Students are required to respond to a series of questions via an online quiz, within the prescribed time frame. This online quiz will assess the student's understanding of the content presented throughout the unit delivery. Questions will be drawn from a resource bank, to allow the online quiz to be different for each student. All unit content presented in lectures, tutorial presentations, at the residential school and within the prescribed and suggested readings is assessable from weeks 1 through to 5. The online quiz may include multiple choice, short answer, matching or interpretation style questions. The online quizzes must be attempted and pass grade obtained to receive overall unit completion. 

The time allocated for perusal and completion of the online quiz is 50min in total. Notify relevant staff and TaSAC if technical issues arise during the online quiz. TaSAC is available for immediate assistance during AEST business hours only. It is important that you commence the online quiz before 7:00pm AEST Friday 17th April 2026. If you have not completed the quiz by this time, the test will automatically close and submit student answers once the allocated time has elapsed. 

Please note: 

• Once started, the online quiz cannot be paused or restarted. 
• Only one attempt is permitted. 
• The online quiz will automatically close at 8:00pm AEST on Friday 17th April 2026. 

In the absence of an approved extension, the online test cannot be completed at a later time. The 72 hour grace period does not apply to this assessment. 

If attempt issues occur outside of business hours, students should immediately email the Unit Coordinator documenting difficulties. Advice should include the date and time of the incidence and a screenshot of the PC display if an error is evident. Incidents will be considered on a case-by-case basis. There is no guarantee extra test attempts will be offered. Students are advised to refer to the 'Assessment Policy and procedure' (Higher Education Coursework) document for additional university assessment guidelines. 

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.

Question responses will be assessed according to your ability to: 

• Demonstrate sound knowledge of the scope and requirements of cardiac physiologists within the context of the current Australian health care system. 
• Use appropriate terminology and descriptors as well as grammar and spelling. 
• Appropriately interpret presented sonographic images and cardiac assessment data.
• Succinctly respond with accurate answers.

Students are required to complete a written assessment comprising of three parts. Students must draw on information from credible sources such as peer-reviewed journal articles, sonography textbooks, and guidelines from professional associations to complete the assessment. 

Presentation requirements: 

Assessments must be submitted as a Word document with 1.5 line spacing and using 12 point font (not including headings). Include a separate title page with student name, student number, word count and assessment title. Include a numbered reference list in the CQU Vancouver format on a separate page at the end of the assessment for the entire assessment. 

Referencing requirements: 

This assessment requires students to conduct independent research and support their responses using the CQUniversity Vancouver referencing style. Sources must be clearly identified through accurate in-text citations and a seperate reference list. The reference list must include at least three (3) contemporary peer-reviewed journal articles published within the last 10 years. All in-text citations and reference list entries must be correctly formatted according to the CQU Vancouver referencing guidelines.  

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. 

If Generative AI is used in any way, it must be cited as per the CQU Guidelines (Academic Learning Centre). If students choose to use GenAI, the following statement must be completed and included on a separate page at the end of the assessment: "I have used (insert technology) to (insert how you used this) in accordance with the requirements of this unit. The reason I used this was to (explain why you used it). The details of how I used it as (insert how). I hear by declare that the submission is an appropriate representation of my individual skills and abilities to meet the requirements of the task/s". 

As per academic writing requirements and assessment criteria, citations of information must be from the primary source (ie: information returned by AI must be fact-checked and referenced from the original source as well as the AI source). There is information and links on CQU's Academic Learning Centre (ALC) site and the Moodle site that can assist with referencing AI. The task is intended for students to demonstrate understanding of the unit's learning outcomes and failure to cite primary sources as well as AI sources could be considered a breach of academic integrity. 

Research topics: The assessment has three (3) parts (A, B and C), with each part covering a different research topic. 

Part A:  Australian cardiovascular disease statistics  

Using data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) on cardiovascular disease (CVD) hospital admissions in Australia (www.aiwh.gov.au), respond to the following: 

1.  Analyse differences in hospitalisation rates between: 

• People living in urban (major cities) compared with those living in rural and remote areas. 
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples compared with non-Indigenous Australians. 

Your response should:

• Identify the main differences between these groups. 
• Explain, in simple terms, why these differences might occur. 

2. Explain how these hospitalisation patterns might affect sonographers in terms of: 

• Workload.
• Types of cardiac conditions encountered.
• Service delivery in different locations.

Part B: Artificial Intelligence in Cardiovascular Care

Using Australian examples and credible academic or healthcare sources, respond to the following: 

1.  Describe two (2) ways artificial intelligence (AI) is used in cardiovascular care in Australia, explaining the purpose of each in clinical practice and providing:

• One example for risk prediction.
• One example for cardiac imaging (eg: echocardiography).

2. List two (2) benefits and two (2) limitations of AI in cardiovascular care. 

• Briefly explain how these might affect diagnostic accuracy, efficiency and/or staff workload. 

3. Explain the purpose of the My Health Records Act 2012.

• Focus on description and explanation within the healthcare setting, not technical or engineering details.   

