CSB364 Transition to Paramedic Practice (Capstone)

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

CSB364 consolidates course key concepts, knowledge, skills and attributes required for safe, competent, and professional practice as a graduand paramedic. This unit integrates and synthesises previous clinical and scientific support units, drawing upon concepts, principles and theories developed through your studies to promote effective clinical practice and holistic patient centred care in the simulated and work-integrated learning environment. You will have the opportunity to develop and demonstrate your knowledge and professional skills including critical reflection, clinical decision making, as well as technical and non-technical skills necessary for paramedicine. This will be conducted in a real-world learning environment supported by experienced clinicians in preparation for your final work integrated learning experience.

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. Demonstrate safe and effective clinical reasoning skills in the development and application of evidence-informed and person-centred clinical management plans.
2. Provide clear, concise and adaptable culturally safe communication skills with the patient and their significant others, to facilitate effective ongoing healthcare for people in diverse settings.
3. Demonstrate culturally safe practices when providing healthcare services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
4. Demonstrate an ethical approach that is respectful of socio-cultural difference, and provide care that is empathetic and non-discriminatory, regardless of individuals’ or groups’ race, culture, religion, age, gender identity, sexuality, physical or mental state.
5. Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to ensure the effective continuum of patient care is provided, including documentation, handover and referral techniques across paramedic care settings and agencies.
6. Critically reflect on your practice to evaluate your clinical decision-making skills and experiences to identify strengths and areas for improvement to enhance your paramedic practice to mitigate clinical error and ensure patient safety.

Content

Learning Approaches

CSB364 is a combination of case-based learning (CBL) activities and a supported blended learning environment. In CSB364 you will be exposed to an array of integrated and increasingly complex CBL activities where you will have the opportunity to consolidate key concepts learnt through your course of study. The CBL activities are facilitated through high-fidelity simulations and structured reflective debriefs. Case-based learning fosters a reflexive learning environment preparing students to work in diverse settings and multidisciplinary teams in the paramedic care context. These collaborative and real-world learning activities, supported by experienced clinicians, will prepare you to transfer your knowledge and clinical decision-making skills into the work integrated clinical environment.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Feedback is provided in the following ways:

• Opportunity to receive formative feedback exist during all learning activities.
• Verbal, formative feedback is provided during and after clinical simulation activities.
• Verbal, formative feedback is provided throughout the work-integrated learning experience. If additional feedback is required, students should attend university learning activities and/or contact the unit coordinator.
• In addition to the assessment marking rubrics, specific feedback is provided on summative assessment items.
• General feedback on summative assessments is provided during learning activities and/or via Canvas.

Assessment

Overview

There are three (3) pieces of assessment to be completed in this unit. Each assessment item must be completed to a satisfactory standard to achieve an overall passing grade in this unit.

Special Conditions of Assessment
As this is a designated work-integrated learning unit, students must demonstrate safe practice in a simulated learning environment and the paramedic care setting. As such, special conditions apply to the assessment items as outlined below.

Please note:

• Where the assessment type is a placement performance (eg Work-integrated learning) and the result is unsatisfactory, the student will not receive a resubmission attempt and an unsatisfactory grade will result.

Safety and orientation workshop

Prior to the work-integrated learning component, compulsory attendance at a safety and orientation workshop is required. Failure to attend the safety and orientation workshop will result in removal from the work-integrated learning component and an unsatisfactory grade for the placement performance assessment item.

Unit Grading Scheme

S (Satisfactory) / U (Unsatisfactory)

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Written reflection and clinical artifact: 

As a final-year paramedic student preparing for your practical exam and clinical placement, you will engage in a simulation exercise acting as the primary care paramedic to synthesise and apply a holistic clinical management plan. From this simulation, you will gain a video artifact conducive to reflective analysis and enhancing your holistic clinical management skills. You will then compose a patient care report to facilitate clear and concise transmission of clinical data to another healthcare practitioner to facilitate effective continuum of healthcare. Your patient care report must be detailed and concise and demonstrate your proficiency in conveying crucial patient information within professional healthcare settings.  

Subsequently, you will produce a reflection to evaluate your clinical decision-making skills and experiences to identify strengths and areas for improvement to enhance your paramedic practice in an attempt mitigate clinical error and ensure patient safety. Your reflection will utilise the Ahpra Professional Capabilities for Registered Paramedics (or equivalent competency standards - i.e. HCPC) to demonstrate the alignment between your current practice and professional paramedic practice.  

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension. 

Assessment: Examination (practical)

This practical assessment allows you to demonstrate your holistic and evidence informed clinical management practices, integrating your technical and non-technical skills in conjunction with your clinical decision-making abilities. It seeks to gauge your ability to synthesise various elements of paramedic practice into cohesive and effective strategies for managing emergency and non-emergency situations in a culturally safe manner. 

