Overview
In this unit, you will apply evidence-based knowledge of pathophysiology to identify and differentiate between a broad range of cardiovascular conditions. You will learn to accurately interpret electrocardiographs (ECGs) and diagnose coronary conditions including dysrhythmias and acute coronary syndromes. In addition, you will integrate knowledge of current evidence-based practice to articulate and undertake appropriate clinical assessments, skills and interventions in the management of cardiovascular conditions. In doing so, you will incorporate the principles of safe, professional, ethical and culturally safe practice as it relates to paramedicine.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Pre-requisites: PMSC12001 Procedures & Skills in Paramedic Care. PMSC11004 Paramedic Medical Emergencies 1. BMSC11011 Human Anatomy and Physiology 2 or BMSC11002 Human Body Systems 2. Please note: Any student who has not successfully completed a PMSC residential school within the preceding 12 months should consult with the Head of Course to discuss completing a PMSC12001 Procedures & Skills refresher. This ensures currency with all contemporary skills and procedures in line with industry standards and professional capabilities.
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 1 - 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 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.
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 SUTE
Students reported satisfaction with the clear and concise manner of the course content.
Continue to produce content with the same style of presentation to ensure the material is accessible and straightforward for all students.
Feedback from SUTE
Students complained about not having enough hands-on experience at residential school.
Ensure teacher student ratios are 1:6 to ensure the students have plenty of hands-on practice.
Feedback from SUTE
Students felt like they didn't get to showcase their ECG interpretation skills in the exam to their best ability due to short timeframe.
Review the ECG exam and adjust the times accordingly to allow more time for students to undertake the exam.
Feedback from SUTE
Some students felt they didn't have adequate exposure to some of the assessable scenarios during residential school.
Implement greater structure into the residential school, to ensure all students are exposed to the same scenarios themes to ensure preparation for the assessment task
Feedback from SUTE
Students asked for videos as an example of expected level of simulation to use for preparation prior to attending residential schools.
Provide exemplar videos of common cardiac presentations for students to use as part of their preparation for residential school.
- Apply evidence-based knowledge of pathophysiology to identify and differentiate between a broad range of cardiovascular conditions
- Accurately interpret electrocardiographs (ECGs) and diagnose coronary conditions including dysrhythmias and acute coronary syndromes
- Integrate knowledge of current evidence-based practice to articulate and undertake appropriate clinical assessments, skills and interventions in the management of cardiovascular conditions
- Incorporate the principles of safe, professional, ethical and culturally safe practice as it relates to paramedicine.
The Paramedicine Board of Australia requires that units align with the Professional Capabilities for Registered Paramedics, which consist of five (5) domains. The below section aligns the proposed learning outcomes with these domains. In addition, the learning outcomes have been aligned with the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards.
Professional Capabilities for Registered Paramedics
| Standard/Attribute/Criteria | Learning Outcome |
| Domain 1: The professional and ethical practitioner 1.1.1, 1.1.3, 1.1.5, 1.1.6, 1.1.9, 1.1.10, 1.1.11,1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.4, 1.2.5, 1.2.6, 1.3.1, 1.3.2, 1.3.3, 1.4.1, 1.4.2 | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
| Domain 2: The communicator and collaborator 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.3, 2.2.4, 2.2.5, 2.2.6 | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
| Domain 3: The evidence-based practitioner 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 3.2.4, 3.2.5, 3.2.5, 3.3.1, 3.3.2, 3.3.3, 3.3.4, 3.4.4 | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
| Domain 4: The safety and risk management practitioner 4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3,4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3, 4.2.4, 4.3.1, 4.3.2, 4.3.3, 4.5.2, 4.5.3, 4.6.6, 4.7.2, 4.7.4, 4.7.8 | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
| Domain 5: The paramedicine practitioner 5.1.1, 5.2.1, 5.2.2, 5.2.3, 5.2.4, 5.2.5, 5.3.1, 5.3.2, 5.3.3, 5.3.4, 5.3.5, 5.3.6, 5.4.1, 5.4.2, 5.4.4, 5.4.5, 5.4.6, 5.6.1, 5.6.2, 5.6.3, 5.6.4 | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards
| Standard | Learning Outcomes |
| Partnering with Consumers | LO2, LO3, LO4 |
| Preventing and Controlling Infections | LO3, LO4 |
| Medication Safety | LO3, LO4 |
| Comprehensive Care | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
| Communicating for Safety | LO3, LO4 |
| Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration | LO3, LO4 |
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||
| 2 - In-class Test(s) - 20% | ||||
| 3 - Practical Assessment - 0% | ||||
| 4 - Online Test - 30% | ||||
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 | ||||