Overview
This unit will introduce you to vascular sonography. In this unit you will explore the sonographic assessment of normal and pathological vascular cases. You will apply knowledge of vascular anatomy and physiology, and the physical properties of Doppler ultrasound to clinical scenarios and case studies to critically reflect on sonographic problems. Engaging in this sonographic decision-making process will culminate in the creation of sonographer’s interpretive reports, including a provisional diagnosis.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisites: MEDS12004 Sonographic Skills Development 1
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. Assessment 1 (40% of unit · 1 part ) | |||
| Part 1 – Oral Assessment (Oral Examination) | 100% of 40% | High | No Gen AI Use |
| 2. Assessment 2 (60% of unit · 1 part ) | |||
| Part 1 – In-class Test (In-class Test(s)) | 100% of 60% | High | No Gen AI Use |
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
- 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 UC reflection, student feedback
Some students struggled to maintain their studies during their 5-week placement block which resulted in them struggling to catch up before quizzes and tests.
The unit structure will be modified for next year's delivery to condense the content and allow content-free weeks for when students are on their five-week placement. Content weeks will include an oral examination, to be held during the first or second half of the term, depending on when students are on placement. This will significantly reduce student workload while on placement, allowing them to structure their learning more easily.
Feedback from UC reflection, student feedback
Some students expressed a desire for more practise tests throughout term.
With the newly condensed delivery of the unit, the provision of additional practise tests will be explored.
- Evaluate and justify the application of Doppler physics principles and haemodynamic artefact recognition to optimise diagnostic accuracy, patient outcomes, and safety in clinical practice.
- Apply knowledge of the anatomy, physiology, and pathological processes of the vascular system to sonographic examinations and sonographic image appearances.
- Describe sonographic techniques and protocols appropriate to vascular ultrasound.
- Analyse normal, anomalous, and abnormal flow haemodynamics and laboratory findings to provide differential diagnoses and produce a provisional written or verbal sonographic report.
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 13
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
|
1.
Assessment 1
(40% of unit)
Part 1 -
Oral Examination
|
||||
|
2.
Assessment 2
(60% of unit)
Part 1 -
In-class Test(s)
|
||||
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 | ||||