In Progress
Please note that this Unit Profile is still in progress. The content below is subject to change.Overview
This unit provides an insight into the science of cardiac assessment by exploring the role and scope of practice of the cardiac physiologist and echocardiographer within the Australian health care system. You will acquire knowledge of communication strategies used in clinical practice and explore the types of cardiac testing procedures available and the outcomes of those assessments. You will apply your knowledge and skills to demonstrate procedures for the provision of safe patient care, ultrasound scanning coordination, spatial awareness and grey-scale pattern recognition in a simulated clinical environment. The aim of this unit is to provide introductory knowledge and skill that will support your learning throughout the Echocardiography / Cardiac Physiology course.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Pre-requisite Students must be enrolled in CV69 Bachelor of Echocardiography and Cardiac Physiology / Graduate Diploma of Echocardiography
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 1 - 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 graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
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 feedback
Students would appreciate more tips on assignment requirements and expectations including referencing.
Encourage students to access multiple resources, such as tutorials specific to referencing and academic writing from the ALC, courses provided by the library and further simplified marking rubrics. The marking rubric will be revised again along with the written assessment tasks with possible delivery and submission amendments. Further time allocation on referencing and academic writing to be considered.
Feedback from SUTE feedback
Students reported that the expectations for the written assessment were unclear, and the word count unrealistic for the content.
Further review of this assessment to be conducted with possible amendments to the assessment task description and type of submission.
- Define the scope of practice and professional requirements of cardiac physiologists and echocardiographers, including legal and ethical considerations
- Discuss the provision of cardiac assessment within the context of general diagnostic services in the Australian health care system
- Apply common communication strategies used in the healthcare environment
- Apply introductory level knowledge of ultrasound equipment, image acquisition and interpretation, body and cardiac imaging planes, using appropriate terminology
- Demonstrate knowledge of safe practice, including infection control and ergonomic principles.
1. Australian Sonographer Accreditation Registry (ASAR): Accreditation Standards for Cardiac Sonography - Foundation units of competence (Unit 1-5) and Critical Practice (Unit 8).
2. Edwards, C, Thoirs, K, Osborne, B, Slade, D, McDonald, S, Lombardo, P, et al. Australian sonographer competency—A new framework. Sonography. 2022; 9( 3): 108– 115. https://doi.org/10.1002/sono.12309.
3. American Society of Echocardiography Guideline Documents.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Practical Assessment - 0% | |||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 40% | |||||
| 3 - Online Test - 60% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 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 | |||||