Unit Outline

This unit will focus primarily on the use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) for the treatment of medical conditions and will complement the material covered in CSA514, CSA513 and CSA516. The aim will be for you to develop knowledge concerning effective CAMs, and enable you to integrate this knowledge into your practice. This unit will take an evidence-based approach using commercially available CAM products. In situations where the available evidence is not definitive, you will learn how to effectively combine the best available evidence with sound clinical judgement in order to facilitate a sound clinical decision. CSA515 is a self-directed, fully online unit that explores a variety of disease states and their management, using a series of patient cases.

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.	acquire the much needed skill of capacity building by self-reflecting on each case and acquiring essential information on formulating and answering a clinical question using clinical evidence.
2.	apply advanced clinical knowledge and problem-solving skills to optimise the therapeutic outcomes of patients with a wide range of disease states.
3.	manage patients with complex treatment needs and make appropriate evidence-based treatment decisions aligned with individual patients priorities.
4.	communicate effectively with patients and other healthcare professionals regarding patients healthcare needs.
5.	conduct an informed risk:benefit analysis on cams (and other medicines) to inform clinical decision-making in patients.
6.	apply organisational skills in planning and managing work time and assignments

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	CSA509 AND CSA512

Alterations as a result of student feedback

In response to the feedback from previous student cohort, changes have been made which may include adjustments to assessments and alignment of some of the timelines. As always, the teaching team will greatly appreciate your feedback both informally during the delivery of the unit in 2024, and formally through the University of Tasmania’s eVALUate surveys following your completion 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:	Assignment 1	Week 3	25 %	LO2, LO4, LO5, LO6
Assessment Task 2:	Assignment 2	Week 7	25 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6
Assessment Task 3:	Assignment 3	Week 10	25 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6
Assessment Task 4:	Assignment 4	Week 13	25 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Assignment 1

Task Description:

Complete a workbook containing short answer questions.

Part 1: The focus is on herbal extract chemical composition and will build on work completed in CSA509. Short answer questions direct the student to consider factors that influence the chemical composition of herbal extracts such as growing and processing conditions of the herbal material and extraction technique. Compare and contrast characteristics of a number of extracts of the same herb. Consider the generalisability of evidence on specific herbal extracts to other extracts of the herb.

Part 2: A critique of an animal intervention study. Short answer questions guide students to consider some of the strengths and weaknesses of this study and this type of evidence.

Task Length:

2000 words

Due Date:

Week 3

Weight:

25 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Each short answer question is assigned a suggested word count and a maximum number of marks available.	LO2, LO4, LO5, LO6

Assessment Task 2: Assignment 2

Task Description:

There is one case in this assignment. The case presents a common clinical condition faced by healthcare professionals in clinical practice.
For the case, students are required to formulate answerable clinical questions and generate PICO (Patient, Intervention, Comparison and Outcome) tables. Following this, you will be expected to do a literature search to identify the most appropriate clinical studies that help answer the clinical question.
You will then be required to critique two provided studies on the topic. You will also be required to conduct a risk:benefit analysis and assess and critique potential CM-Drug interactions. You will also be required to detail your treatment recommendations (along with a brief rationale) then answer a series of short answer questions based on the case presentation.
The workbook makes the tasks required for the case and intervention clear, as well as which rubric will be used to assess each section.

Task Length:

2000 words

Due Date:

Week 7

Weight:

25 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Assignment specifics and assessment rubrics (1-6) will be provided on MyLO that give details of how the case studies will be assessed	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6

Assessment Task 3: Assignment 3

Task Description:

Complete a workbook containing short answer questions focused on critiquing information detailed on a popular health database.
Students will follow the evidence trail back to the source and critique what they find. They will assess the validity of the statements made on the database based on the available evidence.
The workbook makes the tasks required for each case and intervention clear. Allocated marks and word count are indicated for each question.

Task Length:

2000 words

Due Date:

Week 10

Weight:

25 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Each short answer question is assigned a suggested word count and a maximum number of marks available.	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6

Assessment Task 4: Assignment 4

Task Description:

This a case based assignment. It presents a common clinical condition faced by healthcare professionals in clinical practice. As an exercise linked to the case, students will also critique health claims made on a blog site using a PICO structure.
For the case, students are required to formulate answerable clinical questions and generate PICO (Patient, Intervention, Comparison and Outcome) tables. Following this, you will be expected to do a literature search to identify the most appropriate clinical studies that help answer the clinical question.
You will then be required to critique a provided study on the topic. You will also be required assess and critique potential CMdrug interactions and based on this assessment to detail your treatment recommendations (along with a brief rationale). Finally you will conduct a risk:benefit analysis.
The workbook makes the tasks required for each case and intervention clear, as well as which rubric will be used to assess that section.

Task Length:

2000 words

Due Date:

Week 13

Weight:

25 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Assignment specifics and assessment rubrics (1-6) will be provided on MyLO that give details of how the case studies will be assessed.	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6

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.

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.