PMSC20003 - Pharmacological Application in the Critical Care Setting

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit will provide you with advanced knowledge of all aspects of clinical pharmacology to allow you to function safely within the current and emerging critical care context. You will acquire advanced theoretical knowledge and develop advanced clinical judgement for competent critical care pharmacology practice.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 8
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Co-requisites

PMSC20001 Advanced Clinical Assessment and Decision Making

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 - 2025

Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Online

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 Postgraduate 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. Presentation and Written Assessment 40%
2. Case Study 30%
3. Online Test 30%

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 8.7% 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: Self-reflection & student feedback.
Feedback
Articulate accommodation of different learning styles in presentation of unit materials.
Recommendation
Reinforce articulation of intent behind delivery of both powerpoint and recorded powerpoint to accommodate different learning styles in the introductory video.
Action Taken
This was explicitly stated in both videos and supporting documents. The introductory video was used to reinforce the purpose of the learning materials, which aim to accommodate diverse student learning styles better.
Source: Self-reflection & student feedback.
Feedback
Clarify assessment criteria in written assessments.
Recommendation
Continue peer review of assessments and associated rubrics to ensure clarity and suitability of assessment criteria.
Action Taken
Peer review was utilised to refine the rubrics, ensuring clarity and transparency.
Source: Self-reflection & student feedback.
Feedback
Engage experienced subject matter experts (SMEs).
Recommendation
Add in video discussions with SMEs to support student learning.
Action Taken
Weekly tutorials were introduced this term to clarify key concepts and facilitate discussion of clinical case studies; however, student participation was limited. Despite this, the plan is to continue offering these tutorials in future terms, with strategies to encourage greater engagement.
Source: Self-reflection.
Feedback
Improve student experience of learning materials.
Recommendation
Engage the learning design team to discuss options to improve student experience of learning materials.
Action Taken
A consultation with the learning design team is planned to explore further enhancements to content delivery for future terms.
Source: Unit Evaluation Data
Feedback
Useful Learning Materials
Recommendation
Review and update existing resources to enhance engagement and accommodate diverse learning styles and preferences. Continue collaborating with the learning design team to optimise content delivery and accessibility.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Unit Evaluation Data
Feedback
Useful Feedback
Recommendation
Continue providing timely, detailed, and constructive feedback on assessments to support student learning. Implement more formative feedback opportunities earlier in the term to help students improve progressively.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Describe the indications, actions, routes of administration, contraindications, side effects and precautions of medications and fluids administered at a critical care level, and how you would evaluate the effects of administration
  2. Apply theoretical knowledge of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles with regard to medications and fluids administered at a critical care level
  3. Investigate and justify the most effective pharmacological treatment options within the critical care context
  4. Communicate knowledge of clinical pharmacology, toxicology and toxinology within therapeutic relationships.

N/A

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Presentation and Written Assessment • • •
2 - Case Study • • • •
3 - Online Test •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Knowledge • • • •
2 - Communication • •
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills • • • •
4 - Research •
5 - Self-management •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8