Unit Outline
CSA322
Therapeutics in Practice 3A
Health Study Period 1, 2025
Felicity Veal
School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology
College of Health and Medicine
CRICOS Provider Code: 00586B

Unit Coordinator
Felicity Veal
Email: Felicity.Veal@utas.edu.au
 

What is the Unit About?
Unit Description
CSA322 is designed to build upon your existing knowledge of pharmacology, physiology, microbiology and evidence-based health, in order to develop the clinical knowledge and skills necessary to deliver pharmaceutical care. Topics include the pathophysiology and therapeutic principles relevant to the management of common diseases. In CSA322, these include cardiovascular, haematological, renal, endocrine and respiratory conditions. An emphasis is placed on the application of knowledge to evaluate and advise upon pharmacotherapy in clinical situations. Although CSA322 and CSA306 (Therapeutics in Practice 3B) are separate units, the learning derived from one is complementary to the other. CSA322 carries a weighting of 25% (i.e. 25 credit points).
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
Outline the common presenting features of acute and chronic conditions/diseases.
2
Evaluate relevant information to inform therapeutic management.
3
Evaluate medication-related problems in clinical scenarios.
4
Develop strategies that are patient centred, and evidence-based to manage acute and chronic conditions/diseases.
Requisites
REQUISITE TYPE
REQUISITES
Pre-requisite
CSA207 and CSA231 and CSA209 and CSA208  
Alterations as a result of student feedback
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. Following feedback from student’s amendments have been made to the assessments, particularly removing the in class oral assessments and associated oral exam.
 
 

Teaching arrangements
ATTENDANCE MODE
TEACHING TYPE
LEARNING ACTIVITY
CONTACT HOURS
FREQUENCY
On Campus
Workshop
3 hour workshops weekly
3
Weekly
Independent Learning
10 hours self-directed online learning activities weekly
10
Weekly
Attendance / engagement expectations
If your unit is offered On campus, it is expected that you will attend all on-campus and onsite learning activities. This is to support your own learning and the development of a learning community within the unit. If you are unable to attend regularly, please discuss the situation with your course coordinator and/or our UConnect support team.

If your unit is offered Online or includes online activities, it is expected you will engage in all those activities as indicated in the Unit Outline or MyLO, including any self-directed learning.

If you miss a learning activity for a legitimate reason (e.g., illness, carer responsibilities) teaching staff will attempt to provide alternative activities (e.g., make up readings) where it is possible.
 
In this unit, your active engagement will be monitored in the following way:
  • Workshop attendance will be recorded
  • Participation in workshops, completion of online quizzes and in workshop oral assessments
  • Engagement with MyLO modules
 
 

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:
In-workshop clinical case assessments
Week 5
30 %
LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 2:
Mid-semester written test
Week 7
30 %
LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 3:
Written exam
Exam Period
40 %
LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
 
Assessment details
Assessment Task 1: In-workshop clinical case assessments
Task Description:
During 2 workshops you will complete in class clinical case assessments.
Clinical Case Assessment 1 - 10% - Week 5
Clinical Case Assessment 2 - 20% - Week 10
Task Length:
15 minutes x 2
Due Date:
Week 5
Weight:
30 %
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1
Identify medication-related problems in clinical scenarios.
LO3
2
Apply problem-solving skills and evidence-based therapeutic knowledge to specific cases.
LO4
 
Assessment Task 2: Mid-semester written test
Task Description:
You will be required to sit a face-to-face mid-semester test, comprising multiple-choice questions and short-answer/case-based questions.
Task Length:
50 minutes
Due Date:
Week 7
Weight:
30 %
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
 

1
Outline the clinical presentation of acute and chronic conditions/diseases.
LO1
2
Evaluate issues associated with the development and assessment of acute and chronic conditions/diseases.
LO2
3
Evaluate relevant medication related problems in clinical scenarios.
LO3
4
Develop evidence-based management plans for the clinical scenarios.
LO4
 
Assessment Task 3: Written exam
Task Description:
You will be required to complete a face-to-face exam comprising, multiple-choice questions and short-answer/case-based questions.
Task Length:
2 hours
Due Date:
Exam Period
Weight:
40 %
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1
Outline the clinical presentation of acute and chronic conditions/diseases.
LO1
2
Evaluate relevant information associated with the development and assessment of acute and chronic conditions/diseases.
LO2
3
Evaluate medication-related problems in clinical scenarios.
LO3
4
Develop patient centred and evidence-based therapeutic management plans.
LO4
 
 
 

How your final result is determined
Your grade will be determined in the following way:
Once all assessments for CSA322 have been completed, you will be allocated either an Interim Completion (IC) or Assessment Outstanding (AO) grade by the Student Centre.
You will, however, be informed of your actual mark for CSA322 (via the MyLO grades function). This mark is derived from the four assessment tasks in the unit, weighted as described above.
  
On completion of CSA306 in Semester 2, an overall mark and grade for 3rd Year Therapeutics in Practice will be derived from the marks for CSA322 and CSA306.
This overall mark will be weighted two-thirds for CSA322 and one-third for CSA306, reflecting the credit points allocated to these two units, i.e., 25 CP and 12.5 CP, respectively. This overall mark and the associated grade will then be applied to both units, over-writing the IC or AO grade originally allocated for CSA322. The Student Centre will communicate this mark and grade to you in the usual way.
An overall mark of at least 50% and a mark of at least 50% in the final CSA306 written exam is required for satisfactory completion of 3rd Year Therapeutics in Practice.
If you do not meet these two requirements for satisfactory completion of 3rd Year Therapeutics in Practice, but who are eligible for a supplementary exam, you will be offered a supplementary exam covering material from both CSA322 and CSA306.
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.
 

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
Any required readings will be provided by your Unit Coordinator.
 
Recommended reading materials
Students are recommended to obtain the following textbook:
DiPiro et al. Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach. McGraw-Hill Medical (12th Edition, ISBN 978-1-264-26454-44)
Please note that this textbook, is also recommended reading for CSA306 and CSA406 and can be accessed via the library in hard copy print or electronically.  
In addition to the recommended textbook, students will be signposted to a variety of other material relevant to the area of study. Links will be provided to these materials through MyLO where possible. Most of these materials will be available online, either freely accessible or through the University library.
Students will also find the following e-resources (available via EPOCH) highly valuable for CSA322 and related units:
• Australian Medicines Handbook (AMH), PSA/RACGP/ASCEPT
• Therapeutic Guidelines (TG), Therapeutic Guidelines Ltd
• UpToDate
 
Other required resources