Unit Outline

CAA601 has a specific focus on paramedicine and primary health care. Patients may present in the out of hospital environment with common, acute primary health care needs. These needs can be complex due to the prevalence of chronic disease as well as the impact of social determinants of health. This unit will deepen knowledge in primary health care and provide tools to assist with assessment, patient-clinician communication and health literacy in addition to considering contemporary issues surrounding the paramedic and primary health care practice. The unit promotes a systems based model for clinical practice thus enabling a structured approach to patient assessment, clinical reasoning and development of evidence based treatment and management plans. This model integrates applied knowledge of key pathophysiological concepts, advanced pharmacology and evidence-based communication techniques. Essential skills are taught including advanced history taking, comprehensive physical examination, appropriate application of point of care testing and clinical procedures specific to common primary health care presentations.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

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


1	Discuss the application of the primary health care framework and the impact of the social determinants of health on individual patient presentations and on populations from a primary care paramedic context
2	Apply the primary care paramedic model of practice to non-emergency patient presentations
3	Apply knowledge of patient assessment and underlying pathophysiology to develop and justify differential diagnoses for some common non-emergency presentations
4	Apply evidence-based principles to inform clinical examination, clinical decision making and application of management plans for non-emergency patient presentations

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	CAA500 and CSA500

Alterations as a result of student feedback

This unit ILO’s and assessment weightings were updated as part of a three year cycle of review.

How will I be Assessed?

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
ASSESSMENT TASK 1:	ePortfolio	Week 4	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
ASSESSMENT TASK 2:	Two Quizzes	Week 7	10 %	LO1
ASSESSMENT TASK 3:	Written Case Study	Week 11	20 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
ASSESSMENT TASK 4:	Examination	Exam Period	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: ePortfolio

TASK DESCRIPTION:

ePortfolio
Students are required to complete a portfolio providing evidence of skill proficiency. The clinical skills portfolio should contain evidence of skill achievement in one of three ways, including through performance during the unit intensive, through the submission of video evidence of skill performance, or through the submission of evidence of prior competency.
DUE DATES:
Item 1: Week 4 and 5
Item 2: Week 6
Item 3: Week 9

TASK LENGTH:

1x 600 word discussion post 1 x 12 minute presentation 1x 12 minute video

DUE DATE:

Week 4

WEIGHT:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME


1	A discussion Post item containing either best online discussion post or best response to another student’s discussion post or their response.	LO1, LO3, LO4
2	Case Presentation via web conference during group tutorials.	LO1, LO3, LO4
3	Video demonstrating a focused physical examination.	LO2

Assessment Task 2: Two Quizzes

TASK DESCRIPTION:

Two quizzes will consist of 20 multi choice questions (MCQ) each, randomised from a central question bank.

Each quiz is worth 5% for a maximum of 10% of overall unit marks.
DUE DATES:
Quiz 1: Week 7
Quiz 2: Week 12

TASK LENGTH:

20 questions x 2

DUE DATE:

Week 7

WEIGHT:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME


1	Correct answers to MCQs	LO1

Assessment Task 3: Written Case Study

TASK DESCRIPTION:

Students will be given a choice between two prescribed cases, students will be required to present their chosen case in a written case study format.

TASK LENGTH:

1500 words

DUE DATE:

Week 11

WEIGHT:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME


1	Application of the PCP model to a primary health care presentation	LO1, LO2
2	Pathophysiology Aetiology and clinical picture of differential diagnoses for presenting symptom.	LO3
3	Critical analysis of application of Point of Care Testing and EBP treatment and management for a common probability diagnosis	LO4
4	Use of appropriate professional, academic and referencing conventions	LO3, LO4

Assessment Task 4: Examination

TASK DESCRIPTION:

Written examination, invigilated, during final exam period.

IMPORTANT: All communication regarding your exam, including the exam venue nomination form, will be sent to your UTAS email address. Failure to check your UTAS email address will not constitute grounds for special consideration in sitting your exam or for gaining a deferred exam, unless you can demonstrate that you have not been able to access emails due to operational deployments or other significant events. We recommend that you access your UTAS email address at least once per week to ensure you do not miss important emails. Note: Exams for this unit are not managed by the university exams office. All inquiries regarding exams for this unit should be directed to paramedic.pathways@utas.edu.au

TASK LENGTH:

3 Hours

DUE DATE:

Exam Period

WEIGHT:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME


1	Correct application of knowledge of the primary health care framework	LO1
2	Correct application of the primary care paramedic model of practice to non-emergency patient presentations	LO2
3	Correct application of evidence-based principles to inform clinical examination, clinical decision making and application of management plans for non-emergency patient presentations	LO4

How your final result is determined

Any student who attains an overall passing grade for the unit but who fails an ILO may be given a supplementary assessment opportunity to demonstrate their attainment of the relevant ILO. Your grade will be determined in the following way:
Pass (PP) 50 to 59%
Credit (CR) 60 to 69%
Distinction (DN) 70 to 79%
High Distinction (HD) 80+%

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late Penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.

Required resources

Required Reading Materials

You will need the following text:
Murtagh, J, & Rosenblatt, J 2018, Murtagh's General Practice, North Ryde, NSW: McGraw-Hill Education.
Talley, NJ, & O'Connor, S 2022, Clinical Examination: Volume One and Two. 9th Edn. Chatswood, NSW: Elsevier Australia.*
*This edition of Talley and O’Connor is available as an e-reference from the UTAS library.