Threshold Assessment:

Students must achieve a satisfactory result for this assessment item to receive an overall S (satisfactory) grade for the unit.

Where a student receives an unsatisfactory result for an assessment task, they may receive one (1) resubmission attempt. To receive a resubmission attempt, a student must meet all of the following criteria:

1. The student is not eligible for a deferred assessment (MOPP E/6.3.8);
2. The student demonstrated a meaningful first attempt; AND
3. The assessment is not a placement (work-integrated learning) performance assessment type.

Where a resubmission attempt is approved, students are advised to seek feedback on their initial submission or performance from the unit coordinator prior to the resubmission.

Assessment: In-field Assessment

During your six-week work-integrated learning placement, you will function as a third team member within a Queensland Ambulance Service paramedic crew. Clinical supervisors will provide feedback utilising the QUT APPCAT tool aligned with the Paramedicine Board of Australia Professional Capabilities for Registered Paramedics. This feedback will focus on evaluating your proficiency in various domains, including but not limited to, professional and interpersonal communication and behaviours, holistic paramedic practice as well as your aptitude for problem-solving and clinical decision making for emergency and non-emergency cases.  Additionally, you will produce and submit 2 SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals that that have been informed by your simulation or real-world experience, to facilitate skill enhancement and professional development throughout the clinical placement duration.

Threshold Assessment:

Students must achieve a satisfactory result for this assessment item to receive an overall S (satisfactory) grade for the unit. As this assessment type is a placement performance (eg Work-integrated learning), where a result is unsatisfactory, the student will not receive a resubmission attempt and an unsatisfactory grade will result.

Safety and orientation workshop

Prior to the work-integrated learning component, compulsory attendance at a safety and orientation workshop is required. Failure to attend the safety and orientation workshop will result in removal from the work-integrated learning component and an unsatisfactory grade for the placement performance assessment item.

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

Students must successfully complete the following before commencing their first clinical placement:

1. Mandatory requirements as outlined by the Queensland Ambulance Service (https://www.ambulance.qld.gov.au/clinicalplacements.html) / placement organisation/agency and QUT.
2. Provide evidence of current apply first aid (HLTAID002) and provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (HLTAID001) certificates (or higher). Certificates must be from a nationally recognised training provider.

Mandatory safety requirements

QUT Paramedic Science Student placement uniform and safety kit required for previous placements.

If necessary, please register via this link https://www.whatsinaname.net.au/my-account/ to order replacement uniform or safety kit items.

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 costs associated with placements; including, but not limited to, travel, accommodation, incidentals, uniform, safety equipment, and clinical placement provider mandatory requirements.

Resources

Risk Assessment Statement

You will be required to undertake simulated exercises as part of your practice and Appraisal/Evaluation. This will involve exposure to medical sharps, defibrillators and may involve lifting. Before commencing this unit you should review and practise the industry occupational health and safety guidelines that protect qualified staff and students in day-to-day practice. Out of hospital care can be hazardous. You are required to work as part of an operational crew responding to emergency 000 calls. There is regular exposure to high speed driving, body fluids, medical sharps, defibrillators and sometimes aggressive patients in the off campus phase of the unit. Your clinical practice is supervised at all time during the placement component of this unit and the QUT student paramedic uniform and appropriate personal protective equipment as purchased from 'What's in a Name' (www.whatsinaname.net.au) or other advised supplier must be worn during this placement.

Course Learning Outcomes

CS43 Bachelor of Paramedic Science

1. Perform reflective and safe evidence-based paramedic practice, that informs clinical decision-making across diverse paramedic care settings.
   Relates to: Examination (practical), In-field Assessment
2. 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: Written reflection and clinical artifact:  , In-field Assessment
3. Develop and apply critical thinking and clinical reasoning and evaluation skills, that promote and achieve person-centred care.
   Relates to: Written reflection and clinical artifact:  , In-field Assessment
4. Practice and promote the qualities of ethical conduct, social inclusivity, reflexivity and reflection, and bearing responsibility for risk management and quality assurance across a range of community settings.
   Relates to: In-field Assessment
5. Practice within a framework of human rights and cultural safety, acknowledging intersectionality, and the inalienable right to culture, values, and beliefs.
   Relates to: In-field Assessment
6. Communicate appropriately and with sensitivity to all persons, their families, carers, interprofessional teams and community leaders, to professional standards, both independently and collaboratively, to ensure safe and coordinated care, based on consensual agreement.
   Relates to: Examination (practical), In-field Assessment