Overview
This unit encompasses a clinical component and a research component. In the clinical component, you will continue to assess, diagnose, manage and treat a range of patients with different lower limb pathologies; including patients with dermatological, vascular, neurological and nail pathologies. In addition, opportunities will be provided to you to advance your podiatric skills and treat patients with sports injuries and other biomechanical concerns. During clinic, you are required to clearly present patient cases and explain the related underlying pathophysiology to your clinical supervisor; including demonstrating your clinical reasoning skills with respect to assessment, diagnosis and management. This unit is the first of the formal requirements of the research project component of the Honours degree. In the research component you will complete a research proposal and identify a research project through your analysis of the literature that will be carried out in the fourth year of the course.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Pre-requisites: PODI13007 Podiatry Clinical Practice 2, PODI13008 Clinical Biomechanics of the Lower Limb, PODI13009 Neurovascular Medicine in Podiatry Practice, PODI13010 Sports in Podiatry Practice. Co-requisite: PODI13015 Advanced Pharmacology in Podiatry Practice.
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 - 2024
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 introduction of clinically-oriented lecture and tutorial content
It is recommended that the newly introduced clinically-oriented learning materials continue to be developed and used in the delivery of this unit
Feedback from SUTE comments
Students appreciated the opportunity to work closely with their Honours supervisors
It is recommended that students continue to have the opportunity to work with a research supervisor to develop their entry-level research skills
- Critically appraise a range of literature focused on a specified topic
- Conduct an appropriate analysis and draw reasoned conclusions to make future recommendations for research and practice
- Identify and analyse key clinical problems by planning and completing assessments, including taking patient history, conducting objective tests and investigations with moderate supervision
- Select and correctly apply therapeutic and/or preventative interventions based on patient assessment findings
- Communicate effectively and efficiently with patients and within multi-disciplinary environments
- Demonstrate competency at an entry level standard of practice in clinical reasoning, execution of techniques, and delivery of programs to manage specific clinical problems.
The Learning Outcomes are linked to the Podiatry Board of Australia (AHPRA) Professional Capabilities for Podiatrists.
https://www.podiatryboard.gov.au/Registration-Endorsement/Podiatry-professional-capabilities.aspx
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Professional Practice Placement - 0% | ||||||
| 2 - Practical Assessment - 50% | ||||||
| 3 - Project (research) - 50% | ||||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 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 | ||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
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.
b.peterson@cqu.edu.au
Week 1
Begin Date: 08 Jul 2024Module/Topic
Research lecture: Welcome to Honours & Developing research questions
Clinical lecture: CQUniversity clinical protocols
Internal clinical placement Thursday 8am - 5pm
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 2
Begin Date: 15 Jul 2024Module/Topic
Research lecture: Literature reviews
Clinical lecture: Exercise prescription
Internal clinical placement Thursday 8am - 5pm
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 3
Begin Date: 22 Jul 2024Module/Topic
Research lecture: Research Designs
Clinical lecture: Conservative management of onychocryptosis
Internal clinical placement Thursday 8am - 5pm
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 4
Begin Date: 29 Jul 2024Module/Topic
Research lecture: Research ethics (part 1)
Clinical lecture: Medical imaging (part 1)
Internal clinical placement Thursday 8am - 5pm
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 5
Begin Date: 05 Aug 2024Module/Topic
Research lecture: Research ethics (part 2)
Clinical lecture: Medical imaging (part 2)
Internal clinical placement Thursday 8am - 5pm
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation Week
Begin Date: 12 Aug 2024Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 6
Begin Date: 19 Aug 2024Module/Topic
Research lecture: Writing a research proposal
Clinical lecture: Taping techniques
Internal clinical placement Thursday 8am - 5pm
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 7
Begin Date: 26 Aug 2024Module/Topic
Research lecture: Individual meetings available upon request
Clinical lecture: Skin and nail pathologies
Internal clinical placement Thursday 8am - 5pm
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 8
Begin Date: 02 Sep 2024Module/Topic
Clinical lecture: Advanced neurovascular assessment
Internal clinical placement Thursday 8am - 5pm
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 9
Begin Date: 09 Sep 2024Module/Topic
No lecture. Individual meetings available upon request
Internal clinical placement Thursday 8am - 5pm
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 10
Begin Date: 16 Sep 2024Module/Topic
Clinical lecture: Falls and balance
Internal clinical placement Thursday 8am - 5pm
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 11
Begin Date: 23 Sep 2024Module/Topic
No lecture. Individual meetings available on request.
