MEDS12004 - Sonographic Skills Development 1

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit prepares you for the clinical workplace through the development of skills in sonographic scanning techniques for the abdomen and urinary tract. You will be required to demonstrate the skills, knowledge and professional behaviours needed to work in a clinical setting, and will be assessed within a simulated environment. This unit prepares you for entry into the sonographic clinical environment using the Assessment of Readiness for Clinical tool (ARC) in conjunction with other assessment tasks.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 12
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.25
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-requisites:

MEDS12003 Superficial Structures in Ultrasound

AND

MEDS12002 - Abdominal Ultrasound

AND

MEDS12001 Physics of Ultrasound

Co-requisites:

MEDS12006 Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynaecology 

Condition: Continued enrolment in MEDS12004 is conditional upon passing any outstanding assessment pieces in MEDS12001 and MEDS12002 and MEDS12003.

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 No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2024

Term 2 - 2024 Profile
Brisbane
Mackay
Melbourne
Sydney
Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
Mackay
Melbourne
Sydney
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
Brisbane
Mackay
Melbourne
Sydney

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 12-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 25 hours of study per week, making a total of 300 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Practical Assessment 0%
2. Practical Assessment 0%
3. Online Quiz(zes) 0%
4. Written Assessment 0%
5. On-campus Activity 0%

This is a pass/fail (non-graded) unit. To pass the unit, you must pass all of the individual assessment tasks shown in the table above.

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 64.86% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 34.58% 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 data
Feedback
Some students expressed that there were unclear unit requirements available.
Recommendation
Whilst the ARC tool and scanning protocol are already expansive, students could benefit from more layers to these resources outlining varying levels of diagnsotic versus non-diagnostic assessment. Consider developing a resource(s) outlining the unit requirements and with precise focus on the tipping point of when a non-critical error becomes a critical error.
Action Taken
Image critique sessions were introduced which allowed students to upload their own images for collective evaluation and discussion based on the unit's requirements. This format offered immediate feedback from both peers and lecturers, ensuring a clear understanding of critical versus non-critical errors.
Source: SUTE data and Informal Consultations
Feedback
A lack of students volunteering as patients affected the creation and availability of demonstration videos on challenging patients.
Recommendation
The entire Melbourne cohort was invited to volunteer to be a patient for video resources with only a few volunteers. Education will be essential to ensure all students embrace being a demonstration patient ensuring diverse resources for the cohort. The addition of more videos on challenging patients will be considered.
Action Taken
The importance of a diverse mix of volunteer patients for demonstration videos was conveyed. The entire Melbourne cohort was encouraged to participate as a patient in tutor demonstration videos. This enabled showcasing scanning techniques on a diverse range of patients while highlighting limitations and strategies to overcome challenges. Additionally, the entire cohort across all campuses was invited to undertake a recorded student demonstration video, which was accessible on Moodle for critique and reflection by all. This created more video resources on varied patients.
Source: SUTE data
Feedback
Some students felt that the pelvic module schedule could be adjusted to support better delivery during the term.
Recommendation
Consider reviewing the scheduling of the Pelvis module to an alternative timing and/or location while still adhering to industry standards and accreditation requirements.
Action Taken
The competency for pelvis scanning has been transferred from MEDS12004 to a residential school in MEDS12006. This change aligns with the theoretical concepts covered in MEDS12006 - Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Source: SUTE data
Feedback
Some students have expressed desire for more regular smaller assessments throughout the term that cover their progress throughout the term before the final skills assessment.
Recommendation
Investigate the feasibility of implementing more frequent, smaller assessments during the term to lessen the adverse effects of high-stake evaluations.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE data
Feedback
Some students felt that the professional aspects of MEDS12004 should be better integrated into all lab sessions.
Recommendation
Consider modification of the already utilised lab student feedback forms to include a dedicated section to track the progress of professional performance.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Formulate strategies and implement skills necessary to complete sonographic examinations of the abdominal and urinary tract organs.
  2. Recognise the normal sonographic appearances of abdominal and urinary tract organs and identify anatomical variants when present, and discriminate from pathological processes.
  3. Critically reflect and improve upon own professional practice and sonographic psychomotor skills utilising constructive feedback.
  4. Display professional behaviour, teamwork, communication skills and criteria to meet safe sonographic practice and industry expectation.

Australasian Sonography Association Competency Standards for the Entry Level Sonographer

Units: 1,2,4,5,6 & 10

Australian Sonographer Accreditation Registry Standards for the Accreditation of Sonographer Courses:
Foundation Units of Competence 1-6
Critical Practice Unit of Competence 6

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Practical Assessment • • •
2 - Practical Assessment • • •
3 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
4 - Written Assessment •
5 - On-campus Activity •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
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 • • •
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