CSB431 I Pharmacist

Unit Outline: Semester 1 2024, Gardens Point, Internal

Overview

This unit builds on your previous studies in CSB111 Foundations of Clinical Practice and CSB420 Introduction to Pharmacy Practice by understanding the role of an effective pharmacist who has a commitment to social accountability. You will investigate this principle of social accountability in pharmacy by exploring what it means to deliver culturally safe and responsive person-centred care, to address the health care needs of individuals and the wider society, to assume responsibility for the sustainable use of health care resources and to contribute to the ongoing improvement of individual and societal health outcomes.

You will further extend this exploration of social accountability through experiential learning during a 24-hour WIL experience in a pharmacy.

This is a designated unit which is essential to your course progression. Designated units include professional experience units, units requiring the development of particular skills, and units requiring demonstration of certain personal qualities. If you fail to achieve a satisfactory level of performance in a designated unit, you may be excluded from enrolment or will be put on academic probation. If you fail a designated unit twice within your course, you may be excluded. Supplementary assessment is not available on designated units.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Apply and reflect on the knowledge of the skills, attributes, and knowledge of the roles, responsibilities and scope of the practitioner.
2. Analyse and interpret the meaning of social accountability in pharmacy.
3. Consistently make accurate arithmetic calculations relating to health care.
4. Dispense medicines safely and accurately in accordance with current legal and professional requirements.
5. Demonstrate teamwork by working with your team to problem solve, research, and justify a solution.

Content

Learning Approaches

You will engage in group discussion with peers, pharmacists, and academics to provide interpretation of the learning materials. You will analyse the role of the pharmacist - through case based discussion and authentic tasks in class and on placement you will observe  your preceptor in a community pharmacy. During semester you will meet the professional leaders and you will be encouraged to sign up to student memberships (e.g. Pharmaceutical Society of Australia). You will be advised on strategies to develop your professional knowledge and be provided with support strategies that will enhance your professional development, such as learning how to write a CV, or developing a professional CPD reflective learning plan.

This unit contains a community pharmacy placement which will to develop your understanding of your role as an effective pharmacist through experiential learning over a 24 hours placement experience e.g. 4 hours / week x 6 weeks. You will observe and/or participate in a variety of pharmacy operations. The skills, attributes, and competencies you will learn in this unit and while on placement will contribute to your developing sense of professional identity, and awareness of your role as a pharmacist in an inter-professional team.

The content presented for this unit may be presented in face-to-face sessions, or via recorded online medium through Canvas.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

We will provide support with the team reflection and problem-solving task in weeks 4 and 9 during the workshop. This will include librarian support with referencing and researching. 

To help you complete your Portfolio assessment we will practice dispensing scripts and you will mark your work in class. We have dispensing software and demonstration videos to help you practice at home. You will complete online formative quizzes with instant feedback to practice pharmacy calculations. Your pharmacy preceptor will be providing feedback on site at your pharmacy with the pharmacy activities you have been set on placement.

For your written examination you will attend weekly workshops and practice cases. In week 11 you practice a formative exam.

Assessment

Overview

Assessment is designed to measure your achievement of the unit learning outcomes. There are three pieces of assessment to be completed in this unit. Each task is designed to assess particular learning outcomes. 

Electronic access to resources in school-based examinations may be provided using University computers only (this is at the discretion of the Unit Coordinator and further details will be provided via Canvas). If electronic access is provided, students should be aware that access to resources cannot be guaranteed and students should ensure they are able to utilise hard copies of the same references.

Special conditions of assessment:

Participation and attendance at placement
This unit includes a total of 24 hours placement experience e.g. 4 hours / week x 6 weeks. In order to receive a grade in this unit, the unit coordinator must receive completed activity task sheets, feedback sheet completed by the preceptor, and preceptor signoff that placement hours have been satisfactorily completed by the end of semester.

You will be required to electronically submit all written assignments for content matching checks.

