Unit Synopsis
In this unit, you will evaluate mental health presentations and the associated social and cultural determinants, including those specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. You will learn how to formulate and apply evidence-based and safe treatment strategies for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. While doing so, you will appraise and integrate mental health legislation and professional standards within the context of paramedicine. Additionally, you will explore how to communicate effectively with individuals experiencing mental health challenges, health care teams involved in mental health care, and the general public.
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-requisites:
Please note: Any student who has not successfully completed a PMSC residential school within the preceding 12 months or undertaken a clinical placement unit, should consult with the Head of Course to discuss completing a PMSC12001 Applied Paramedic Practice refresher. This ensures currency with all contemporary skills and procedures in line with industry standards and professional capabilities. 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 1 - 2026
Term 2 - 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. Written Assessment | 50% |
| 2. Case Study | 50% |
| 3. On-campus Activity | 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%).
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 .
No previous feedback available
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.
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Evaluate mental health presentations and the associated social and cultural determinants, including those specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
- Formulate evidence-based and safe treatment strategies for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis.
- Appraise and integrate mental health legislation and professional standards within the context of paramedicine.
- Communicate effectively with individuals experiencing mental health challenges, health care teams involved in mental health care, and the general public.
The Paramedicine Board of Australia requires that units align with the Professional capabilities for registered paramedics, which consist of five (5) domains. The below section aligns the proposed learning outcomes with these domains. In addition, the learning outcomes have been aligned with the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Ambulance Health Service Standards.
Professional Capabilities for Registered Paramedics
| Standard/Attribute/Criteria | Learning Outcomes |
| Domain 1: The professional and ethical practitioner 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.4, 1.1.5, 1.1.6, 1.1.8, 1.1.9, 1.1.10, 1.1.11, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.2.4, 1.2.5, 1.3.1, 1.3.2, 1.3.3, 1.4.1, 1.4.2 | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
| 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, 2.1.8, 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.3, 2.2.4, 2.2.5, 2.2.6 | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
| Domain 3: The evidence-based practitioner 3.2.3, 3.2.4, 3.2.5, 3.2.6, 3.3.1, 3.3.2, 3.3.3 | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
| Domain 4: The safety and risk management practitioner 4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3, 4.2.2, 4.2.3, 4.2.4, 4.3.3, 4.4.1, 4.4.2, 4.4.3, 4.4.4, 4.5.3, 4.6.5 | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
| Domain 5: The paramedicine practitioner 5.1.2, 5.2.1, 5.2.2, 5.2.3, 5.2.4, 5.2.5, 5.3.5, 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 |
National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards
| Standard | Learning Outcomes |
| Clinical Governance: 1.15a, 1.15b, 1.15c, 1.30a, 1.30b | LO1, LO2, LO3 |
| Partnering with Consumers: 2.04, 2.05a, 2.05b, 2.10a, 2.10b | LO2, LO3, LO4 |
| Medication Safety: 4.15a | LO2, LO4 |
| Comprehensive Care: 5.05a, 5.05b, 5.06, 5.13c, 5.13d, 5.14a, 5.14b, 5.14c, 5.14d, 5.29a, 5.29b, 5.31a, 5.31b, 5.31c, 5.32, 5.33, 5.34a, 5.34b, 5.34c, 5.35a, 5.35b | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
| Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration: 8.05a, 8.05b, 8.05c, 8.05d, 8.05e, 8.06a, 8.06b, 8.06c, 8.06d, 8.06e, 8.10 | LO1, LO2, LO4 |
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | |
| 2 - Case Study | • | • | • | |
| 3 - On-campus Activity | • | • | • | • |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | • | |
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | ||
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | |
| 5 - Team Work | • | • | • | |
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | • | • | • | |
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | • | • | • |
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | • | • | • | • |
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |