Unit Outline

CSA721 is a self-directed, fully on-line introductory unit, that explores a variety of disease states and their management, using patient cases to enable you to enhance your knowledge in clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice. This unit introduces important concepts that you can apply to develop skills in evidence-based medicine, asking and answering well-articulated clinical questions, and critical review of research literature. You will develop skills in evidence-based practice components such as framing an answerable research question and search strategies for a patient's unique circumstances. You will use medical databases, learn how to identify high-quality evidence. The skills developed in this unit enhance independent clinical decision-making.

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.	Employ effective search terms and information retrieval skills to identify relevant research, ask and answer clinical questions.
2.	Critically appraise scientific literature using knowledge of the hierarchy of evidence, sources of bias, and research methodology.
3.	Apply an evidence-based approach to evaluate medication-related problems and formulate a pharmaceutical care plan.
4.	Demonstrate effective communication skills.

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:	Quiz Evidence-based medicine concepts	Week 3	5 %	LO1, LO2
Assessment Task 2:	Quiz Statistical Concepts	Week 4	5 %	LO1, LO2
Assessment Task 3:	Assignment 1 -Apply evidence-based medicine	Week 6	20 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 4:	Assignment 2 - Critical Literature Review	Week 10	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO4
Assessment Task 5:	Assignment 3 Medication management plan for a clinical case	Week 13	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Quiz Evidence-based medicine concepts

Task Description:

A short MCQ quiz covering elements of Parts 1 and 2 of the Evidence-based Workbook. Requires you to read these sections of the workbook

Task Length:

30 minutes

Due Date:

Week 3

Weight:

5 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Knowledge of evidence-based medicine concepts	LO1, LO2

Assessment Task 2: Quiz Statistical Concepts

Task Description:

A short quiz covering some basic elements of statistics concepts. Requires you to read the Introduction and Section 3 – Common Inferential Tests in the Health Statistics Workbook.

Task Length:

30 minutes

Due Date:

Week 4

Weight:

5 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Knowledge of statistics concepts	LO1, LO2

Assessment Task 3: Assignment 1 -Apply evidence-based medicine

Task Description:

Apply evidence-based medicine using PICO and search strategy to answer patient care queries written assignment.
Develop and describe a search strategy to research the clinical question using MeSH and Keywords. Apply evidence-based medicine principles using PICO and database search to answer patient/prescriber queries. Write a brief evidence-based response to the clinical question

Task Length:

1200 words

Due Date:

Week 6

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Demonstrate how to ask and answer clinical questions using effective search terms and organisational skills.	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
2	Develop skills to understand the hierarchy of evidence in the literature	LO1, LO2

Assessment Task 4: Assignment 2 - Critical Literature Review

Task Description:

Written assignment on published health literature and advertising. Where relevant, you are expected to find and read any referenced articles to support your review

Task Length:

2000 words

Due Date:

Week 10

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	The assignment is given a mark for the overall assignment, with 90% awarded for appropriate analytical content and relevant reference to the literature. Use of academic English writing skills and Vancouver referencing.	LO1, LO2, LO4

Assessment Task 5: Assignment 3 Medication management plan for a clinical case

Task Description:

Formulate a medication management plan in a clinical case using evidence-based principles and high-quality evidence from scientific literature. Respond with clinical recommendations to posed questions. Use of academic English writing skills and Vancouver referencing

Task Length:

1800 words

Due Date:

Week 13

Weight:

30 %

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.

Required Resources

Required reading materials