Group assessments are to be completed and submitted as a group. Individual submissions will receive a score of 0 for the assessment.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Team reflection problem solving and analysis task

You will work with your group to analyse a case scenario. You will provide a written summary of what the main role(s) of the pharmacist is/are in the case and their purpose within the multi-disciplinary team. Your answer will be evidence based. 

1. This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

Assessment: Portfolio

You will develop your professional competency by building a portfolio of tasks which demonstrate your foundational skills and knowledge as a pharmacist. This portfolio includes a record of activities you have completed in your community pharmacy experience, dispensing prescriptions, calculating doses, and developing a professional CPD plan on placement.

Assessment: Examination (invigilated)

This is a case-based assessment with written short-answered style questions which require you to demonstrate your knowledge and skills as a foundational level pharmacist. 

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Requirements to Study

Requirements

Mandatory requirements for pharmacy placement. Failure to comply with these requirements by the due date given will result in your exclusion from placement activities:

• Blue Card: A Blue card confirms that you have passed a screening of your criminal history (the Working with Children Check) and have been approved to work with children and young people. For more information on the Blue card and how to apply, please refer to Blue cards - QUT Digital Workplace.
• Vaccine Preventable Diseases Evidence: It is a mandatory requirement for students to be vaccinated against several vaccine preventable diseases. For more information, please refer to Faculty of Health's website at Health student placements How to complete your pre-placement requirements - QUT Digital Workplace before the commencement of placement. You must provide evidence of immunity for Hepatitis B, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis and Varicella on the Vaccine Preventable Diseases Evidence Certification Form. The form includes information on the evidence that is required for each vaccination. More information will provided by WILS.

There may be additional mandatory requirements for placements within specific external organisations (eg. QLD Health) and these expectations will be conveyed to you by the Health WILS team. Failure to meet these requirements by the due date given, may prevent you from undertaking your placement.

Blue Card

A blue card is required to complete this unit. A blue card confirms that you have passed a screening of your criminal history (the Working with Children Check) and have been approved to work with children and young people. For more information on the blue card and how to apply please visit the QUT website.

Costs

All Work Integrated Learning placement costs, including immunisations, the prescribed QUT placement uniform, travel and accommodation expenses, are the responsibility of the student. See QUT - Additional course costs.

Resources

Resource Materials

Recommended text(s)

AusDI: evidence based medicines information resource for Australian practice. St Leonards, NSW.

Australian Medicines Handbook, current edition, Adelaide: AMH Pty Ltd.

Beardsley, R. S., Kimberlin, C. L., Tindall, W. N. (2012). Communication skills in pharmacy practice: a practical guide for students and practitioners. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Golan, D. E., Tashjian, A. H., Armstrong, E. J., Armstrong, A. W. (2012). Principles of pharmacology: the pathophysiologic basis of drug therapy. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Rutter, P. (2013). Community pharmacy: symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Sansom, L., Pharmaceutical Society of Australia. (2019). Australian pharmaceutical formulary and handbook: the everyday guide to pharmacy practice (23rd ed.). Deakin West, ACT: Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.

Therapeutic Guidelines. http://www.tg.org.au/

eMIMS (current edition), St Leonards, NSW: MIMS Australia, CMPMedica Australia Pty Limited. http://www.mims.com.au/

Risk Assessment Statement

Learning is the responsibility of all stakeholders. Students have a responsibility to minimise risk to themselves, other staff and clients while on placements both on campus and off campus.

Students must make themselves aware of and abide by the occupational health and safety requirements of all placement workplaces, and are expected to undergo any induction or other training provided for employees or visitors to the workplace as appropriate.

You are required to read the document 'Managing your rights, responsibilities and safety on placements' Your safety and wellbeing on placement - QUT Digital Workplace and disclose relevant health information as specified in this document. Students who are pregnant at the time of their placement also have particular disclosure requirements, as detailed in this document. Personal or medical information must be disclosed for example when there is an increased risk to the student or others, an impediment exists where adjustments to tasks will be required and/or if there are specific religious, cultural or family requirements.

