XNB178 Real-World Skills for Exercise Professionals
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: | XNB178 |
|---|---|
| Equivalent(s): | XNB173 |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
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| CSP student contribution | $1,192 |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $4,704 |
| International unit fee | $4,848 |
Unit Outline: Semester 1 2026, Kelvin Grove, Internal
| Unit code: | XNB178 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Equivalent: | XNB173 |
| Coordinator: | Craig McNulty | c.mcnulty@qut.edu.au |
Overview
This unit explores the scope of practice for exercise scientists, sports scientists, and clinical exercise physiologists, providing a foundation in professional skills and evidence-based practice. In this unit, you will explore career pathways, gain essential skills in evidence-based practice, communication, critical thinking, health assessment competencies, and professionalism.
Through real-world case studies, industry-relevant tasks, and collaborative activities, you will develop professional responsibilities, evidence-based decision-making, and career readiness. By the end of the unit, you will have key skills in communication, teamwork, and professional reflection, enabling you to apply evidence-based strategies, exercise and health skill competencies, engage with professional networks, and navigate career opportunities in exercise and sports science.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Identify and describe the profession, scope of practice and skill competencies required for successful practice within the profession.
- Explore your own self identity and how this fits within the profession.
- Examine research evidence and evaluate digital technologies relevant to exercise science, considering their application to professional practice.
- Communicate exercise science knowledge through verbal and written means in both an academic and practice context.
- Recognise and apply foundational exercise science skill competencies to safely and appropriately conduct health and fitness assessments.
Content
This unit is delivered across three learning modules.
Module 1: Professional Identity
- The first module explores professional identity within the exercise science, sports science and clinical exercise physiology professions and how these professions connect with other allied health and sports professions.
- You will learn about scope of practice, career pathways, and the sub-disciplines of exercise science, skill competencies relevant to the various career pathways and what it is to be a reflective practitioner.
Module 2: Evidence-Based Professional Practice
- The second module explores the role of research in informing practice guidelines.
- It will introduce you to evidence based practice, types of research, how to collect evidence, critical evaluation of evidence and research quality.
Module 3: Professional Skills: Health and Fitness Assessment
- The third module will introduce you to some of the foundational skills of the exercise science profession.
- These foundational skills will focus on communication and teamwork skills, basic health and fitness assessment skills, interpretation skills, and cultural awareness and safety skills.
Learning Approaches
Workshops will offer opportunities to discuss, apply, and reinforce key concepts through practical activities, case studies, and group work. These learning experiences will develop analytical, reflective, and professional reporting skills, essential for working in health and athletic performance professions. You will explore digital resources, including online modules, research databases, and interactive learning tools, to support skill development in literature searching, evidence-based practice, and clinical decision-making. The unit also incorporates digital collaboration platforms, enabling peer-to-peer interaction and engagement with industry-relevant digital practices.
Throughout this unit, feedback loops will be embedded to provide ongoing guidance, ensuring that you can refine your skills in research, report writing, health and athlete assessments, and professional communication. You will have access to library-led/SSG/Studiosity research workshops/platforms etc. to develop your core academic skills and provide same day formative feedback.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Feedback is an integral part of your learning in this unit and will be provided at multiple stages throughout the semester to support your academic and professional skill development. You will receive both formative and summative feedback to help you reflect on your progress and refine your skills.
Feedback in this unit is provided in the following ways:
- verbal and/or written feedback on each piece of formative and summative assessment during the semester;
- weekly verbal feedback opportunities from both peers and the teaching team during interactive workshops/tutorials, allowing you to refine your understanding in real time
- Criteria sheet grading;
- Comments on summative assessment work in addition to criteria sheets; and
- Generic comments back to the cohort via QUT Canvas.
You are encouraged to communicate with the unit coordinator or unit tutor if you have any questions or concerns about the assessment items.
Assessment
Overview
General Assessment Information
Each assessment item is designed to measure your knowledge and mastery of professional skills stated in the learning outcomes.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Reflection on the Profession
You will be required to demonstrate your understanding of your profession, where you see your position within the profession, identify important skills that will be required for professional practice.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details page for specific guidelines.
Assessment: Literature Review
Literature Review of Exercise Science Practice: You will collect research evidence around an aspect of exercise science practice. The research information will be collected through a systematic process and synthesised in the form of a literature review. You will also need to reference material gathered throughout the literature review.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details page for specific guidelines.
Assessment: Practical demonstration
You will complete a practical examination, demonstrating your competency in exercise, health, and athlete assessments within a real-world consultation scenario. This includes engaging with a client, explaining procedures, obtaining consent, conducting assessments, providing feedback, and concluding the session professionally. Oral questions will assess your understanding of theoretical concepts related to the practical tasks.
The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools is NOT authorised during this assessment. Unauthorised use may be treated as a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and appropriate penalties imposed.
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
Resource Materials
Prescribed text(s)
Coombes, J. and Skinner, T. (2022). ESSA's student manual for health exercise and sport assessment (2nd edition). Elsevier.
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no-out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with this unit. You will be invited to participate in health and fitness assessments within this unit. You will complete and conduct the standard exercise pre-screening tool to ensure the participant is safe to participate in the activity. Guidelines for test termination will also be followed as outline by the American College of Sports Medicine.