CSH548 Podiatric Medicine 6 for Honours

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

This unit is a work integrated learning (WIL) unit in which you will complete clinical placements in the QUT Podiatry Clinic. In this final year honours unit, you will demonstrate proficiency in integrating and synthesising advanced knowledge, practical, clinical and problem-solving skills acquired across the course. Your clinical decisions should be person centered, culturally responsive, and informed by ethical and legal frameworks and evidence-based medicine. National and international medical, pharmacological and podiatric perspectives guide the design, implementation and evaluation of complex patient management plans. You will demonstrate competencies at a level expected of a new graduate and commensurate with AHPRA's Professional Capabilities for Podiatrists, professional guidelines and codes of conduct.

Please note that mandatory elements may start in Orientation week. 

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. Conduct safe and effective person-centred assessments, generate diagnoses and implement treatment solutions in alignment with relevant ethical, legislative and regulatory frameworks
2. Analyse and interpret complex information from patient history, assessments and sociocultural context, integrating clinical guidelines and best available evidence to inform clinical decision making
3. Collaborate effectively with other healthcare team members, demonstrating ethical and respectful interprofessional communication
4. Establish therapeutic partnerships in the negotiation of person-centred and culturally responsive management plans with patients from diverse backgrounds
5. Apply critical thinking and continuously reflect on professional experiences to identify own strengths and limitations, integrating feedback from various sources for independent lifelong learning

Content

Learning Approaches

This unit includes on-campus Work Integrated Learning activities at the QUT Health Clinic and QUT orthoses manufacturing laboratory equipped with computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacture digital technologies reflective of current industry standards. Clinical rotations will include general, paediatric, musculoskeletal, high risk foot, aged care and surgical clinics. 

You will engage in learning during your clinical placement activities via compilation of a clinical logbook. You will perform a self-audit of performance against relevant professional capabilities for podiatrists, in consultation with staff, to guide reflective practice on your studies in this unit.

This unit requires compulsory attendance at on-campus and off-campus clinical placements (140 hours), and any absence from clinical placements will reduce the opportunity for development of your professional capabilities. Where absence is due to special or unforeseeable circumstances independently supported by documentation (e.g. medical certificate), make-up clinical placement days will be facilitated wherever possible. In certain circumstances, involving a substantial number of missed clinical hours, you may be advised to seek withdrawal from the unit without academic penalty.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Formative feedback on your progress in this unit will include staff reflection on your achievement of skills with reference to the professional capabilities for podiatrists. Feedback will occur on a weekly basis via your Logbook in consultation with your clinical supervisors, who will provide direction and suggestions for improvement of your performance in preparation for the final Placement Performance assessment. During practical sessions in the orthoses manufacturing laboratory, you will be provided with feedback relating to hands-on orthotic prescription, design and manufacture techniques using industry-relevant digital technologies in the management of podiatric conditions.

Assessment

Overview

This unit has two assessment items that will allow you to demonstrate achievement of the unit learning outcomes. The first item of assessment is your Placement Performance and Logbook. The Logbook will be continuously compiled throughout the semester as you manage patients in the QUT Health Clinics, and will be submitted alongside your final Placement Performance assessment at the end of semester. Secondly you will undertake an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) which will enable you to demonstrate clinical decision-making and safe practice via a range of standardised clinical scenarios.

Threshold assessment conditions

In this unit, for you to be eligible to receive a passing grade, threshold assessment conditions apply. See individual assessment items below for more detail.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Placement Performance and Logbook

You will be assessed on one to two occasions of patient assessment and treatment, integrating advanced knowledge and skills in podiatric medicine and therapeutics. You will be required to articulate the clinical reasoning underpinning your assessment, diagnoses and management strategies, with reference to relevant clinical guidelines and best available evidence. You will also submit a log of clinical activities throughout the semester. In your logbook you will document completion of the required number of clinical hours (140 hours) and this will also be recorded in InPlace. 

