Overview
This is the first of two placement units within your course. In this unit, you will be placed within diverse healthcare settings in the regional communities of Central Queensland and the Wide Bay. The placements are observational in nature, and will provide you with experiential learning opportunities that will enable you to connect with regional communities. You will gain insight into the diversity and complexity of healthcare delivery in a regional context. You will gain an appreciation of the need to adaptively respond to uncertainty in the healthcare environment. You will learn about communication and cultural awareness in healthcare settings and further develop your personal and professional attributes. You will apply reflective practice to support your ongoing coursework studies. Mandatory on-campus learning activities at the Rockhampton and Bundaberg campuses form a key aspect of this unit.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Enrolment in the CM17 Bachelor of Medical Science (Pathway to Medicine) course
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).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2025
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.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a pass/fail (non-graded) unit. To pass the unit, you must pass all of the individual assessment tasks shown in the table above.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
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.
Feedback from SUTE
Students reported that they enjoyed the Micro-credentials as it improved their understanding in these areas.
It is recommended that other Micro-credentials be reviewed for potential inclusion in the unit.
Feedback from Student feedback
Guest presenters made the sessions interesting and relevant to the students learning.
It is recommended that guest presenters are involved where possible to support student learning.
- Develop professional communication skills with patients and colleagues
- Reflect on your experiences of healthcare delivery in regional communities
- Reflect on your understanding of the role of healthcare professionals in community and clinical environments
- Identify professional practice factors that facilitate quality healthcare in a culturally safe environment
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Professional Practice Placement - 0% | ||||
| 2 - Reflective Practice Assignment - 0% | ||||
| 3 - Portfolio - 0% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 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 | ||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing styles below:
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
r.clapperton@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Two (2) pre-placement workshops plus a hospital induction.
Chapter
No textbook required for this unit.
Events and Submissions/Topic
These workshops will involve speakers to help prepare students for placement and will cover topics such as, but not limited to: what to expect on placement, how to make the most of this time with providers, how to dress and behave professionally, etc.
Hospital inductions will run in addition to the two sessions that have been timetabled.
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Break week
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Assessment 2: Reflective Practice Assignment - Poster due Week 10 Friday (26th Sept 2025) 9:00am AEST
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Assessment 2: Reflective Practice Assignment - Poster presentation due Week 11 (date and time to be confirmed during term)
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Assessment 1: Professional Practice Placement - all placement hours should have been completed and the confirmation email lodged as documentation for proof of hours for this assessment task by this point of the term.
Assessment 3: ePortfolio - final PDF document of ePortfolio demonstrating inclusion of all relevant micro-credential certificates and short reflections should be lodged by this point in term.
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Contact Information:
The Unit Coordinator for this term is Roslyn Clapperton. You can contact the unit coordinator using the forums on the Moodle site; via email: r.clapperton@cqu.edu.au or via the telephone on (07) 4930 9603.
Pre-placement Checks:
Please note that all pre-placement checks must be completed prior to commencing placement. Please confirm with the Clinical Placement Officer that all pre-placement checks have been completed and approved in Sonia.
Observational Placement Information:
There are no prescribed textbooks for this unit, and any associated readings, content and/or activities will be uploaded to the unit Moodle site and students informed when this occurs. Students will be required to attend mandatory workshops prior to attending their observational placements. Students will then undertake a minimum of 30 mandatory hours for observational placement in either a hospital setting and/or a community health setting. Placements will be arranged by CQUniversity and will be ideally undertaken early in Term 2.
Professional Behaviour and Uniform: On your placement you are representing yourself, the University and the profession, so professional behaviour is required at all times. Please purchase the appropriate student uniform from the CQUniversity Bookshop. Black or navy long dress pants are to be worn with the polo shirt and enclosed shoes are also required. Ensure that you have a current student ID card, and also purchase a clear badge holder from an office supply store to fit your ID card. Place your student ID card into the badge holder and wear this as your name identifier during the placement.