All accidents, incidents and critical near-misses should be reported to your placement workplace and QUT. If an incident occurs on placement, a report needs to be submitted online through the Health, safety and environment HSE Hub accessed via  Your safety and wellbeing on placement - QUT Digital Workplace.

Course Learning Outcomes

CS47 Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours)

1. Understand and apply knowledge of health care systems and wider contexts, including legal, ethical, professional frameworks and economic systems and work in interprofessional teams.
   Relates to: ULO3, Portfolio, Examination (invigilated)
2. Recognise the presence and causes of health inequities and disparities and impacts of social determinants of health.
   Relates to: ULO1, Examination (invigilated)
3. Promote and advocate for cultural safety, respect and responsiveness, particularly in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
   Relates to: ULO1, Team reflection problem solving and analysis task
4. Demonstrate ethical, legal and professional responsibilities, whilst considering quality, risk, best interests and safety of patients and public, formulating strategies to address any issues.
   Relates to: ULO1, Examination (invigilated)
5. Demonstrate proactive, reflective, accountable behaviours and practice to develop professional competence and expertise and manage change.
   Relates to: ULO3, Portfolio, Examination (invigilated)
6. Communicate and collaborate with a socially and culturally diverse range of people on interpersonal and interprofessional levels.
   Relates to: ULO2, Team reflection problem solving and analysis task, Portfolio, Examination (invigilated)
7. Demonstrate respectful, compassionate, responsive, empathic and culturally appropriate communication, with specific awareness and sensitivity to history, communication styles and community protocols of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
   Relates to: ULO1, Team reflection problem solving and analysis task
8. Collaborate and share decision-making in partnership with the interprofessional health care team to optimise patient outcomes, and with patients, clients and carers respecting roles, privacy and choices.
   Relates to: ULO2, Team reflection problem solving and analysis task, Portfolio, Examination (invigilated)
9. Demonstrate quality use of medicines including actions and recommendations for safe, rational and cost-effective use and management, prescribing, and medication reviews.
   Relates to: ULO1, Team reflection problem solving and analysis task, Portfolio, Examination (invigilated)
10. Deliver person-centred care, obtaining, assessing, formulating, monitoring, facilitating self-management/adjustment of health, medical and medication information and plans in collaboration with individuals, communities, health care teams for optimal outcomes.
    Relates to: ULO1, Team reflection problem solving and analysis task, Portfolio, Examination (invigilated)
11. Provide medications and other management options including administering, dispensing, preparing and supplying, safe storage, tailored counselling, and assessing ambulatory conditions.
    Relates to: ULO1, Team reflection problem solving and analysis task, Portfolio, Examination (invigilated)
12. Demonstrate health promotion and harm minimisation approaches providing evidence-based screening, assessment, prevention, referral and strategies to reduce harm from misuse of legal and illegal drugs, and participating in health promotion activities.
    Relates to: ULO1, Team reflection problem solving and analysis task, Portfolio, Examination (invigilated)
13. Undertake structured reflection to enhance learning and practice, self-awareness, self-regulation and ability to evaluate personal health and wellbeing status, demonstrating awareness of professional limitations and adopting strategies to address.
    Relates to: ULO2, ULO3, Team reflection problem solving and analysis task, Portfolio, Examination (invigilated)
14. Demonstrate awareness and recognition of signs indicating risk to safety of performance and care, formulating responses and strategies.
    Relates to: ULO1, Examination (invigilated)
15. Promote quality assurance and continuous improvement, with awareness of, and complying with policy, processes and protocols, whilst demonstrating risk awareness with strategies to assess, monitor, mitigate and manage.
    Relates to: ULO2, ULO3, Team reflection problem solving and analysis task, Portfolio, Examination (invigilated)
16. Access, use, adapt and share information and/or other technologies to meet current and emerging needs of professional practice.
    Relates to: ULO3, Portfolio, Examination (invigilated)