Overview
This clinical unit will provide you with opportunities to apply and integrate theoretical and practical knowledge, skills and professional behaviour in the clinical environment, independently and under the supervision of qualified professionals. The practical focus in this unit includes the completion of an ultrasound scan to ‘Novice’ – (student) Level 1 competence as described by the Professional Competency Framework for Sonographers adopted by the Australasian Sonographers Association and the Australian Sonographer Accreditation Register. You will learn to analyse images and solve problems, developing critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills. You will demonstrate reflective practice to expand your core knowledge and experience. You will also behave professionally using interpersonal skills relevant to sonographic practice in accordance with CQUniversity graduate attributes and Australian Sonographer Accreditation Registry accreditation requirements. You are expected to critically reflect on your own performance and exhibit a high level of safe patient care. Critical appraisal of performance will enable you to develop your own patient care, professional, technical and analytical skills in a work setting.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
MEDS12002 Abdominal Ultrasound Prerequisite And MEDS12003 Superficial Structures in Ultrasound Prerequisite And MEDS12001 Physics of Ultrasound Prerequisite And MEDS12004 Sonography Skills Development 1, which must have been successfully completed within the last twelve months. Should this time limit have elapsed the student must successfully complete a skills / clinical knowledge revision and assessment as determined by the discipline lead or designate. Prerequisite
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).
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 Task | Part Weighting (% of assessment) |
Assessment Security Level | Gen AI Guidance Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Professional Practice Placement (Pass/Fail · 1 part ) | |||
| Part 1 – Induction, Check List, Attendance and Case Log (Professional Practice Placement) | 100% | High | No Gen AI Use |
| 2. Practical Assessment (Pass/Fail · 1 part ) | |||
| Part 2 – Sonographic Skills Assessment (Practical Assessment) | 100% | High | No Gen AI Use |
| 3. Direct observation of procedural skills (DOPs) (Pass/Fail · 1 part ) | |||
| Part 3 – Global Assessment of Professional Attributes (GAPA) (Direct observation of procedural skills (DOPs)) | 100% | High | No Gen AI Use |
| 4. Written Assessment (Pass/Fail · 1 part ) | |||
| Part 4 – e-Poster (Clinical Decision Making) (Written Assessment) | 100% | Low | AI-Assisted (Guided Collaboration) |
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
- Academic Progression Policy and Procedure
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- 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 Self reflection
Some students did not attend the pre‑clinical day. Given the importance of this session in preparing students for clinical placement, attendance is considered critical to enhancing readiness and optimising the clinical placement experience.
As the pre-clinical day is essential for clinical placement preparation, improved course-wide communication is recommended, including coordination with the Unit Coordinator of the prerequisite scanning skills unit to reinforce that attendance is mandatory. The pre-clinical day will again be scheduled in the official student term timetable.
Feedback from Student feedback
The marking rubric for Assessment 4 was unclear, particularly in distinguishing between the case presentation and the case report.
It is recommended that separate marking rubrics be implemented for the case presentation and the case report to clearly delineate assessment expectations and support consistency in student understanding and marking.
Feedback from Student Unit Teacher Evaluation
Some students sought more clarity of Assessment items 1 (log book) and 4 (written assessment) at the beginning of the term as they did not understand the relevance to their learning.
Ensure that assessment requirements are clearly explained and outlined in the assessment video and the first compulsory tutorial to allow students to ask any questions early on if they are unsure of the requirements.
- Perform sonographic examination under supervision to meet the Competency Standards for Level 1 - Novice (Student).
- Evaluate sonographic findings and describe them in simple terms to solve straightforward diagnostic problems.
- Display professional behavior, teamwork and communication skills consistent with safe sonographic practice in accordance with CQUniversity graduate attributes, the Professional Competency Framework for Sonographers, and Australian Sonographer Accreditation Registry accreditation requirements.
- Critically reflect upon own professional practice, sonographer psychomotor skills, sonographic knowledge, teamwork, communication skills and safe clinical practice.
The learning outcomes for this unit relate to the requirements of general sonography courses under the Australasian Sonography Accreditation Registry (ASAR), Standards for the Accreditation of Sonographer Courses (SASC):
Foundation Units of Competence 1-5
Critical Practice Units of Competence 6, 7, 9, 10, 12 & 13
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
|
1.
Assessment 1
(Pass/Fail)
Part 1 -
Professional Practice Placement
|
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|
2.
Assessment 2
(Pass/Fail)
Part 1 -
Practical Assessment
|
||||
|
3.
Assessment 3
(Pass/Fail)
Part 1 -
Direct observation of procedural skills (DOPs)
|
||||
|
4.
Assessment 4
(Pass/Fail)
Part 1 -
Written Assessment
|
||||
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 - First Nations Knowledges | ||||
| 11 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Zoom
- PowerPoint or canva
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?
