Unit Synopsis
This unit will introduce you to vascular ultrasound. In this unit you will explore the sonographic assessment of normal and pathological vascular cases. You will apply knowledge of vascular anatomy and physiology, and the physical properties of Doppler ultrasound to clinical scenarios and case studies to critically reflect on sonographic problems. Engaging in this sonographic decision-making process will culminate in the creation of sonographer’s interpretive reports, including a provisional diagnosis.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 3 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 3 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Prerequisites: MEDS12004 Sonographic Skills Development 1 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 - 2026
Term 3 - 2026 Profile
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.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Online Quiz(zes) | 40% |
| 2. Oral Examination | 0% |
| 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%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web 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.
Source: Student feedback, UC observation
The oral examination was a good way for students to demonstrate an understanding of their answers in the written component.
The oral examination will be continued in future deliveries of this unit.
The oral exams continued to be a good way for students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of their written component.
Source: Student feedback, UC observation
Booking in for oral examination times after hours was difficult for students on clinical placement in the second half of term.
Booking schedules will be extended to include more after hours options for students on clinical placement.
More booking times were available after hours for students on placement, and this worked well.
Source: Student feedback
Some students thought the content in the quizzes was very different to interactive tutorial content discussed.
Quiz questions and tutorial content will be reviewed.
The practise quizzes and tutorials were aligned more with the marked quiz format and question types.
Source: UC reflection, student feedback
Some students struggled to maintain their studies during their 5-week placement block which resulted in them struggling to catch up before quizzes and tests.
The unit structure will be modified for next year's delivery to condense the content and allow content-free weeks for when students are on their five-week placement. Content weeks will include an oral examination, to be held during the first or second half of the term, depending on when students are on placement. This will significantly reduce student workload while on placement, allowing them to structure their learning more easily.
In Progress
Source: UC reflection, student feedback
Some students expressed a desire for more practise tests throughout term.
With the newly condensed delivery of the unit, the provision of additional practise tests will be explored.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Apply knowledge of the anatomy, physiology, and pathological processes of the vascular system to sonographic examinations and sonographic image appearances
- Describe sonographic techniques and protocols appropriate to vascular ultrasound
- Analyse normal, anomalous, and abnormal flow haemodynamics and laboratory findings to provide differential diagnoses and produce a provisional sonographic report
The learning outcomes for this unit relate to the requirements of general sonography courses under the Australasian Sonography Accreditation Registry (ASAR), Standards for the Accreditation of Sonographer Courses (SASC):
Foundation Units of Competence 1-5
Critical Practice Units of Competence 13
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) | • | ||
| 2 - Oral Examination | • | • | • |
| 3 - Online Test | • | • | • |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | • |
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | ||
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • |
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | • | |
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | ||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |