ECHO11003 - Fundamentals of Cardiac Science

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit provides an insight into the science of cardiac assessment by exploring the role and scope of practice of the cardiac physiologist and echocardiographer within the Australian health care system. You will acquire knowledge of communication strategies used in clinical practice and explore the types of cardiac testing procedures available and the outcomes of those assessments. You will apply your knowledge and skills to demonstrate procedures for the provision of safe patient care, ultrasound scanning coordination, spatial awareness and grey-scale pattern recognition in a simulated clinical environment. The aim of this unit is to provide introductory knowledge and skill that will support your learning throughout the Echocardiography / Cardiac Physiology course.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 1
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-requisite

Students must be enrolled in CV69 Bachelor of Echocardiography and Cardiac Physiology / Graduate Diploma of Echocardiography

 

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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School Compulsory Residential School
View Unit Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2025

Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Mixed Mode

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).

Assessment Overview

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.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Practical Assessment 0%
2. Written Assessment 40%
3. Online Test 60%

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

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 83.33% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 10.71% response rate.

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.

Source: SUTE feedback
Feedback
Students would appreciate more tips on assignment requirements and expectations including referencing.
Recommendation
Encourage students to access multiple resources, such as tutorials specific to referencing and academic writing from the ALC, courses provided by the library and further simplified marking rubrics. The marking rubric will be revised again along with the written assessment tasks with possible delivery and submission amendments. Further time allocation on referencing and academic writing to be considered.
Action Taken
An interactive approach was adopted in the ALC online tutorial, engaging students with Moodle-based resources, including ALC guides, library tools and unit materials to support assessment writing and referencing. Informative forum posts promoted library research skills course, and students were encouraged to seek one-on-one support from library staff. Weekly Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) were made available which demonstrated noticeable student engagement, as reflected in consistent attendance and improvement in academic performance across the current cohort.
Source: SUTE feedback
Feedback
Students reported that the expectations for the written assessment were unclear, and the word count unrealistic for the content.
Recommendation
Further review of this assessment to be conducted with possible amendments to the assessment task description and type of submission.
Action Taken
The assessment was revised to improve clarity and engagement. A PowerPoint component was added to showcase student's understanding and research depth, while a case study introduced variety in the written format. A new marking rubric was developed to provide consistent and transparent guidelines to completing the assessment task. A change to the word count was carefully considered, however the decision to retain the existing limit was made in order to promote concise writing and critical summarisation of key points.
Source: CQU success
Feedback
Students expressed a preference for more frequent quizzes throughout the term to build familiarity with online testing and reduce anxiety associated with single high-stakes final test.
Recommendation
To support continuous learning and reduce the pressure of a single high-stake final assessment, three smaller online quizzes may be introduced throughout the term, contributing to the overall unit grade. This approach also promotes academic integrity by diversifying assessment timing and format.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: CQU success & SUTE
Feedback
Students responded positively to the improved residential school format which incorporated more hands on scanning time and smaller group activities.
Recommendation
Retain the current residential school format, given consistently strong positive student feedback, highlighting the value of extended scanning time and small group interaction.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Define the scope of practice and professional requirements of cardiac physiologists and echocardiographers, including legal and ethical considerations
  2. Discuss the provision of cardiac assessment within the context of general diagnostic services in the Australian health care system
  3. Apply common communication strategies used in the healthcare environment
  4. Apply introductory level knowledge of ultrasound equipment, image acquisition and interpretation, body and cardiac imaging planes, using appropriate terminology
  5. Demonstrate knowledge of safe practice, including infection control and ergonomic principles.

1. Australian Sonographer Accreditation Registry (ASAR): Accreditation Standards for Cardiac Sonography - Foundation units of competence (Unit 1-5) and Critical Practice (Unit 8).

2. Edwards, C, Thoirs, K, Osborne, B, Slade, D, McDonald, S, Lombardo, P, et al. Australian sonographer competency—A new framework. Sonography. 2022; 9( 3): 108– 115. https://doi.org/10.1002/sono.12309.

3. American Society of Echocardiography Guideline Documents.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Practical Assessment • • •
2 - Written Assessment • •
3 - Online Test • • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
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 •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10