Unit Synopsis
This unit provides you with the communication skills, networking and inter-professional strategies for functioning as a paramedic with a primary healthcare focus. This unit lays out how the Paramedic Practitioner will function within a multi-disciplinary healthcare system and be an advocate for patient care. It introduces you to the psycho-social underpinnings for referral and patient education and its impact on the patients' well-being. You will learn how to maintain continuity of care for patients in the out-of-hospital setting through the use of the referral process, communication strategies and comprehensive documentation. Additionally, this unit introduces you to community engagement and health promotion with a focus on primary healthcare and meeting the needs of your community.
Details
| Level | Postgraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 9 |
| Credit Points | 12 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.25 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Pre-requisite:
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 1 - 2026
Term 1 - 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 12-credit Postgraduate 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. Presentation | 30% |
| 2. Written Assessment | 30% |
| 3. Written Assessment | 40% |
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.
Source: Self-Reflection
Students enjoyed developing a Community Engagement Project as their final assessment, although some students may be uncertain about how it will apply to their future employment.
In future unit offerings, students will receive more information about how community engagement can be applied to their future employment.
We continue to advocate for and provide information on community engagement, patient education, and health promotion within our communities and show how paramedics with a primary healthcare focus can contribute to these areas.
Source: Unit Coordinator reflections
Recent developments in Advanced Practice in Paramedicine and possible endorsement by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) could impact this unit in the near future.
It is recommended that we continue to engage with the Paramedicine Board of Australia and implement the necessary changes to the unit and course as required when this information becomes available.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate effective communication strategies within therapeutic relationships
- Prepare comprehensive documentation and determine the appropriate referral to allow for continuity of care
- Determine the barriers, psycho-social factors and cultural healthcare disparities that can impact a patient's well being
- Assess the need for patient education, health promotion and community engagement projects
- Research and develop a community engagement project proposal and plan.
Graduate Diploma is now the standard requirement for many state ambulance services for advanced positions in the paramedic field. An emphasis has been placed on preferred candidates exceeding this requirement with a Masters degree for many new positions such as the Paramedic Practitioner.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Presentation | • | • | • | ||
| 2 - Written Assessment | • | • | |||
| 3 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | ||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | • | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Communication | • | • | • | • | • |
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | • | • | • | • | |
| 4 - Research | • | • | |||
| 5 - Self-management | • | • | • | ||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | • | • | • | ||
| 7 - Leadership | • | • | • | ||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | |