CSH477 Evidence-based Healthcare: Practice informing research
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | CSH477 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite(s): | CSH600 and CSB444 and CSH474. CSH474 can be studied in the same teaching period as CSH477 |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
|
| CSP student contribution | $1,192 |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $4,704 |
| International unit fee | $4,848 |
Unit Outline: Semester 1 2026, Gardens Point, Internal
| Unit code: | CSH477 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | CSH600 and CSB444 and CSH474. CSH474 can be studied in the same teaching period as CSH477. |
| Coordinator: | Annalese Semmler | annalese.semmler@qut.edu.au |
Overview
In the fourth year of your study program, this unit is grounded in basic science, consolidating your knowledge and research skills. It is about practice informing /driving research to investigate a clinically relevant question relating to pharmaceutical research and future therapies. You will put into practice basic science concepts from previous learning, in the wider context of sustainability and innovation, and critically apply your knowledge and skills in advanced drug development and delivery to address a clinical need.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Reflect and critically evaluate research problems related to future therapeutics and pharmaceutical research trends in advanced drug development and delivery for clinical practice.
- Source, critically appraise, and synthesise literature of current challenges to inform future trends in healthcare.
- Interpret and present complex and innovative knowledge to peers and non-expert audiences.
- Work collaboratively to identify implications of your research recommendations on practice.
Content
This unit extends your critical thinking skills in the application of basic science into solving a clinically relevant problem. Examples of activities include:
- Research a novel therapeutic strategy to solve a clinical question
- Present recommendations to a health professional
- Evaluate peer proposals and provide constructive feedback on their approach to solving a clinical question
- Educate a lay audience regarding future therapeutics
Learning Approaches
This unit will focus on shared learning, fostering a reflexive learning environment by working alongside your peers. You will apply your research skills while being encouraged to look to national and international evidence and research that is meaningful to populations, cultures and settings.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Pre-submission feedback - weekly workshop activities, linked to the assessment tasks have been developed to enable the teaching team to provide you with feedback. You will be able to undertake formative tasks that reflect the summative assessments. This includes but is not limited to working through a similar clinical case, completing a practice reflection and constructive peer feedback activities, working through clinical cases using the pharmacogenomics database and undertaking patient education on novel therapeutics. All of these activities and associated feedback are designed to engage you with the content and prepare you for assessments.
Post-submission feedback will also be provided either through canvas or a scheduled feedback session on summative assessment tasks.
Assessment
Overview
There are three pieces of assessment to be completed in this unit. Each task is designed to assess particular learning outcomes.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Case study
Acting as a practicing pharmacist and using patient data (medical history, clinical test results and communication records) you will demonstrate your research processes to identify and recommend a suitable clinical trial involving a future therapeutic or novel drug protocol for your patient.
You will conduct and document your research process, critically evaluating available clinical trials. This information will then be synthesised and communicated in the form of a professional recommendation letter addressed to a healthcare colleague. The letter should summarise relevant patient information, present the selected clinical trial, and provide a clear, evidence-based justification for your recommendation.
You are permitted to use Generative AI (GenAI) tools during the research and drafting process to assist with understanding terminology, exploring trial concepts, and structuring your communication. Upon completion, you will document the GenAI tools used, describe the tasks they supported, and explain how you verified the accuracy and reliability of the content generated.
Finally, you will submit a brief reflection outlining how GenAI contributed to your research and writing process, any limitations encountered, and where human clinical judgment was essential.
This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.
Assessment: Invigilated Exam - case review
As a practicing pharmacist serving on a hospital board, you are tasked with reviewing clinical trial recommendations for individual patients. In this assessment, you will evaluate a recommendation letter proposing the enrolment of a patient into a clinical trial, similar in format to the letter you developed in Assessment Task 1.
Your role is to critically appraise the letter and determine whether to support or oppose the recommendation, using clinical evidence to justify your decision. To assist in your evaluation, you will be provided with the selected clinical trial protocol, the patient’s medical history, relevant clinical records, and transcripts of prior consultations.
You will respond to structured questions regarding the suitability of the trial for the patient, explicitly linking your decision to the evidence provided. You will also identify any additional information that would be necessary to reach a well-informed clinical conclusion.
Assessment: Viva Voce
Acting as a practicing pharmacist, you will be asked to provide your evidence-based recommendations to a health provider regarding the use of specific medications based on pharmacogenomic data. You will have access to a pharmacogenomic database to assist in your decision making.
You will also be asked to explain a novel therapeutic to a patient - tailoring the information so as to educate them and to address any questions or concerns that they may have regarding this therapeutic. This is done in question format and not as a role play.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
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.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Although there is no set text book for this unit, the following texts and online resources have been highlighted as useful references. Additional journal articles and video material will also be supplied on Canvas throughout the course of this unit.
Resource Materials
Recommended text(s)
AusDI: evidence based medicines information resource for Australian practice. St Leonards, NSW: Phoenix Medical Publishing; 2014. http://libguides.library.qut.edu.au/databases/ausdi
Australian Medicines Handbook, current edition, Adelaide: AMH Pty Ltd.
Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: https://www.anzctr.org.au
Cancer Clinical trials: https://www.australiancancertrials.gov.au
National statement on ethical conduct in human research. National Health and Medical Research Council Canberra, https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/national-statement-ethical-conduct-human-research-2007-updated-2018
The Merck Manual (current edition), Merck Research Laboratories, Whitehorse Station
Therapeutic Guidelines. http://www.tg.org.au/
eMIMS (current edition), St Leonards, NSW: MIMS Australia, CMPMedica Australia Pty Limited. http://www.mims.com.au/
Other
ClinPGx knowledge base (formally PhamGKb): https://www.clinpgx.org
ClinicalTrials.gov International database: https://clinicaltrials.gov
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.CS47 Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours)
- Understand and apply knowledge of the health care consumer: person-centred care promoting wellness, person and societal good, prevention of poor health outcomes and harm, treating disease.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO4, Case study, Invigilated Exam - case review - 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: ULO1, ULO4, Case study, Invigilated Exam - case review - Provide tailored information, advice and documentation using a range of communication modes including written, verbal, non-verbal and digital.
Relates to: ULO3, Case study, Invigilated Exam - case review, Viva Voce - Demonstrate knowledge and skills in research and inquiry through questioning and critique, appreciating the complexity and ambiguity of professional practice, using research processes and synthesis to disseminate and apply outcomes in practice.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, ULO3, ULO4, Case study, Invigilated Exam - case review, Viva Voce - Access, use, adapt and share information and/or other technologies to meet current and emerging needs of professional practice.
Relates to: ULO1, Case study