CQUniversity Unit Profile.

Pathophysiology underpins clinical practice by explaining how normal physiological processes change to produce disease and dysfunction. This knowledge supports accurate diagnosis, informed clinical decision‑making, effective management, and prediction of disease progression. The assessment requires students to create an informative and visually engaging poster that explains the pathophysiology, systemic effects, and diagnostic methods of a chosen disorder, using PowerPoint or similar software.

This assessment consists of two parts:

• Part A
  • Students must select one (1) topic from those provided in the Assessment tile and one (1) presentation time.
  • These topics will be related to vascular, cardiac, or respiratory disorders, and as there are limited spaces for each topic. Once the limit is reached it will no longer be available to select.
  • Once selected, the topic and presentation time is final.
  • Selections Due: Week 3 (Monday 23rd March), 10:00 am AEST
• Part B
  • Students need to research the topic, focusing on normal anatomy and physiology, aetiology, pathophysiology, systemic effects, and diagnostic methods.
  • Posters need to be submitted prior to the presentation of the poster. 
  • Poster presentations will be done via a live Zoom session, with 10 minutes allocated for the presentation and 5 minutes for a question-and-answer session.
  • Posters Due: Week 6 (Monday 13th April), 10:00 am AEST 
  • Presentations to be completed by: Week 6 (Friday 17th April), 4pm AEST

Please review the Task Summary and rubric documents for specific details about the assessment task on the Moodle site.

Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 3: You may use AI to assist with specific tasks such as drafting text, refining and evaluating your work. You must critically evaluate and modify any AI-generated content you use.  

The 72-hour grace period does not apply to this assessment.

Marks for this assessment will be awarded as per the rubric/marking guide provided in the Assessment tile on the Moodle site. Your poster assessment will be marked on the following types of criteria, but is not limited to this criteria:

• Clear and detailed understanding of the anatomy and physiology and how this links to the pathophysiology of the disorder or condition
• Clear and detailed understanding of the effect of the disorder or condition on the body, and how it is diagnosed
• Sections of the poster are clearly outlined and there is structured flow
• Appropriate use of images
• Quality of poster presentation - e.g. eye-catching, self-explanatory, etc.
• Quality, quantity and formatting of references
• Grammar, sentence construction, and spelling

Case studies provide a real‑world context for understanding how disruptions in normal physiological processes lead to disease. They emphasise the roles of healthcare professionals in diagnosis, treatment, and management, and require the application of critical thinking to identify aetiology, risk factors, pathophysiology, clinical features, diagnoses, and treatment options.

The case study is delivered online and includes a range of question types linked to a condition covered in Weeks 3–10. Students are progressively provided with patient history, clinical findings, investigation results, diagnosis, and/or management information, with accompanying questions to assess applied knowledge. A practice online case study will be made available to familiarise students with the assessment format.

Topic selection
You will be provided two (2) topic areas to focus your studies on, and will have one (1) of these topics randomly assigned to you when you access the link for the assessment. 

Completion of the case study

• The case study will be presented in an online format with various question styles used to assess the understanding of the disorder.
• The case study topics will be related to diseases or conditions covered in weeks 3 to 10 of this unit, including any relevant content from weeks 1-2 relating to foundational concepts.
• The following types of information will be made available to you throughout the online case study, but is may not be limited to: clinical presentation, patient history, and details of their physical examination. As you progress through the online case study you will be required to answer questions relating to the information provided about the patient in the case study. These are designed to assess your ability to apply the knowledge that you have developed over the term to the patient in your case study.

Question style

• The case study will have a combination of question styles including, but not limited to, multiple choice, multiple selection, short answer and long answer questions.
• A maximum word count limit will be indicated for written answer questions:
  • Short written answer questions will often only require a few words to answer them effectively.
  • Long written answer questions will have an indication of the approximate word count required to answer the question effectively.
• Each question will have information about the patient in it; however, some questions may incorporate/require information from previous information pages. Therefore it is recommended that you take notes about your patient as you progress through the case study.

Referencing:
Some written answer questions may require you to provide a reference at them. If a reference is required for your written answer it will be indicated at the question and you are required to identify where you have sourced your information.

Online Case Study details:
Opens: Week 10, Wednesday at 10:00 am AEST (QLD time).
Closes: Week 10, Thursday at 10.00 am AEST (QLD time).
Attempts allowed: One (1).
In the absence of an approved extension request for more time, there will be no opportunity to complete the task after the assigned date.

Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 2 - you may use AI for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas. 

• Final question responses must represent independent student work with no AI-generated text or content included verbatim.

Students should be aware that the use of AI to support this task will significantly impact the ability to successfully complete all questions correctly and students are discouraged from using this as an assessment resource.

The 72- hour grace period does not apply to this assessment.

Your case study responses will be marked on the following types of criteria, but is not limited to this criteria:

• Level of knowledge and understanding of the major causes, risk factors, and clinical manifestations of the specific disorder or condition
• Application of learned content to explain the mechanisms of physiological dysfunction and consequences of dysfunction
• Level of knowledge and understanding of the diagnostic options of the specific disorder or condition
• Correctness, relevance and completeness of the response to the question asked
• Correct spelling and use of appropriate terminology