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PSYC20056 - Ethics and Professional Practice

General Information

Unit Synopsis

In this unit you will focus on the professional ethics and standards that must be met as a registered psychologist. This unit will examine requirements for initial, and ongoing registration, and legal aspects of psychological practice. Opportunities for critical analysis, ethical decision making, and preliminary preparation for your internship will be provided.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 9
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Students must be enrolled in the Master of Professional Psychology

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 2 - 2019

Term 1 - 2020 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2021 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2022 Profile
Online
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 Postgraduate 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. Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books 20%
2. Online Test 50%
3. 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 54.55% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 91.67% 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 felt that the contents of the Inter-Professional Education (IPE) task aligned more with the "PSYC20055 Assessment: child and adolescent" unit.
Recommendation
The IPE task is a requirement for Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) acccreditation. Students complete this assessment in their first year (both full-time and part-time students). After review by the teaching team it was noted that including this assessment task in PSYC20055 does not allow part-time students to complete this assessment in their first year, as this unit is taught in the second year for part-time students. However, additional materials such as resources and videos will be added to the IPE Moodle site to support students in this task.
Action Taken
The IPE team collaborated to provide students with more resources and videos on the Moodle site to support students with this task.
Source: SUTE Unit comments
Feedback
Starting the Practicum Review and simulated roleplaying is difficult for part-time students as they don't have any units with therapeutic techniques in their first year.
Recommendation
From 2023, students will demonstrate and develop competency in micro-counselling skills prior to their practicum review. Students will thus learn techniques and skills to scaffold their learning.
Action Taken
Students were provided with regular opportunities throughout the term to demonstrate and further develop competency in micro-counselling skills including within the week 1 residential school and in ongoing group supervision. This enabled students to begin and progress their psychology practicum in a developmentally-appropriate manner for part-time students
Source: SUTE Unit comments
Feedback
Students would have liked more class time dedicated to understanding the practicum requirements.
Recommendation
In 2024, classes will begin in Orientation week instead of week 1 to allow more time for class discussion of practicum requirements.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE Unit comments and verbal feedback from students
Feedback
Students enjoyed the group supervision and group presentations from fellow students.
Recommendation
The group supervision will be maintained and topics will be expanded to aid students with their choice of topic for their presentation
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE Unit comments
Feedback
Students commented that the lectures containing the research content would be better delivered at the end of the term.
Recommendation
The research component of this unit will be taught in the final weeks of the term, accommodating students' learning and retention of the material for Term 2.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Evaluate and apply relevant legislation related to psychological practice
  2. Apply the ethical principles and standards endorsed by the Psychology Board of Australia
  3. Articulate models and approaches for continuing professional development and registration.

Learning outcomes are related to core competencies stated by the Psychology Board of Australia (PsychBA), program of study criteria as stated by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC), and specifications for study at level 9 as indicated by the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books
2 - Online Test
3 - Written Assessment
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Advanced Level
Professional Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Knowledge
2 - Communication
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills
4 - Research
5 - Self-management
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility
7 - Leadership
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
Advanced Level
Professional Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 - Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books
2 - Online Test
3 - Written Assessment