Overview
This unit provides you with an understanding of the role of the clinical biochemistry laboratory in the diagnosis and management of human diseases and disorders. The unit focuses on quality control in the pathology laboratory setting, the biochemical rationale for the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of blood electrolyte balance, blood gases, blood acid-base balance, hormones, diabetes mellitus, jaundice, cardiac and liver disease, gout, inherited metabolic disorders, renal dysfunction and malignant diseases. You will be instructed on correct procedures for preparing blood and urine samples for analysis, and for interpreting results in a clinical biochemistry laboratory. You will be required to attend a residential school at the biochemistry laboratory on campus. The exception to this is for nutrition students enrolled in CM60, CM61, or CM62. For these students, you will meet the learning outcomes required for your degree through an alternative assessment and are not required to attend the on-campus residential school. However, If you wish to gain laboratory skills, you may enrol for the on-campus residential school activity.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Pre-requisites BMSC11004 OR BMSC11005
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 3 - 2026
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).
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 Direct student communication, SUTE
Student feedback reflected an increased face to face delivery/tutorial component.
Consider additional face to face components for the tutorials
Feedback from SUTE; Unit Coordinator
The unit content includes a core foundation that can reasonably be maintained, however some modules are now outdated due to the changing body of knowledge underpinning the diagnosis and treatment of various pathophysiologies.
Continue to update course content to mantain currency