Unit Outline

This unit will enhance your ability to care for people who are in the last year of their lives. You will develop skills in recognising, responding to, negotiating and facilitating appropriate care by assessing the ‘domains of distress’ experienced by the person. You will integrate your specialty knowledge of holistic assessment to achieve optimum quality of life for those requiring end-of-life care. You will also extend your knowledge and skills in communication, collaboration and complex decision making that is centred around the person, their family and caregivers. The unit will strengthen your ability to provide consultative and compassionate care and implement shared decision making that is inclusive of the person’s family, culture and community.

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.	Analyse the contemporary and sociocultural experience of dying and death and recognise when a person may be approaching end of life.
2.	Synthesise your knowledge of palliative care principles to assess the current and potential unmet needs of a person living with a life-limiting illness and respond to the associated challenges.
3.	Evaluate multidisciplinary care strategies for a person living with a life-limiting illness to optimise quality of life.
4.	Facilitate complex decision-making processes that enable the person to achieve their goals of care within the last year of life.
5.	Critically reflect on personal and professional ethical dilemmas that arise when facilitating care for a person approaching end of life.

Alterations as a result of student feedback

As part of our quality assurance activities, the following changes to this unit have been made for this 2024 iteration. Unit Intended Learning Outcomes, assessment tasks and module learning activities have been revised, updated and redeveloped following robust quality improvement processes including an external review of the unit.

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:	Online discussions and summary paper	Week 4	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	Critical review	Week 8	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
Assessment Task 3:	Care of a person approaching end of life	Week 13	40 %	LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Online discussions and summary paper

Task Description:

You are required to submit a summary paper on a selected topic or question following the discussion and engagement with your peers.

Task Length:

1200 words

Due Date:

Week 4

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Analyse key issues related to the topic.	LO1
2	Synthesise new learning that can inform your practice.	LO2
3	Evaluate your approach to end-of-life care in the light of different perspectives gained from peer discussions.	LO3

Assessment Task 2: Critical review

Task Description:

Critically review a case and respond to an ethical dilemma or challenges.

Task Length:

1200 words

Due Date:

Week 8

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Assess the case to identify end-of-life care challenges.	LO1, LO2
2	Appraise ethical implications for all those involved in decision making.	LO4, LO5
3	Articulate a response from the clinician’s perspective on how best to manage challenges for optimal care of the individual (and family).	LO3, LO4

Assessment Task 3: Care of a person approaching end of life

Task Description:

The purpose of this assessment is for you to critically reflect, using a recognised reflective model, on your role in the care of a person approaching end of life, integrating the unit's key concepts.

Task Length:

1500 words

Due Date:

Week 13

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Reflect on your professional and personal development in caring for a person approaching end of life.	LO5
2	Use evidence-informed communication strategies to facilitate care of a person approaching end of life.	LO4
3	Address unmet needs to optimise quality of life.	LO2
4	Evaluate a multidisciplinary care strategy supporting the person’s physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.	LO3

How your final result is determined

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

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.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

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

Hillman, K 2017, A good life to the end: Taking control of our inevitable journey through ageing and death, Allen & Unwin, Australia

Gawande, A., 2015, Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End, Profile Books, UK. (Available as eBook on Booktopia)