LQB786 Work Integrated Learning Internship 2

Unit Outline: Semester 1 2024, Gardens Point, Internal

Overview

In the first semester of final year you will undertake an eight (8) week work integrated learning internship split across two units, four (4) weeks for LQB783 and four (4) weeks for LQB786. This experience will provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate you have acquired the graduate capabilities highly valued by employers, including discipline specific knowledge and practical skills.  You will complete your internship in a recognised local, national or international laboratory, and may also elect to complete part in a research or associated allied health laboratory. These Capstone units assume learning from your first three years of study and will prepare you for work in a diagnostic clinical pathology laboratory. It will also place you in direct contact with potential employers, and allow you to interact, learn from and work alongside experienced medical laboratory scientists.

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 higher order thinking and analytical skills in priority areas for medical laboratory scientists including technical operations, disease diagnosis, ongoing patient care, monitoring and management, and medical research;
2. Integrate theory and practice associated with the diagnostic clinical pathology workplace operation, practice and culture;
3. Apply knowledge of the ethical behaviours required in the workplace and at QUT with respect to good laboratory practice and the use of patients' personal information in a confidential and sensitive manner;
4. Locate, interpret and communicate your experience(s) and knowledge in spoken, written and online/digital contexts for a range of purposes and audiences;
5. Work independently in the workplace as well as collaborate/contribute in a team environment, including the ability to provide and receive peer evaluation and feedback in a manner appropriate for the workplace and your ongoing studies at QUT.

Content

Learning Approaches

Your learning in the workplace will be experiential and you will be supervised and mentored by suitably qualified laboratory staff and practicing medical laboratory scientists. To get the most out of your internship you should fully engage and contribute to the day-to-day operations of your laboratory. This will allow you to demonstrate and further develop your knowledge and skills by applying your capacity to analyse and problem-solve, work independently and as part of a team. You will also be inducted into the health and safety regulations/practices, organisational procedures and operational protocols of the laboratory at the start of your internship, and are reminded it is critical that you demonstrate good laboratory practice and appropriate ethical and workplace behaviours at all times, e.g. workplace health and safety and patient privacy/confidentiality.

Your internship, which is covered by QUT work experience insurance, may be completed at a public and/or private pathology laboratory in a metropolitan, rural or remote location. You may also elect to undertake part of your internship in a research, allied discipline or international laboratory and are encouraged to discuss this with the Unit Coordinator as early as possible before or after enrolling in this unit.

All internships are arranged by QUT in consultation with partner laboratories, and you will be invited to apply for your preferred discipline using 'In Place', which will be assigned to you wherever possible. 'In Place' will be available in Virtual under the Study tab once you are enrolled in the unit. All students should note, the location, availability and number of internships changes from year to year, and if the positions available in metropolitan Brisbane are not sufficient, you may be required to travel and complete your internship outside of Brisbane. Opportunities for funding support (e.g. for travel, petrol, accommodation, internet access, rent, other expenses), also change from year to year and will be communicated to you during your orientation for the internship.

The unit integrates face-to-face learning with enriched online learning experiences. The LQB786 Canvas site is used to convey resource material and broadcast timely messages and alerts to engage learners at key milestones. Via Canvas you will also complete online modules and receive access to learning materials.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Throughout your internship you will receive ongoing formative feedback on your application of theory and practical skills in the workplace, and your overall performance in the laboratory from your supervising scientists and colleagues.
You will also be provided with the opportunity to give your feedback on your experiences and learning in this unit. Your feedback and suggestions will be used to modify the unit where appropriate to improve the learning outcomes for you and future students.

Assessment

Overview

Your final grade for this unit will be graded as Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U). To obtain an overall pass you must achieve a Satisfactory result for all of your assessment tasks, i.e. your Oral Presentation, Workbook and Internship Performance. If you receive a result of Unsatisfactory (U) for your Oral Presentation you will be required to represent your case study in the workplace at a time convenient to the laboratory where you were allocated.  If you receive an Unsatisfactory (U) result for your Workbook or Internship Performance, you will attend a meeting with the LQB786 Unit Coordinator, LS47 Course Coordinator, and appropriate clinical academic  within (10) days of receiving your final result. At that meeting you will reflect and discuss your result and the circumstances surrounding the assessment task. You will also have the opportunity to present your case to resubmit your Workbook and/or request a reassessment of your Internship Performance. This unit will normally be undertaken in the same semester as LQB783 Work Integrated Learning Internship 1 and LQB785 Transition to Professional Practice in Medical Laboratory Science.

Unit Grading Scheme

S (Satisfactory) / U (Unsatisfactory)

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Presentation (Oral)

You will prepare a 15 minute oral presentation on an interesting/unusual case study that you encounter during your placement and present it to your colleagues at a continuing professional development event at the laboratory you are attached to. Your presentation will be assessed by your supervisor and one (1) other audience member present as either S/U using marking criteria set by QUT. It must contain a background to the case and final diagnosis, and results analysis/interpretation from at least two (2) clinical disciplines of an operational pathology laboratory.

Assessment: Workbook

Throughout your internship you will be required to maintain a record of evidence of your clinical practice in the workplace, that shows you have demonstrated the skills, knowledge and responsibilities required of trainee level medical laboratory scientists.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Assessment: Placement Performance

Your supervisor will complete an evaluation of your performance in the workplace based on criteria set by QUT.

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

Blue card may be required depending on placement location.

In order to undertake your internship, all vaccinations must be up to date (including Hepatitis B). You are/were required to present provide documentary evidence of your Hepatitis B immune status at the end of the first year of your course. Students who have not yet been vaccinated or require a medical appointment to arrange testing should immediately contact the QUT Health Services Clinic http://www.healthservices.qut.edu.au.

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

• Uniform (QUT branded polo shirt)
• Vaccinations

Resources

Risk Assessment Statement

You will be inducted into the Workplace Health and Safety practices of the laboratory to which you are attached, and are required to abide and adhere to the regulations of that workplace, in addition to those set down by QUT, for which you can access details at the University's Health and Safety website http://www.hrd.qut.edu.au/healthsafety/index.

If you have any underlying health conditions, potential pregnancy or special needs, you should consult with the unit coordinator so that if required, additional precautions can be taken during your internship.