You will be required to complete one (1) online quiz. The quiz will open on Friday of Week 5 and will have a specific time limit imposed. 

The quiz will consist of a range of question types, including multiple-choice questions, drag-and-drop questions, and short-answer questions, exploring content based on the first five weeks of material (including lecture materials, online modules, links, and additional readings). The quiz will focus on your foundational knowledge of ethical and legal principles, the Australian legal system, aspects of professionalism, and regulation relevant to paramedicine.

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

Level of GenAI use allowed:

Level 1: You must not use Al at any point during the assessment. You must demonstrate your core skills and knowledge.

You will be required to answer each question to receive the marks allocated to that question. Non-attempts will score a zero mark. The quiz may not be reattempted. This is an individual assessment with no collaboration allowed.

The quiz is worth 30% of your overall mark for this unit. The quiz must be completed by 0900hrs AEST on the Friday of Week 6. In the absence of an approved extension, there will be no opportunity to complete the task after this date, and there will be no opportunity to apply a late penalty of five percent per day.

Preamble

In this presentation assessment, you will be provided with a simulated situation and asked to present a poster outlining the situation, the ethical and legal concerns, a brief outline of other considerations, and a summary of your findings/recommendations, plus references. The audience for your presentation is a group of your paramedic peers at an annual professional development day.

Task Description

The case

You are working as a paramedic as part of a two-person crew on an afternoon shift. You find yourself on scene attending to a 72-year-old male patient with chest pain. His wife called the ambulance as she was concerned her husband was having a heart attack.

On assessment, the patient looks unwell, pale, and feels clammy to the touch. You have attended to a full primary and secondary assessment and arrived at the provisional diagnosis of cardiac ischaemia based on the patient’s presentation and electrocardiograph (ECG). You have administered aspirin and glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), and the patient’s chest pain has settled from a score of 8/10 to 3/10. You decide that the patient needs transporting to the hospital for further assessment and treatment. While the patient has consented to and been compliant with treatment to this point of his care, he is now refusing to be transported to the hospital. 

From a past medical perspective, the patient articulates that other than being on medication for hypertension and high cholesterol, he has been recently well. From a family history perspective, his father died from a heart attack in his 60’s but all his siblings are alive and well. There is no history of dementia or mental health issues.

From an ethical and legal perspective, consider the following questions in developing your poster:

1.       Can a competent patient refuse life-sustaining treatment?

2.       Can this patient refuse transport to the hospital?

3.       What else could be done in the case provided (other considerations)? For example, are there any further questions you could ask, strategies you could implement, or discussions you could have to assist with your decision-making?

Please support the information within your presentation with reference to the literature.

Level of GenAI use allowed: 

Level 3: You may use Al to assist with specific tasks such as drafting text, refining and evaluating your work. You must critically evaluate and modify any Al-generated content you use. 

Any use of GenAI tools must be acknowledged in a statement on the presentation.

Writing and presentation

• Organisation of the poster.
• Writing mechanics.
• Visual engagement.

Content

• Introduction to the situation.
• Consideration of the ethical and legal concerns.
• A brief outline of other considerations.
• Summary of findings/recommendations.
• Reference list (APA-style). Note: This can be presented in a much smaller font at the base of your poster.

Please use in-text referencing within the presentation as appropriate. Please save/upload your file in a single-page format.

This assessment is worth 30% of your overall mark for this unit.

This written assessment requires you to complete a workbook, which offers you the opportunity to reflect on the unit material, demonstrate your engagement and show what you have learnt to support your continued professional development through structured self-directed learning. You will need to work through the tasks set out in the workbook for each corresponding week. The workbook will be provided to you via the Moodle page and will involve a mixture of question types, including short-answer responses and long-answer responses.

Please review the workbook thoroughly before commencing. You must complete all parts of the workbook according to the instructions provided, ensuring that any written responses are referenced appropriately. Please submit your workbook once complete in Week 12.

Level of GenAI use allowed:

Level 3: You may use Al to assist with specific tasks such as drafting text, refining and evaluating your work. You must critically evaluate and modify any Al-generated content you use. 

Any use of GenAI tools must be acknowledged in a statement in the written assessment.

The workbook will be assessed on: 

• All questions are complete.
• Understanding of key concepts and ideas from the unit and the ability to apply these to concrete situations.
• Demonstration of learning and clear and succinct reflection (where required).
• Organisation of and writing mechanics in written responses.
• All written responses are referenced appropriately.

This assessment is worth 40% of your overall mark for this unit.