Absenteeism: Work placement is an integral part of the course. If you are unable to attend your scheduled placement for any reason, please advise the Work Integrated Learning Officers of the School of Health, Medical and Applied Science as soon as possible before the start of the scheduled placement.
Medical certificates: In case you are unable to attend any part of your placement due to sickness, please submit a medical or health related certificate to the Unit Coordinator as soon as practical. Medical or health-related certificates must be in the approved formats articulated in the CQUniversity Assessment Policy and Procedure (HE Coursework). In the event that your condition could harm or negatively impact either yourself or those around you (e.g. put you at risk of exacerbating an injury, or pass on viral or bacterial infections to other students and staff) you will be sent home and and you will need to provide acceptable medical documentation for your absence, as stated above. Students who are sick and / or injured and cannot attend more than three (3) days of work placement must notify the Unit Coordinator and their Work Placement Supervisor by e-mail or telephone. They should then submit a medical certificate to the Unit Coordinator via email. In such events, alternative arrangements to complete the remaining hours of work placement may be made after consultation with the placement provider and the Unit Coordinator.
Assessment Submission: If an assessment task does not meet the minimum standard for a pass you will be given one opportunity to re-submit the assessment following the provision of feedback. A final fail grade for any assessment task will result in an overall fail for the unit.
1 Professional Practice Placement
You must demonstrate a minimum of 30 hours of observational placement. Your attendance and time spent with each placement provider will be confirmed by the the team involved in setting up the placements. Once the minimum 30 hours of placement have been confirmed, the WIL team will send an email confirming that the minimum number of hours for placement have been satisfied. This email will then be saved as a PDF and uploaded as documentation of completed hours.
Prior to attending observational placements, all students will be required to complete all pre-placement checks and attend the preparatory workshops for attending placement. Any student who has not completed their pre-placement checks and/or attended the preparatory placement workshops will not be eligible to attend placement.
Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 1: You must not use AI at any point during the assessment. You must demonstrate your core skills and knowledge.
The 72-hour grace period does not apply to this assessment.
Assessment Submission: If the assessment task does not meet the minimum standard for a pass you will be given one opportunity to re-submit the assessment following the provision of feedback. A final fail grade for any assessment task will result in an overall fail for the unit.
Documentation from WIL team to be submitted as confirmation of minimum 30 hours of observational placement once hours have been met.
Feedback will generally be provided within two (2) weeks of submission.
You are required to attend placement for a minimum of 30 hours and submit the confirmation documentation once all hours are completed in order to pass this task.
- Develop professional communication skills with patients and colleagues
- Reflect on your experiences of healthcare delivery in regional communities
- Reflect on your understanding of the role of healthcare professionals in community and clinical environments
- Identify professional practice factors that facilitate quality healthcare in a culturally safe environment
2 Reflective Practice Assignment
The Reflective Practice Assignment is an opportunity for you to demonstrate how observational placement has enhanced your understanding of the role that healthcare professionals have in both the community and/or clinical environments. This assignment also provides you with an opportunity to reflect on your observations as to how healthcare is delivered in regional communities. Please review the Task Summary document and associated marking guide/rubric for specific details about the assessment task on the Moodle site.
For this assessment task you are required to create an informative and visually engaging poster, that outlines, but is not limited to:
- Introduction:
- Briefly describe the setting of the observational placement
- How long you were there and the purpose of the observational placement
- Outline a goal / learning objective you had before attending the observational placement
- Experience:
- Describe a specific situation or interaction you observed, whilst maintaining privacy and confidentiality
- What healthcare professional/s were involved
- The context (e.g., medical consultation)
- Focus on what you saw and heard, not just what happened
- Describe a specific situation or interaction you observed, whilst maintaining privacy and confidentiality
- Initial reactions:
- What were your initial thoughts and feelings during the observational placement?
- Were you surprised, confused, inspired, or challenged by what you saw?
- How did the experience affect / influence your perception of healthcare?
- Analysis and interpretation:
- What did you learn from the experience?
- How did the healthcare professionals demonstrate communication, teamwork, empathy and/or clinical skills?
- How did this align with or challenge your expectations of the observational placement?
