Undergraduate - UnitBEH2071 - Community health care and paramedic practice

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Organisational Unit	Department of Community Emergency Health and Paramedics
Offered	Not offered in 2014
Coordinator(s)	Mr Peter Jurkovsky

Synopsis

The unit establishes an extended scope of practice in the pre-hospital environment where the paramedic explores a range of diseases and conditions and deals with their consequences in out-of-hospital situations. The content of the unit and the practical application of skills will prepare the paramedic for a potential extended care role within a variety of settings in communities and workplaces, locally and internationally.

Outcomes

By the completion of this unit, the student will be able to:

Evaluate a range of local and international disease aetiologies and epidemiologies that impact on a community setting and the role pre-hospital professionals play in addressing these diseases.
Analyse and apply the practices of advanced prescribing practice, health promotion, health assessment, discharge planning and a range of treatment schedules.
Outline the clinical presentations, signs and symptoms and treatments associated with various ailments, diseases and conditions commonly encountered in the community practice setting.
Consider the purpose of pathology collection and testing, including prohibited substance testing, and the common types of pathology testing procedures that the paramedic may perform in a community setting.
Evaluate and apply the general principles of wound closure including the administration of local anaesthesia, assess the types of wounds that may be sealed using suturing techniques and become proficient in the correct procedure for suturing, including pre/post procedure care of the wound.
Assess and apply the management of a range of impact and sporting based injuries within the community care setting.
Assess and apply the management of a range of acute and chronic geriatric and paediatric conditions that arise in the community care setting.
Develop strategies targeted at leadership and education to inform change in models of paramedic practice to meet evolving community needs.

Assessment

Clinical portfolio (50%)
Final examination (50%)

Chief examiner(s)

Peter Jurkovsky

Workload requirements

The unit is structured around one three-hour lecture and one two-hour practical session each week (Practical sessions: weeks 2 - 11 inclusive). In addition to attending lectures and practical sessions, it is expected that students complete a minimum of 1 hour of personal study per one hour of contact time (approximately 10 hours per week) in order to satisfy the reading and portfolio expectations.

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Emergency health - paramedic practice

Prerequisites

BEH1011, BEH1102, BMA1901 & BMA1902