Unit Synopsis
In this unit, you will implement podiatric surgical techniques required to perform safe and competent nail surgery. Specific emphasis is placed on surgical principles, expanding and reinforcing your understanding and practice of infection control and clinical and theatre protocols. You will gain knowledge and skills in surgical management and learn the theory behind a range of surgical procedures relevant to podiatric practice. The scope of podiatric surgery practice is explored with consideration of the ethical and medico-legal implications.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 4 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Prerequisites: PODI13011 Podiatry Clinical Practice 3 and PODI13015 Advanced Pharmacology in Podiatry Practice and Corequisite: PODI14008 Podiatry Clinical Practice 4 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 - 2026
Term 1 - 2026 Profile
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).
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. Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) | 50% |
| 2. Professional Practice Placement | 0% |
| 3. In-class Test(s) | 50% |
| 4. In-class Test(s) | 0% |
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%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site .
No previous feedback available
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: Unit Coordinator Feedback
Students may benefit from greater development of education material around specific surgical procedures of the foot and ankle and how these are relevant to podiatry.
It is recommended that further learning materials relating to orthopaedic surgical procedures of the foot and ankle, with clear podiatric relevance, continue to be developed and included in future offerings of this unit
In 2025, a prescribed surgical textbook was added to this unit. Lectures were reviewed and new lectures were created to teach students about specific surgical procedures to a greater depth.
Source: Unit Coordinator Feedback
Students may benefit from inclusion of additional learning materials relating to safety considerations relevant to surgery in podiatry.
It is recommended that additional materials related to safety considerations relevant to surgery in podiatry be developed and presented in a clear and consistent manner.
In 2025, the 'local anaesthesia' lecture was re-developed. A must-pass in-class test was implemented with a focus on safety when using local anaesthesia.
Source: Unit Coordinator Feedback
Students may benefit from clear expectations of unit schedule and content.
It is recommended that the unit coordinator revises the unit schedule and content to improve the clarity of the unit schedule, expectations of students, and the overall learning experience in this unit.
This year an introductory lecture was delivered which clearly outlined the unit schedule. The unit profile and Moodle page were each carefully designed to make the unit schedule and content clearer to students.
Source: Unit Coordinator Feedback
In preparation for the must-pass local anaesthesia-focused in-class test, students should receive a practice quiz.
It is recommended that students should receive a practice quiz for the local anaesthesia-focused in-class test to prepare them for this new assessment item.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate advanced professional and ethical behaviour including the use of effective communication skills and reporting related to surgery in podiatry practice.
- Examine the anatomy of the foot with particular emphasis on the nerves and associated structures to enable safe and effective delivery of local anaesthesia.
- Discuss varied foot and ankle surgical procedures relevant to podiatry practice.
- Evaluate the indications, contraindications, and risks, including adverse reactions and medicolegal implications, of surgical procedures and administration of local anaesthesia conducted by podiatrists.
- Perform nail surgery safely and competently including postoperative management and related patient education.
Per NPC1322
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) | • | • | • | • | |
| 2 - Professional Practice Placement | • | • | |||
| 3 - In-class Test(s) | • | • | • | ||
| 4 - In-class Test(s) | • | ||||
| 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 | • | • | • | • | • |
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |