PMSC12003 - Special Populations in Paramedic Practice

General Information

Unit Synopsis

In this unit you will develop the capacity to engage with, assess, and manage obstetrics and paediatric patients. Upon completion of this unit, you will be able to draw upon your knowledge of pathophysiology, epidemiology, and aetiology to provide professional, situational, and culturally appropriate treatment pathways for managing these special populations.

Details

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

Pre-requisite - PMSC12001 Procedures and Skills in Paramedic Practice, PMSC11004 Paramedic Medical Emergencies 1 and PMSC12004 Advanced Electrophysiology and Coronary Care

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).

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Residential School Compulsory Residential School
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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. Written Assessment 40%
2. Online Quiz(zes) 20%
3. Online Quiz(zes) 40%
4. Practical Assessment 0%

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 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 66.67% 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: Student feedback
Feedback
Assessment alignment needs improvement.
Recommendation
A review of the assessment strategy and all assessment tasks will be undertaken to ensure alignment with the expected academic standards and learning outcomes for the unit.
Action Taken
This was undertaken with great attention to detail. Feedback was sought from senior paramedic lecturers and curriculum design specialists to ensure assessment strategy were aligned.
Source: Student feedback, staff feedback, Unit Coordinator observation
Feedback
Obstetric and neonatal manikins showing wear and tear.
Recommendation
Discussions are to occur with the HoC regarding the state of manikins and equipment.
Action Taken
This was not an issue this term. With the students numbers from Term 1, 2025 and practicum outstanding students from 2024, we selected manikins that were newest with no or minimal damage. There was only one residential school with low student numbers. There is a new Head of Course for undergraduate for paramedics and will discuss further prior to commencement of Term 1, 2026 if can purchase repair kits to stitch tears to manikins.
Source: T1 2025 SUTE Unit Comment Report
Feedback
It would be good to group the video lectures together and have the pdf materials below them in the same order.
Recommendation
Will ensure the current format is aligned and group all the weekly content into one large PDF and one large video at the end of the week for students.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Analyse and apply the pathophysiology to antenatal patients through all stages of pregnancy, including intrapartum and post-partum
  2. Analyse and apply the knowledge of key growth, anatomical and physiological differences when assessing paediatric patients
  3. Integrate theoretical knowledge in the clinical assessment of common and emergent obstetric and paediatric conditions
  4. Demonstrate the application of clinical skills, interventions, and pharmacology in the management of obstetric and paediatric patients in the pre-hospital environment
  5. Employ the principles of effective communication when dealing with paediatric and obstetric patients, with consideration of culturally appropriate, ethical, and professional behaviours required of the registered paramedic.

It is a requirement of the Paramedicine Board of Australia that units align with the Australian Health and Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) Professional Capabilities for Registered Paramedics. These are broken down into five (5) domains. Below aligns the learning outcomes with these domains. In addition, the learning outcomes have also been aligned with the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards.
Professional Capabilities for a Registered Paramedic
The Paramedicine Board of Australia is responsible for assessing, consulting on and setting the standards for paramedics practicing in Australia. These standards and relevant domains are articulated in the Professional Capabilities for a Registered Paramedic document. The learning outcomes of this unit are matched to the relevant capabilities.
Standard/Attribute/Criteria Learning Outcomes
Domain 1: The professional and ethical practitioner 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.4, 1.1.5, 1.1.6, 1.1.7, 1.1.8, 1.1.9, 1.1.10, 1.1.11, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.2.4, 1.2.5, 1.2.6, 1.3.1, 1.3.2, 1.3.3, 1.4.1, 1.4.2 LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
Domain 2: The communicator and collaborator 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.1.5, 2.1.6, 2.1.7, 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.3, 2.2.5, 2.2.6 LO4, LO5
Domain 3: The evidence-based practitioner 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 3.2.3, 3.2.4, 3.2.5, 3.2.6, 3.3.1, 3.3.2, 3.3.3, 3.3.4, 3.4.2 LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
Domain 4: The safety and risk management practitioner 4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3, 4.1.4, 4.1.5, 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3, 4.2.4, 4.3.2, 4.5.3 LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
Domain 5: The paramedic practitioner 5.1.1, 5.1.2, 5.1.3, 5.1.4, 5.1.5, 5.2.1, 5.2.3, 5.2.4, 5.2.5, 5.3.1, 5.3.2, 5.3.4, 5.3.5, 5.3.6, 5.4.1, 5.4.2, 5.4.3, 5.4.4, 5.4.5, 5.4.6, 5.6.1, 5.6.2, 5.6.3, 5.6.4 LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5

National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care Standards developed in this unit are:

Standard Learning Outcomes
Clinical Governance LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Partnering with Consumers LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
Preventing and Controlling Infections LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
Medication Safety LO4, LO5
Comprehensive Care LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
Communicating for Safety LO4, LO5
Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration LO3, LO4, LO5

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Written Assessment • •
2 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
3 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
4 - Practical Assessment • •
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