- Personal and professional growth:
- What skills or knowledge did you gain on this observational placement?
- How did this influence your understanding of healthcare is delivered in regional communities?
- What areas of personal improvement did you identify for yourself?
- What will you do differently in future observational placements of learning opportunities?
- How will you apply this experience to your future career?
- Conclusion:
- Summarises key insights from your reflection
- Reaffirms the value of the observational placement in your learning process.
The poster needs to be submitted by 9am on Friday of Week 10 (26th September 2025) in preparation for the poster presentation in week 11 (day and time to be confirmed during term). GenAI use is not allowed for the personal reflection aspect of the poster.
Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 2: You may use AI for planning, idea development, and research of your presentation. Your final presentation
submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas.
The 72-hour grace period does not apply to this assessment.
Assessment Submission: If the assessment task does not meet the minimum standard for a pass you will be given one opportunity to re-submit the assessment following the provision of feedback. A final fail grade for any assessment task will result in an overall fail for the unit.
The Reflective Practice Assignment is to be submitted 9am on Friday of Week 10 (26th September) in preparation for a poster presentation in week 11 (date and time to be confirmed during term).
Feedback will generally be provided within two (2) weeks of the presentation.
Marks for this assignment will be awarded as per the rubric/marking guide provided on the Moodle site, which will include criteria such as the following, but not limited to this:
- Ability to reflect on your experiences of healthcare delivery in regional communities
- Ability to reflect on your understanding of the role of healthcare professionals in the community and clinical environments
- Application of appropriate terminology
- Clear, articulate and logical communication of content
- Poster graphics, visuals, layout, use of headings, readability, etc.
- Grammar, spelling, punctuation and language
- Reflect on your experiences of healthcare delivery in regional communities
- Reflect on your understanding of the role of healthcare professionals in community and clinical environments
3 Portfolio
An ePortfolio can be used to keep track of, and display, your proficiencies and skills. This Portfolium can be shared with your employers to showcase your experience, skills, achievements and knowledge that you gain during your studies at CQUniversity. You are encouraged to include any study certificates and your "artifacts" of reflective writing within this portfolio and continue to build this portfolio throughout your degree. Whilst the Portfolium can be accessed via Moodle, other ePortfolio platforms / formats may be used for recording your achievements and reflections.
A variety of healthcare and/or professional related Micro-credentials will be released progressively throughout the term on the BMSC11013 Moodle site. You will be required to complete each Micro-credential within two weeks of release and submit the completion certificate as evidence that you have successfully passed the assessment requirements of the Micro-credential. With each completion certificate you will also provide a short reflection relating to the Micro-credential using the CARL framework of reflection. Please review the Task Summary document and associated marking guide/rubric for specific details about the assessment task on the Moodle site.
At the end of term once all Micro-credentials are completed, you will need to submit a PDF copy of your Portfolium profile (or other suitable ePortfolio platform) via the Moodle Submission link as evidence that all certificates have been added to your Portfolium. Please ensure that your Portfolio profile privacy settings are adjusted to allow the marker to utilise any links provided as part of the document.
Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 1: You must not use AI at any point during the assessment. You must demonstrate your core skills and knowledge.
Assessment Submission: If the assessment task does not meet the minimum standard for a pass you will be given one opportunity to re-submit the assessment following the provision of feedback. A final fail grade for any assessment task will result in an overall fail for the unit.
Completion certificate evidencing a pass grade and relevant short reflection to be uploaded within two (2) weeks of Micro-credential release. The final PDF document evidencing inclusion of all Micro-credential certificates and reflections to be submitted once all Micro-credentials are completed.
Feedback will generally be provided within two (2) weeks of each certificate and reflection submission, and final ePortfolio PDF being submitted.
You will be marked on each submission for the evidence of Micro-credentials and related short reflections and the final PDF document showing your Portfolio that includes all Micro-credential certifications and related short reflections. A marking guide/rubric will be provided on the Moodle site.
- Develop professional communication skills with patients and colleagues
- Identify professional practice factors that facilitate quality healthcare in a culturally safe environment
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
