6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL
Undergraduate - Unit
Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.
Faculty
Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Organisational Unit
Department of Community Emergency Health and Paramedic Practice
Chief examiner(s)
Coordinator(s)
Unit guides
Synopsis
This unit continues to develop the role of the paramedic as a clinician by extending clinical examination and decision making skills that were introduced in previous clinical units.
The unit covers commonly encountered chronic, acute, and life threatening respiratory-related clinical problems across the lifespan. The unit will be case based, and will include clinical skills laboratories and simulation to develop essential clinical skills, clinical problem solving and decision making competencies. The scope of the unit includes the development of skills needed to provide general health care as well as care at an advanced life support level.
Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
- Describe the epidemiology, population health, pathology and clinical manifestations of acute and chronic respiratory conditions commonly encountered in paramedic practice.
- Locate and evaluate evidence that informs paramedic management used to care for patients with respiratory conditions.
- Systematically assess a patient experiencing a respiratory emergency and associate the assessment with respiratory disease pathology.
- Demonstrate the planning and implementation of care for a patient experiencing a respiratory emergency and accurately document and communicate the care provided.
- Identify drugs commonly used by advanced life support paramedics for the management of respiratory conditions. Discuss their actions and evaluate the appropriateness of their use in differing circumstances during a respiratory emergency.
- Discuss the diagnostic reasoning, clinical problem solving and clinical decision making processes that influence the care of patients with respiratory conditions in order to evaluate and justify management decisions and identify threats to patient safety.
Assessment
NOTE: From 1 July 2019, the duration of all exams is changing to combine reading and writing time. The new exam duration for this unit is 2 hours and 10 minutes.
- Mid-semester test (1 hour) (20%)
- iSAP case scenario (1,500 words) (30%)
- Written examination (2 hours) (50%) (Hurdle)
- Case simulation assessment (30 minutes) (Pass/Fail) (Hurdle)
Workload requirements
6 hours per week involving lectures, online learning, tutorials and small group exercises.
See also Unit timetable information