LQB301 Medical Microbiology and Infection Control

Unit Outline: Semester 1 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

Infectious agents continue to be an important cause of human morbidity and mortality in the healthcare system, while also posing an occupational risk for healthcare professionals. In your clinical practice as a healthcare professional, a broad knowledge and understanding of infectious diseases is fundamental to developing strategies to reduce the risk of transmission and infection-associated sequelae in the community and in healthcare facilities through prevention, control and treatment of infectious diseases. This introductory unit provides you with foundational knowledge on the range of infectious agents affecting human health and disease, alongside the methods used to limit the growth and transmission of microbial pathogens. This foundational knowledge underpins the practical experience you will gain in dealing with infectious agents in your subsequent clinical practice units of your degree.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Define the links in the chain of infection and describe infection control principles and practices utilised to interrupt each link in the chain.
2. Describe the diverse groups of infectious agents associated with the human body, the impact of specific infectious agents on human health, and the body's responses to pathogens.
3. Research and interpret the signs and symptoms of disease, the transmission of infectious diseases, and the appropriate infection prevention and control procedures to employ for a specific pathogens and modes of transmission.
4. Effectively communicate and share knowledge of medical microbiology and infection prevention and control concepts in collaborative healthcare contexts.

Content

Learning Approaches

The content for this unit will be delivered using a blended learning model to support your construction of knowledge and understanding of the unit content in a contextually relevant way. The learning opportunities for this unit include a series of  interactive modules, workshops, and practical and virtual laboratory activities. Lessons include a variety of constructive learning approaches:  (i) problem-based learning activities; (ii) hands-on activities; and (iii) question and answer based student-led sessions. A major component of the teaching and learning in this unit will be the use of patient case scenarios, allowing you to explore real-world examples of infectious diseases in patients and, through problem-solving exercises, evaluate the role of the chain of infection as a model for preventing disease transmission to at-risk populations, and to develop the appropriate infection prevention, control, and treatment strategies for managing patients. Laboratory classes will involve hands-on experiments to identify different sources of infectious agents, transmission routes for infectious agents, case studies to assess host susceptibility, and interpretation of the susceptibility of different infectious agents to antimicrobial agents. Content in this unit is centred around the chain of infection. Student learning will be further enhanced by the provision of ongoing formative assessment and revision questions on the unit's Canvas site. A team teaching approach will be adopted in this unit.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Throughout the semester you will be provided with feedback on your learning by participating in formative assessment items and discussing them with the teaching staff and your peers. Immediate feedback on your own progress can be obtained by completing the self-directed learning activities available to you on Canvas, where available. Written feedback on summative assessment items will be provided and you should use this feedback to identify areas you might need to focus your learning. General comments on each assessment item will also be provided in-class.

Assessment

Overview

Summative assessment

This unit will employ two major assessment items including (i) a practical infection control assessment; and (ii) an invigilated exam. The practical infection control assessment will evaluate your ability to apply the basic principles of infectious diseases epidemiology and infection prevention and control to understand and inform other healthcare professionals of relevant information required for successfully interrupting the links in the chain of infection. The written exam assessment will measure your general knowledge of infectious diseases of the human body, including your ability to critically analyse and interpret information from practical activities and patient health data.

To gauge your progress in these topics and determine whether your learning strategies are appropriate, you will be provided with formative revision questions, similar to those found in the written assessments.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment activities and questions will be available on the unit Canvas site in the form of multiple choice quizzes and short answer and case study-style questions. Additional formative questions and activities may also be made available in lectures and tutorials.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Practical infection control

This assessment is aligned with activities in the PC2 laboratory.

You are a healthcare worker tasked with training new staff in infection control to ensure safe practice. To prepare for this role, you will perform a series of experiments in the laboratory to evaluate nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus, and hand hygiene and surface disinfection efficacy. You will critically evaluate your experimental results and leverage these to create an infection control risk assessment for the infection control team within a healthcare setting. The aim of the risk assessment is to ensure that new staff understand and can meet the infection control standards established in the professional competency framework by effectively interrupting links in the chain of infection.

Your risk assessment will include images captured in the laboratory, and description and discussion of your results, the details of which will be outlined in the laboratory sessions and in the assessment task sheet on Canvas. The assessment will be submitted via Canvas.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Assessment: Final Examination

Examines your understanding of the role of infectious agents in human health and disease via multiple choice, short answer, and case study style questions.

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

Practicals will require personal protective equipment supplied by each student:
1. Laboratory Gown - Rear fastening 100% cotton or polyester/cotton mix
2. Safety eye protection glasses - selected and used in accordance with Australian Safety Standards
3. Fully enclosed non-slip shoes

Costs

Cost of lab gowns and safety protection glasses are the students responsibility.

Resources

Resource Materials

Recommended text(s)

Lee G & Bishop P (Current edition) Microbiology and Infection Control for Health Professionals, Prentice Hall.

Other

LQB301 Learning and teaching manual

Risk Assessment Statement

This unit includes a laboratory component. You will be trained in the handling of equipment, materials and specimens normally associated with this discipline. You are required to view a Health & Safety Induction video and complete an online health and safety quiz prior to being permitted into the laboratory, to access please follow this link Health & Safety Induction. A passing score of 10/10 is required and will be checked prior to entry to the first laboratory session. You may repeat the quiz until this score is achieved. You are also referred to the Faculty of Health's Health & Safety Web Site for further information.

If you have an underlying health condition you are encouraged to consult the lecturer in charge of the unit, as you may be required to take additional precautions on occasions.

Course Learning Outcomes

CS43 Bachelor of Paramedic Science

1. Apply scientific knowledge and skills from paramedicine and related disciplines that focus on the needs and holistic care of the individual.
   Relates to: Practical infection control, Final Examination
2. Perform reflective and safe evidence-based paramedic practice, that informs clinical decision-making across diverse paramedic care settings.
   Relates to: Practical infection control, Final Examination
3. Access, evaluate, and utilise digital health information that informs holistic paramedic care and assists in intra- and inter-professional communication and clinical decision-making.
   Relates to: Final Examination
4. Develop and apply critical thinking and clinical reasoning and evaluation skills, that promote and achieve person-centred care.
   Relates to: Practical infection control, Final Examination

CS47 Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours)

1. 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: ULO2, ULO3, Practical infection control, Final Examination
2. Demonstrate expertise in knowledge of medicines, including knowledge of the drug substance and drug action: sources, properties and actions of medicinal substances.
   Relates to: ULO2, ULO3, Practical infection control, Final Examination
3. Communicate and collaborate with a socially and culturally diverse range of people on interpersonal and interprofessional levels.
   Relates to: ULO4
4. 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: ULO4
5. Demonstrate quality use of medicines including actions and recommendations for safe, rational and cost-effective use and management, prescribing, and medication reviews.
   Relates to: ULO2, ULO3, Practical infection control, Final Examination