 12-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 25 hours of study per week, making a total of 300 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Online Quiz(zes) 30%
2. Written Assessment 30%
3. Presentation 40%

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

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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.

Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Evaluate the knowledge of pharmacology, including the principles of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, drug interactions, and adverse reactions, while applying the rational use of medications in diverse and cross-cultural healthcare contexts
  2. Interpret and apply local and international prescribing guidelines, standards, and legislation, while navigating legal, cultural, and ethical considerations associated with prescribing, and ensuring adherence to professional and regulatory standards
  3. Critically analyse patient assessments, clinical presentations, and available evidence from local, global, and cross-cultural perspectives to make safe, effective, and evidence-based prescribing decisions
  4. Demonstrate effective communication and collaboration skills necessary for interprofessional prescribing practice, to provide holistic, culturally sensitive, patient-centred care.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
2 - Written Assessment • •
3 - Presentation • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Knowledge • • • •
2 - Communication • •
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills • • • •
4 - Research •
5 - Self-management • •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility •
8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures • • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8