Overview
This unit introduces you to fundamental aspects of podiatry practice. You will learn about the standards and codes of practice of a podiatrist. You will also set up your clinical workspace, apply infection control principles and occupational health and safety standards. You will learn to take a patient medical history and conduct general assessments of the foot and lower limb in a simulated multi-disciplinary clinical setting.
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.
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 Informal feedback from students.
Students enjoyed the practical intensive sessions and the breadth of hands-on learning covered during these sessions.
It is recommended that a practical intensive session continues to be included in subsequent deliveries of this unit.
Feedback from Unit Coordinator Reflection.
Students continue to find the In-Class Test challenging.
It is recommended that practical strategies to promote success in the in-class test be implemented in subsequent deliveries of this unit. For example, via the introduction of online practice quiz(zes).
- Identify standard policies, codes and guidelines that inform the scope of practice for podiatrists including collaborative practice and team-based care.
- Discuss the basic aetiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation and treatment of common neurovascular, nail and skin disorders in podiatry practice.
- Demonstrate knowledge of safety legislation during application of manual skills using general podiatry equipment.
- Conduct a basic podiatric assessment in a professional manner demonstrating ethical and inclusive behaviour.
- Discuss culturally safe healthcare in Australia, particularly as it relates to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
The Learning Outcomes are linked to the professional standards set by the Podiatry Board of Australia.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - In-class Test(s) - 20% | |||||
| 2 - Presentation - 40% | |||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 30% | |||||
| 4 - On-campus Activity - 10% | |||||
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 | |||||
Textbooks
Information for Textbooks is not yet available.
The textbooks have not yet been finalised.IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Zoom
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
j.mcguinness@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Welcome to Podiatry
CQUniversity Health Clinic overview
Policies, codes, and guidelines
Chapter
Reading: CQUniversity Bachelor of Podiatry Practice Clinical Placement Handbook
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Infection control in Podiatry
Introduction to Podiatry equipment
Chapter
Reading: CQUniversity Health Clinic Infection Control Manual
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Foot and ankle anatomy review
Chapter
Reading: Manual muscle testing reference sheet
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Vascular assessment of the lower limb
Chapter
Merriman's Assessment of the Lower Limb
Chapter 6 - Vascular assessment
Available online through CQU Library
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Neurological assessment of the lower limb
Chapter
Merriman's Assessment of the Lower Limb
Chapter 7 - Neurological assessment
Available online through CQU Library
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Skin and nail pathologies
Chapter
Merriman's Assessment of the Lower Limb
Chapter 8 - Dermatological assessment
Available online through CQU Library
Neale's Disorders of the Foot and Ankle
Chapter 3 - The Skin and Nails in Podiatry
Chapter 4 - Dermatological Conditions of the Foot and Leg
Available online through CQU Library
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
First Nations Podiatry Care
Chapter
Reading: NSQHS User Guide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
SOAPE interview and presentation
Clinical record keeping
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Intensive Practical Session Tuesday and Wednesday Week 9 (8:00 am – 5:00 pm)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Presentation (40%) during lecture time
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Term review and feedback session
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
No class. Preparation time for Written Assessment (30%). Appointments available with Unit Coordinator.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 In-class Test(s)
The in-class test will be in the form of a closed book test covering content from Weeks 1-6. There will be a combination of multiple choice and short answer questions. The in-class test will be 60 minutes long.
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.
Please note the 72-hour grace period does not apply to this assessment item.
Week 8 Tuesday (9 Sept 2025) 1:00 pm AEST
Test will take place during the lecture time in week 8
Results will be made available via Moodle
The in-class test will be marked according to an answer guide developed specifically for this assessment task.
- Discuss the basic aetiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation and treatment of common neurovascular, nail and skin disorders in podiatry practice.
- Demonstrate knowledge of safety legislation during application of manual skills using general podiatry equipment.
2 On-campus Activity
Students are required to attend practical intensive sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday of Week 9 (16th and 17th of September, 2025). Attendance and active participation in these sessions is compulsory. During these practical intensives, students will develop a range of entry-level podiatry practical skills and complete activities in their practical logbook. Students must complete all items within the logbook to the satisfaction of their intensive supervisor.
The logbook must be signed by the student and supervisor prior to submission to Moodle. Students must submit their logbook no later then Friday 19th September at 11:59pm.
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.
Please note the 72-hour grace period does not apply to this assessment item.
Week 9 Friday (19 Sept 2025) 11:59 pm AEST
Students are to upload their Practical Intensive Logbook by the due date as evidence of completion of this task.
Students will receive continuous feedback during their practical intensive session. Grades will be made available via Moodle.
Students must attend their Week 9 Practical Intensive and complete all sections in the Practical Intensive Logbook to the satisfaction of their supervisor in order to pass this assessment item.
- Demonstrate knowledge of safety legislation during application of manual skills using general podiatry equipment.
- Conduct a basic podiatric assessment in a professional manner demonstrating ethical and inclusive behaviour.
3 Presentation
You will be required to submit a PowerPoint presentation to compliment an oral presentation worth 40%. The topic of this presentation will be related to your week 7 module First Nations Podiatry Care and will be made available to you via Moodle early in Term 2.
Your oral presentation will be up to 15 minutes (+/- 10%) long with a Question and Answer session of 5 minutes. You can choose to present 'live' or play a pre-recorded video presentation during the lecture time in Week 10. You must be present to answer questions during the Question and Answer session.
Before your presentation, you must upload your PowerPoint slides on Moodle at the latest by Tuesday of Week 10 (23rd September 2025, 12:00pm) as proof of submission and completion.
Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 2: You may use Al for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas.
Please note the 72-hour grace period does not apply to this assessment item.
Week 10 Tuesday (23 Sept 2025) 1:00 pm AEST
Presentations will occur during the usual lecture time (from 1pm) on Tuesday Week 10. Students must submit their powerpoint slides prior to 1pm via Moodle.
Week 11 Friday (3 Oct 2025)
Grades and feedback will be made available via Moodle. Group feedback will be provided during the Week 11 'Feedback session'.
This assessment will be marked according to a rubric which will be made available to students via Moodle. The marking rubric will cover key criteria including communication and presentation skills, presentation content, critical use of resources, adherance to time limit, and performance in the question and answer time.
- Identify standard policies, codes and guidelines that inform the scope of practice for podiatrists including collaborative practice and team-based care.
- Discuss the basic aetiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation and treatment of common neurovascular, nail and skin disorders in podiatry practice.
- Discuss culturally safe healthcare in Australia, particularly as it relates to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
4 Written Assessment
Students will be required to complete a written assessment based on the content delivered in this course. The written assessment will require students to develop a mock clinical record, using information from a range of sources. Students will be required to access and interpret information from a range of sources in order to complete this task. The assessment intstructions and rubric will be made available via Moodle.
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.
Please note the 72-hour grace period does not apply to this assessment item.
Week 12 Friday (10 Oct 2025) 11:59 pm AEST
Submit to Moodle by Friday Week 12 11:59pm
Exam Week Friday (24 Oct 2025)
Results will be made available via Moodle
This assessment will be marked according to a rubric which will be made available to students via Moodle. Assessment criteria will cover how complete, correct, logical, and appropriate the mock clinical record is completed, as well as students ability to interpret patient assessments and formulate provisional and differential diagnoses.
- Identify standard policies, codes and guidelines that inform the scope of practice for podiatrists including collaborative practice and team-based care.
- Conduct a basic podiatric assessment in a professional manner demonstrating ethical and inclusive behaviour.
- Discuss culturally safe healthcare in Australia, particularly as it relates to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
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?
