Unit Outline

This unit provides a comprehensive introduction to contemporary healthcare quality and safety with a focus on patient centered care. Students will explore the various definitions of healthcare quality and safety, and the foundations of patient safety and quality improvement design within the healthcare arena and their own individual practice. Using quality and safety as a framework, students will examine trends in critical incidents in healthcare that result in adverse outcomes for patients. Applying methods to assess the delivery of quality patient-centred care and critically appraising work practices on an individual level will provide a basis for identifying current gaps in quality and safety. This unit also introduces assessment tools and analytic methods for quality and safety in healthcare and the role of organisational change preparing for successful initiatives in the workplace intended to improve quality and safety. “Good care is more than the absence of bad” (Balding, 2013)

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.	Describe the various definitions of, and national and international frameworks supporting, healthcare quality and safety, and how they relate to current practice in healthcare systems;
2.	Apply theory, improvement methodologies and patient-centred frameworks to health system improvement problems;
3.	Discuss the importance and relevance of developing quality and safety initiatives, and how poor clinical governance and leadership systems can compromise patient safety;
4.	Identify and describe relevant assessment tools, data collection methods and analytical processes for quality and safety improvement in the health workplace;
5.	Appraise the critical roles of the organisation, the individual practitioner and the patient in quality and safety in healthcare.

Alterations as a result of student feedback

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Discussion Board Contributions	Week 4	20 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 2:	Online Quizzes	Week 6	10 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
Assessment Task 3:	Reflective Report	Week 8	35 %	LO3, LO4, LO5
Assessment Task 4:	Critique	Week 13	35 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Discussion Board Contributions

Task Description:

Discussion Board Contributions

Task Length:

600 words

Due Date:

Week 4

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Demonstrated understanding of an identified issue relating to healthcare quality and safety	LO1, LO2
2	Reference to own practice and organisation	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
3	Ability to communicate effectively with appropriate referencing	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment Task 2: Online Quizzes

Task Description:

2 online quizzes (5% each)

Task Length:

30 minutes (online)

Due Date:

Week 6

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply fundamental healthcare quality and safety principles to provide correct answers to multiple choice questions	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5

Assessment Task 3: Reflective Report

Task Description:

Reflective Report

Task Length:

2000 words

Due Date:

Week 8

Weight:

35 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Discuss and critically evaluate the use of quality and safety methodologies and evaluation theories	LO3, LO4, LO5
2	Identify and clearly articulate gaps in the evaluation, using supporting literature	LO3, LO4, LO5
3	Communicate effectively with appropriate referencing (written and/or verbal delivery)	LO3, LO4, LO5

Assessment Task 4: Critique

Task Description:

Critique

Task Length:

2000 words

Due Date:

Week 13

Weight:

35 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Demonstrated understanding of quality and safety in the workplace and its relevance to health service innovation, and references to relevant literature	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
2	Articulate the transfer of knowledge to own workplace taking into consideration issues of leadership, potential barriers and strategies to overcome these; and references to relevant literature	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
3	Communicate effectively with appropriate referencing (written and/or verbal delivery)	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

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.