Internal clinical placement Thursday 8am - 5pm
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 12
Begin Date: 30 Sep 2024Module/Topic
No lecture. Individual meetings available on request.
Internal clinical placement Thursday 8am - 5pm
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Review/Exam Week
Begin Date: 07 Oct 2024Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Exam Week
Begin Date: 14 Oct 2024Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Professional Practice Placement
Internal clinical placement
You will complete an internal clinical placement at the relevant CQUniversity Health Clinic. The internal clinical placement is on Thursday during weeks 1 to 12. You will provide podiatric care to a diverse range of patients. Internal Clinical Placement will be scheduled from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. You will focus on further developing your ability to take a holistic approach to assess, diagnose and manage a range of patients, with more of a focus on skin and nail pathologies.
Attendance for all clinical placements is compulsory.
You will be required to fulfill all pre-clinical requirements prior to the start of your clinical placement.
You will also be required to pass your mid-term and end-term clinical assessments, as well as Parts A, B, and C of your Internal Clinical Placement Logbook.
External clinical placement
You will also complete an external clinical placement.
Extenal clinical placement dates and locations have been communicated directly to students.
The placements occur Monday to Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, for three weeks full-time.
Please note that these dates are subject to change. In addition, external placement dates and location are dependent on the site's availability therefore placement dates may vary slightly for each student. Details of individual placement locations and dates will be provided to you during the term. External clinical placement may be located either in a metropolitan area or in a rural or remote area. Please note that you may need to travel at your own expense for your external placement.
You will be required to complete and submit your External Clinical Documentation by the 30th November 2024, 5 pm, via SONIA and Moodle.
Submission of internal and external placement log books via Moodle and SONIA by 5pm 30th November, 2024.
Students will be provided written feedback each week during their internal clinical placement, as well as at their mid-term and end-term assessments
Internal Clinical Placement: You must show evidence that you have met all the pre-clinical placement requirements (available on SONIA) prior to commencing placement. Failure to provide the required documentation will mean that you will be unable to attend any placement until the missing documentation has been supplied. You are required to wear the approved CQUniversity podiatry clinical uniform and to project a professional image at all times. Clinical placement is compulsory requiring 100% attendance rate. If you are absent, you will have to follow the "Absentee policy" set out in the internal Clinical Placement handbook.
The Mid and End of Term Assessment Criteria can be found in your Internal Clinical Placement Handbook that will be available on the Moodle site.
You will be required to be assessed as "Competent" for all criteria in the End of Term Assessment. Failure to achieve this will result in a "Fail" grade for this assessment task and a "Fail" grade for this unit.
You will also be required to achieve a 'pass' for professional behaviour for each day of clinical placement in order to pass the unit.
External Clinical Placement:
Before placement: The Learning Contract must be submitted 2 weeks (10 working days) prior to the allocated placement commencement. The student must submit this to the Clinical Placement Officer for review and sign-off at least two weeks prior to placement commencement.
After placement: The following documentation must be completed and submitted within 1 week after the placement has been completed: Learning Contract, Log Book Reflections, Time Sheet, Student Evaluation of the Clinical Placement and Clinical Supervisor Report . Students will be required to fill in their Learning Contract, Log Book Reflections, Time Sheet, and Student Evaluation of the Clinical Placement. External supervisors and other relevant academic staff will assess whether students have satisfactorily met the Podiatry Board of Australia's Professional Capabilities for Podiatrists during their external placement. This will be recorded in the Clinical Supervisor Report.
