Unit Outline

Counselling and Advice on Medicines focusses on patient-centred care with patient counselling concepts and application of communication skills in clinical scenarios. This patient-centred care is extended to the study of over-the-counter (OTC) medications. Principles of drug therapy such as adverse reactions, drug interactions, medication adherence, patient counselling are discussed and applied to simulated 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	Describe the underlying causes, risk factors and appropriate management of minor ailments.
2	Formulate health and medicine advice within case-based scenarios.
3	Communicate in a patient-centred manner in over-the-counter clinical scenarios.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	CSA178 or CSA118
Anti-requisite (mutual excl)	CSA119

Alterations as a result of student feedback

No alterations have been made as a result of student feedback, as this is the first offering of the unit. As always, the teaching team will greatly appreciate your feedback both informally during the delivery of the unit in 2025, and formally through the University of Tasmania’s Unit Survey 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:	Counselling (oral assessment)	Week 2	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	In-class written assessment	Week 10	30 %	LO1, LO2
Assessment Task 3:	Oral examination	Exam Period	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Counselling (oral assessment)

Task Description:

You will complete a 5-minute oral counselling session during your scheduled timeslot every second week throughout the study period. Your average mark across these sessions will form your final mark.
Due Date: commencing in Week 2.

Task Length:

5-minute counselling session+ 5 minutes feedback

Due Date:

Week 2

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Over-the-counter medication knowledge: including information on accurate dosing, counselling points, appropriate warnings, when to seek further help and self-care advice associated with the condition.	LO1, LO2
2	Professional communication skills: Demonstrate patient-centred communication, including appropriate introductions, empathy, active listening skills, minimal use of technical phrases and appropriate non-verbal communication.	LO3
3	History taking: Demonstrate adequate history taking skills by asking history taking questions and other relevant questions	LO3

Assessment Task 2: In-class written assessment

Task Description:

You will undertake an online written assessment.

Task Length:

50 minutes

Due Date:

Week 10

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Over-the-counter medication knowledge: including information on accurate dosing, counselling points, appropriate warnings, when to seek further help and self-care advice associated with the condition.	LO1, LO2

Assessment Task 3: Oral examination

Task Description:

You will undertake an oral examination at the end of the semester.

*This is a hurdle assessment (Must Pass). Both the content component and communication component must be passed.

Task Length:

15-minute assessment

Due Date:

Exam Period

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Over-the-counter medication knowledge: including information on accurate dosing, counselling points, appropriate warnings, when to seek further help and self-care advice associated with the condition.	LO1, LO2
2	Professional communication skills: Demonstrate patient-centred communication, including appropriate introductions, empathy, active listening skills, minimal use of technical phrases and appropriate non-verbal communication.	LO3
3	History taking: Demonstrate adequate history taking skills by asking history taking questions and other relevant questions	LO3

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 the oral exam as it is a hurdle task.

Academic progress review

The results for this unit may be included in a review of your academic progress. For information about progress reviews and what they mean for all students, see Academic Progress Review in the Student Portal.

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.