Unit Outline
CXA705
Becoming an Allied Health Professional
Semester 2, 2025
Nagarajan Manickaraj
School of Health Sciences
College of Health and Medicine
CRICOS Provider Code: 00586B

Unit Coordinator
Nagarajan Manickaraj
Email: nagarajan.manickaraj@utas.edu.au
What is the Unit About?
Unit Description
 

This unit introduces you to an interprofessional framework and foundational concepts related to joining a regulated profession and that are shared across allied health disciplines. Within the interprofessional framework, allied health students develop an understanding of the professional contexts in which they practice and the role and responsibilities of their own and other professions when providing integrated services. With a focus on developing the attributes of professionalism and becoming a safe and ethical allied health practitioner, the regulatory, ethical and legal frameworks underpinning professional practice are examined within the context of the ever-changing health environments. The unit introduces you to the scope of public health locally, nationally, and internationally. Taking a health-in-all-sectors approach, the unit explores the relationship between the social determinants of health and equity in order to differentiate approaches to addressing need via promotion, prevention and treatment. You will explore your own career planning with focus on how you will take responsibility for developing as an active and engaged lifelong learner who maintains critical thinking and self-reflective capabilities for client-centred, safe, quality and interprofessional collaborative practice, as well as continually developing as a resilient, confident, and autonomous practitioners.
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
Communicate and collaborate effectively in teams to achieve respectful partnerships across disciplines and assist future provision of client-centred, safe, and high-quality services.
2
Analyse health practice scenarios using principles of ethical, evidence-based practice, social determinants and a biopsychosocial approach in allied health professional practice.
3
Analyse professional capabilities using reflection to create a learning plan for allied health professional practice including principles of culturally responsive practice to respond to culturally diverse populations.
4
Differentiate between a range of definitions of health and understand public health, its principal components and its development within Australian and international contexts.
5
Identify the components and processes that ensure safe and quality services, including risk assessment and clinical governance frameworks.
Alterations as a result of student feedback
Student feedback from the previous physiotherapy and speech pathology cohorts have been considered, and the learning content of this unit is now integrated with public health and social determinants of health components, and explicitly assesses these in all the assessment items of this unit.
 
 

Teaching arrangements
ATTENDANCE MODE
TEACHING TYPE
LEARNING ACTIVITY
CONTACT HOURS
FREQUENCY
On Campus
Seminar
Webinar
1
Study Period 8 times
Workshop
Workshop
2
Study Period 4 times
Workshop
Workshop
3
Once only
Independent Learning
Independent Learning
6
StudyPeriod 10 times
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.
 
 
 
 

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:
Intersectionality, Social Determinants of Health and Cultural Safety
See the MyLO site for the due date
10 %
LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 2:
Professional Career Portfolio
See the MyLO site for the due date
20 %
LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
Assessment Task 3:
Interprofessional Communication and Ethical Reasoning
See the MyLO site for the due date
30 %
LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 4:
Case Scenario
See the MyLO site for the due date
40 %
LO1, LO2, LO4, LO5
 
Assessment details
Assessment Task 1: Intersectionality, Social Determinants of Health and Cultural Safety
Task Description:
In this task you will respond to a series of multichoice or short answer questions related to the following topic areas:
• Intersectionality
• Social determinants of health
• Culturally Safe Health Care Practices
• Managing Bias
• Advocacy for non-biased treatment
approaches
Task Length:
20 multi-choice or short answer questions
Due Date:
See the MyLO site for the due date
Weight:
10 %
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1
Identify the principles of intersectionality
LO3
2
Describe the core elements of the social determinants of health and public health.
LO2, LO4
3
Describe features of culturally safe health care practice
LO3
4
List strategies for managing bias in health care approaches
LO3
5
Explain how advocacy for non-biased treatment will occur
LO3
 
Assessment Task 2: Professional Career Portfolio
Task Description:
Assessment Task: Professional Career Portfolio
The assessment task requires you to create a digital professional portfolio that you will maintain over the full duration of your course. The portfolio should align with your profession’s practice standards, reflect your individuality and professionalism, and provide insight into your personal and professional development as you transition to becoming an allied health professional across the scope of practice sectors and health philosophies.
Task Length:
A word limit does not apply
Due Date:
See the MyLO site for the due date
 

Weight:
20 %
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1
Create an individualised professional portfolio that reflects your individuality and professionalism, and the professional standards of your chosen discipline.
LO1
2
State professional identity aspirations with attention to a variety of potential practice scopes and philosophies using a growth mindset.
LO1, LO4
3
Curate and present a range of reflections, learnings, and achievements that demonstrate reflective practice and critical appraisal of your developing knowledge, skills, and attributes in relation to your professional practice standards.
LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
4
Use self-reflection to identify learning needs and present them in a structured context to inform your professional development.
LO3
 
Assessment Task 3: Interprofessional Communication and Ethical Reasoning
Task Description:
Interprofessional Communication and Ethical Reasoning
Part 1. Group video
This task provides you the opportunity to work inter professionally to respond to ethical issues that you may experience as an allied health professional.

Part 2. Individual reflection
Watch at least one of the other group videos discussing a different scenario. This should be a different scenario than the one that your team presented on. Write a reflection comparing the ethical decision-making process of the different groups, their application of the Code of Ethics, and the communication skills used to complete the group task and to negotiate an outcome.
Task Length:
Part 1 – 10 minute video (group); Part 2 - 500 word written reflection (individual)
Due Date:
See the MyLO site for the due date
Weight:
30 %
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1
Contribute to the group task and use your teamwork and communication skills to consider how the dilemma could best be resolved.
LO1, LO2, LO3
2
Describe and analyse the ethical considerations raised in the scenario referring to the Code of Ethics of each profession.
LO1, LO2
3
Describe the resolution to the ethical dilemma and justify it with reference to the values and principles in the Code of Ethics of each profession.
LO2, LO3
4
Use reflective practice to analyse and describe the ethical decision-making process, and the collaborative group processes and communication skills that were required.
LO1, LO2, LO3
 
Assessment Task 4: Case Scenario
Task Description:
You are required to apply a biopsychosocial, social determinants of health, person-centred approach and principles of evidence-based practice to ensure equitable, safe and quality services to analyse a practice scenario and a proposal for a specific intervention.
Task Length:
2000 words
Due Date:
See the MyLO site for the due date
Weight:
40 %
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1
Demonstrate a biopsychosocial, person-centred, culturally responsive approach.
LO2, LO4
2
Identify the areas for intervention and analyse the safety, secondary prevention risks and health promotion opportunities.
LO2, LO5
3
Appraise the level evidence for an intervention.
LO2
4
Demonstrate understanding of interprofessional team roles and scope in managing client safety, secondary prevention and promoting health.
LO1, LO5
5
Evaluate processes that ensure safe and quality service provision.
LO5
 

 
 
 

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.
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.