External placement has a pass/fail requirement. Timely submission of ALL above documents are mandatory. Failure to submit any documents and failure to meet the competency standards will result in a "Fail" grade for this assessment task and a "Fail" grade for this unit.
- Identify and analyse key clinical problems by planning and completing assessments, including taking patient history, conducting objective tests and investigations with moderate supervision
- Select and correctly apply therapeutic and/or preventative interventions based on patient assessment findings
- Communicate effectively and efficiently with patients and within multi-disciplinary environments
- Demonstrate competency at an entry level standard of practice in clinical reasoning, execution of techniques, and delivery of programs to manage specific clinical problems.
2 Practical Assessment
The practical assessment will be up to 120 minutes long and will assess your clinical knowledge, practical and assessment skills and clinical reasoning. Your practical assessment will include content covered in all units in your podiatry course until the end of Year 3 Term 2. Based on clinical scenarios you will be required to discuss and perform aspects of relevant history taking, diagnosis, assessment, treatment and overall management of the condition and/or clinical scenario presented and complete relevant patient documentation. All assessments may be video and/or audio-recorded for moderation purposes. You are expected to arrive at least 15 minutes before the allocated start time for the practical assessment and to wear full clinical uniform with enclosed shoes. The practical assessment is a closed book assessment task.
Week 12 Thursday (3 Oct 2024) 8:30 am AEST
The practical assessment will occur during clinic time in Week 12.
Exam Week Thursday (17 Oct 2024)
Results will be made available via Moodle.
You will be assessed according to an assessment rubric made availble to you via moodle during the term.
- Identify and analyse key clinical problems by planning and completing assessments, including taking patient history, conducting objective tests and investigations with moderate supervision
- Select and correctly apply therapeutic and/or preventative interventions based on patient assessment findings
- Communicate effectively and efficiently with patients and within multi-disciplinary environments
3 Project (research)
This project will form part of your Honours thesis. In this unit, you will formulate a research question and protocol. This assessment task consist of two components.
1) Research proposal: You will develop and submit a research proposal (30%)
2) Ethics application: You will complete and submit an ethics application draft (20%). Students who undertake a systematic review rather than an original research project will develop a PROSPERO application in lieu of an ethics application.
Both components are due Friday of Week 9
Week 9 Friday (13 Sept 2024) 11:59 pm AEST
Submit to Moodle by 11:59pm Friday Week 9
Week 11 Friday (27 Sept 2024)
Results and feedback will be made available via Moodle
Part A: Research Proposal (30%)
Your research proposal should be a maximum of 2000 words and should include the following components:
· Introduction and Literature Review
· Research Question and Study Objectives
· Methodology:
- Study Design
- Primary and Secondary Study Outcomes
- Population and Eligibility Criteria
- Recruitment/Sampling Strategy
- Data Collection Methods (Including the psychometric properties of tests and instrumentation)
- Proposed Data Analysis Methods
· Timeline:
- Completion schedule for all relevant components of your study should be included.
- For students undertaking an Original Research Project, the timeline should include: Ethics Application Submission, Ethics Application Approval, Recruitment, Data Collection, Data Analysis, Writing, and Final Submission.
- For students undertaking a Systematic Review, the timeline should include: PROSPERO Registration Submission, Search Strategy (Searching for studies, Title and Abstract Screening, Full-Text Screening), Quality Appraisal, Data Extraction, Data Analysis, Writing, and Final Submission.
· Citations: They should follow the format of a specific journal, as identified by the student, and agreed upon with the project supervisor.
Part B: Ethics Application / PROSPERO Registration (20%)
You are required to submit a Coursework Ethics Application that adheres to the guidelines provided on Moodle. Students undertaking a Systematic Review must instead submit a completed PROSPERO application.
There is no maximum word count for the ethics application or PROSPERO registration however the word/character limits within individual sections of these applications must be adhered to.
- Critically appraise a range of literature focused on a specified topic
- Conduct an appropriate analysis and draw reasoned conclusions to make future recommendations for research and practice
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?
