In Progress
Please note that this Unit Profile is still in progress. The content below is subject to change.Overview
Bioethical principles and the law both inform and impact every aspect of contemporary paramedic practice. In this unit, you will gain introductory knowledge of the fundamentals of ethics, law, and professionalism. You will learn the skills you can apply and tools you can use to help navigate common legal issues and challenges in everyday situations. In the process of exploring ethical and legal issues in paramedicine, opportunities for deliberation, discussion, critique, and reflection will arise within a case-based framework.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
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 2 - 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.
- Explain ethical and legal principles and obligations as they relate to paramedic practice
- Describe the features of the Australian legal system and statutory bodies
- Locate relevant and important legislation, legal concepts and case law, and discuss them with application to paramedicine
- Relate professionalism and regulation to paramedicine
- Identify and discuss ethical and legal issues arising within paramedicine, and apply relevant skills and tools to resolve these issues.
It is a requirement of the Paramedicine Board of Australia that units align with the Professional capabilities for registered paramedics. These are broken down into five (5) domains. The proposed learning outcomes aligned with these domains are outlined below. In addition, the learning outcomes have also been aligned with the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards.
Professional capabilities for registered paramedics
The Paramedicine Board of Australia is responsible for assessing, consulting on and setting the standards for paramedics practising in Australia. These standards and relevant domains are articulated in the Professional capabilities for registered paramedics document. The learning outcomes are matched to the relevant capabilities:
| Standard/Attribute/Criteria | Learning Outcome/s |
|
Domain 1: The professional and ethical practitioner 1.1.1, 1.1.3, 1.1.4, 1.1.5, 1.1.7, , 1.1.8, 1.1.9, 1.1.10, 1.1.11, 1.2.4, 1.2.5, 1.2.6, 1.3.1, 1.3.2, 1.4.1, 1.4.2 |
LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5 |
|
Domain 2: The communicator and collaborator 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.1.7, 2.1.8, 2.2.2 |
LO1, LO3, LO4, LO5 |
|
Domain 3: The evidence-based practitioner 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 3.2.4, 3.3.1, 3.3.3, 3.3.4, 3.4.1, 3.4.2 |
LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5 |
|
Domain 4: The safety and risk management practitioner 4.1.2, 4.2.1, 4.3.1, 4.4.1, 4.4.2, 4.4.4, 4.5.2, 4.5.3, 4.6.5, 4.7.4 |
LO1, LO3, LO4, LO5 |
|
Domain 5: The paramedicine practitioner 5.1.2, 5.1.3, 5.1.4, 5.1.5, 5.2.1, 5.2.2, 5.2.3, 5.2.4, 5.2.5, 5.6.1, 5.6.2, 5.6.3, 5.6.4 |
LO1, LO3, LO4, LO5 |
National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care Standards addressed in this unit are:
| Standard | Learning Outcome/s |
| Clinical Governance | - |
| Partnering with Consumers | LO1, LO5 |
| Preventing and Controlling Infections | - |
| Medication Safety | LO1, LO3, LO5 |
| Comprehensive Care | LO1, LO3, LO5 |
| Communicating for Safety | LO1, LO5 |
| Blood Management | LO1, LO5 |
| Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration | LO1, LO5 |
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30% | |||||
| 2 - Presentation - 30% | |||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 40% | |||||
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 | |||||