Part C: Cardiac testing and the role of the cardiac physiologist  

1. Discuss the differences between echocardiography and cardiac catheterisation as diagnostic approaches to cardiac assessment, focusing on:  

• Safety.
• Radiation use.
• Diagnostic strengths.
• Diagnostic limitations.

2. Discuss how cardiac physiologists support patient safety and quality care in diagnostic echocardiography, focusing on:

• Professional responsibilities in patient preparation and clinical practice. 
• The role of communication in promoting patient comfort, cooperation and understanding. 

The assessment word count is capped at 1200 words. Each part will require a response of 300-400 words.

The following items are included in the word count: 

• All body text paragraph.
• Any written explanations or interpretations of tables, figures or images. 

The following items are excluded from the word count: 

• Headings and subheadings.
• Images, tables, figures.
• Indexes, and reference lists.  

Late submissions:

Without an approved extension request or the student does not demonstrate sound reasons for a late request, a penalty of five percent (5%) of the total available marks for the assessment will be deducted for each full or part calendar day the assessment task is overdue past the 72hour grace period. 

Students will be assessed on the following criteria: 

• Quality of submission addressing the topics in the prompts clearly and concisely.
• Relevant and appropriate discussion and analysis of each topic.
• Accuracy of spelling and grammar.
• Correct use of medical and sonographic terminology.
• Appropriateness of the reviewed literature.
• Correct and accurate referencing.
• Academic writing and expression.
• All text, images, diagrams and tables correctly referenced and the word limit is adhered to. 

A detailed marking rubric/criteria for this assessment will be made available on the unit Moodle site. 

This assessment includes two practical tasks, Part A and Part B which will be completed during residential school attendance in-person under supervision. Each task is described below. 

Practical assessment Part A:  Hand hygiene. 

• Students will be required to demonstrate that they can achieve hand hygiene by effectively and safely washing their hands with soap and water. 

Practical assessment Part B: Introduction to Echocardiographic scanning skills. 

• Students will be required to demonstrate basic skills in cardiac ultrasound scanning and probe handling whilst communicating and interacting with the patient model professionally. 

A time limit of 10min will be applied to the practical assessment Part B. All students must be available to act as patient models for peer practical assessments. 

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.

Marking rubrics for assessment Parts A and B are available on Moodle. Students will be assessed on their ability to: 

• Demonstrate safe hand hygiene principles. 
• Demonstrate professional behaviour and safe practice. 
• Identify sector orientation. 
• Manipulation of transducer, including the use of appropriate terminology. 
• Demonstrate professional behaviour, clear explanation of the test. 
• Reflect on residential school experiences and learnings. 

To be deemed competent and pass, all action criteria boxes must be performed correctly in Part A and Part B. Practical parts A and B are graded separately so that if one is passed and the other is not, only the failed task must be repeated successfully to pass overall. Following provision of assessment feedback only one opportunity for re-sit of any failed tasks will be provided. Practical assessment re-sits will be held on the same day as the original attempt (Friday 15th May 2026). All enrolled students must be available to act as a patient model for peer re-sits if requested by the Unit Coordinator.  

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

Students are required to respond to a series of questions via an online test, within the prescribed time frame. This online test will assess the student's understanding of the content presented from week 6 through to 11 of the unit delivery. Questions will be drawn from a resource bank, to allow the online test to be different. All unit content presented in lectures, tutorial presentations, at the residential school and within the prescribed and suggested readings is assessable. The online test may include multiple choice, short answer, matching or image interpretation style questions. The online test must be attempted and pass grade obtained to receive overall unit completion. 

The time allocated for perusal and completion of the online test is 50min in total. Notify relevant staff and TaSAC if technical issues arise during the online quiz. TaSAC is available for immediate assistance during AEST business hours only. It is important that you commence the online test before 7:00pm AEST Friday 5th June 2026. If you have not completed the test by this time, the test will automatically close and submit student answers once the allocated time has elapsed. 

Please note: 

• Once started, the online test cannot be paused or restarted. 
• Only one attempt is permitted. 
• The online test will automatically close at 8:00pm AEST on Friday 5th June 2026. 

In the absence of an approved extension, the online test cannot be completed at a later time. The 72 hour grace period does not apply to this assessment. 

If attempt issues occur outside of business hours, students should immediately email the Unit Coordinator documenting difficulties. Advice should include the date and time of the incidence and a screenshot of the PC display if an error is evident. Incidents will be considered on a case-by-case basis. There is no guarantee extra test attempts will be offered. Students are advised to refer to the 'Assessment Policy and procedure' (Higher Education Coursework) document for additional university assessment guidelines. 

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.

Question responses will be assessed according to your ability to: 

• Demonstrate sound knowledge of the scope and requirements of cardiac physiologists within the context of the current Australian health care system. 
• Use appropriate terminology and descriptors as well as grammar and spelling. 
• Appropriately interpret presented sonographic images and cardiac assessment data.
• Succinctly respond with accurate answers.