Threshold Assessment:

In order to receive a grade for this assessment item, fulfilment of all clinical hours must be documented in your logbook and you must achieve the minimum pass level as indicated by a criterion-referenced assessment rubric mapped to AHPRA’s professional capabilities for podiatrists. You will be eligible for one reattempt at the minimum pass level, only when your achieved mark/grade is within 10% (or 1 grade) of the pass level. You are advised to seek feedback on your performance from the unit coordinator prior to the reattempt. 

Assessment: Objective Structured Clinical Examination

You will be assessed on your ability to analyse and interpret patient history, diagnostic and physical examination findings, demonstrating sound decision-making and safe practice in standardised clinical scenarios, including application of ethical and legal frameworks, risk management and inter-professional referral pathways. You will be required to integrate knowledge and skills from your studies across the curriculum.

Threshold Assessment:

Threshold conditions apply to this assessment item. If you do not achieve satisfactory performance on at least 4 out of 6 stations, you will be permitted one reattempt at the minimum pass level, only when your achieved grade is within 1 grade of the pass level for the assessment item. You are advised to seek feedback on your submission from the unit coordinator prior to your reattempt. 

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

The Health Work Integrated Learning Support (WILS) team supports checking of mandatory documentation required for all student clinical placements.

Failure to comply with these requirements will result in your exclusion from clinical activities:

• Blue Card: 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 refer to QUT Blue cards.
• Vaccine Preventable Diseases Evidence: It is a mandatory requirement for students to be vaccinated against a number of vaccine preventable diseases. For more information, please refer to Faculty of Health's website at Practicum and clinical placement costs and requirements.
• Practicum and clinical placement costs and requirements: Documentation needs to be provided to the Work Integrated Learning, before the commencement of clinical placements.
• First Aid Certificate: You are required to have a current Senior First Aid certificate before you begin your podiatry placement. There are a variety of First Aid certificate courses that are delivered by approved providers and duly authorised under the Ambulance Service Act 1991.

All documentation needs to be provided to Work Integrated Learning Support (via InPlace) before the commencement of clinical placements. 

You will be required to disclose specific personal or medical information where:

• A medical condition or medication use may increase the risk of injury to yourself or others (e.g. use of sedative medications or communicable disease),
• Adjustments may be required for a disability, injury, health condition or pregnancy (e.g. access to facilities, manual tasks such as scalpel work or orthosis fabrication, working with chemicals),
• Specific religious or cultural requirements need to be considered (e.g. clothing which may interfere with safe use of equipment)

Please seek advice about disclosure from your disability advisor. Refer to Disability Services homepage for information.

Further information
Further information regarding WIL policies and procedures, such as health and safety, risk management, confidentiality, intellectual property, disclosure and insurance, are available via the following QUT Health student placements website.  

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

Estimated course costs for Bachelor of Podiatry (Honours): $1000-$1500

Hepatitis B, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Varicella, Pertussis, COVID-19 and flu vaccinations, in addition to uniform and suitable footwear, First Aid and CPR Certificate that includes AED (Automated External Defibrillation) and anaphylaxis training, blue card and podiatry instruments kit.

Resources

Resource Materials

Safety and protective equipment

QUT Health Clinics uniform and suitable footwear that complies with uniform policy.

Other

Podiatry instruments kit

Risk Assessment Statement

This unit will involve lab-based and clinic-based sessions in on campus clinic facilities. You will be required to attend a mandatory induction session in Orientation week and/or at the commencement of the semester, where the safety precautions to be observed while working in the labs and clinic will be outlined. You are required to read the Clinic Policies and Procedures documents, and sign forms indicating that you have read and understood the material contained in these manuals. Please direct any questions regarding safe working procedures to the unit coordinator. Protective clothing outlined in the Policies and Procedures documentation must be worn at all times in the laboratories (e.g. face mask, goggles/face shield, lab coat) along with closed in footwear and the clinic uniform during all clinic sessions. This unit involves contact with patients, and risks associated with the clinical environment (e.g. scalpel injury and exposure to patients with a blood borne virus) are outlined in the policies and procedures manuals for podiatry students. You are expected to comply with these procedures and guidelines at all times.