Unit Outline

This unit develops advanced knowledge and capabilities for assessment, monitoring and management of special patient populations with acute or complex medical or trauma emergencies in the critical care and retrieval setting. You will further develop your clinical reasoning and decision-making skills, incorporating the principles of advanced pharmacology, contemporary evidence-based advanced practice, and ethical considerations for providing systematic, safe and effective critical care.

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	Evaluate clinical decisions and emergency management approaches for populations with acute or complex presentations in critical care and retrieval contexts.
2	Demonstrate advanced interpersonal and interprofessional communication to support collaborative care and patient safety during high acuity and emergent retrievals.
3	Evaluate retrieval practice for special patient populations to inform evidence‑informed strategies for safe and systematic practice.
4	Synthesise relevant clinical evidence, guidelines, and professional standards to support safe, ethical, and context‑appropriate decision‑making in critical care and retrieval practice for special patient populations.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	CAA604 Respiratory Critical Care AND CAA603 Haemodynamics Critical Care

Alterations as a result of student feedback

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:	Case-Based Analysis	Week 6	25 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 2:	e-Portfolio	Week 12	35 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 3:	Viva Voce - Online oral exam	Exam Period	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Case-Based Analysis

Task Description:

In this assessment, you will explore a complex critical care or retrieval case involving a special patient population such as a paediatric, obstetric, bariatric, or elderly patient. Your focus will be on showing how you understand and work through advanced clinical information, how you think about emergency management options, and how you recognise key communication and safety needs in the retrieval setting.

You can choose one of the cases provided, or you may use a real clinical case (as long as it is fully de identified) and submit it for approval before you begin

Task Length:

2000 words

Due Date:

Week 6

Weight:

25 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Interprets complex clinical, operational, and contextual information; analyses assessment data logically and coherently to identify priorities, risks, and patient needs.	LO1, LO3
2	Provides evidence‑informed and context‑appropriate decisions that demonstrate insight into risk, prioritisation, ethical considerations, and professional standards.	LO1, LO3, LO4
3	Develops a structured, feasible management plan that integrates safety, ethical considerations, professional standards, and anticipates challenges in the retrieval environment.	LO1, LO3, LO4
4	Utilises structured handover, communication strategies, and teamwork processes that reflect safety‑critical, interprofessional, and culturally safe practice in retrieval contexts.	LO2, LO4

Assessment Task 2: e-Portfolio

Task Description:

In this assessment, you will create a professional portfolio that evaluates a complex patient retrieval and proposes an evidence informed improvement strategy. You will also complete a structured reflection on interprofessional communication and teamwork in retrieval contexts.

This assessment allows you to demonstrate your ability to evaluate practice complexities, consider operational and social confounders, and propose improvements aligned with real world retrieval settings

Task Length:

3000 words

Due Date:

Week 12

Weight:

35 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Identifies a relevant, context specific practice or safety issue and evaluates contributing clinical, operational, and contextual factors using advanced reasoning.	LO1, LO3, LO4
2	Proposes an improvement strategy grounded in relevant evidence or guidelines.	LO1, LO3, LO4
3	Identifies key implementation steps, stakeholders, and foreseeable barriers/enablers with clear reasoning.	LO2, LO3, LO4
4	Provides an evaluative reflection that demonstrates understanding of communication, teamwork, and coordination in retrieval practice.	LO2, LO4

Assessment Task 3: Viva Voce - Online oral exam

Task Description:

The Viva Voce is a structured oral examination based on a high acuity retrieval scenario involving a special patient population. You will be assessed on your ability to:
• apply and justify clinical decisions in real time
• demonstrate effective interprofessional communication
• articulate safety critical reasoning
• reflect on your performance

This assessment simulates real retrieval practice and allows you to demonstrate professional judgement, communication, and safety awareness in a dynamic clinical environment

Task Length:

up to 30 minutes

Due Date:

Exam Period

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Evaluate evolving clinical information in a high‑acuity retrieval scenario and justify prioritised, context‑appropriate clinical decisions in real time.	LO1
2	Communicates using structured communication frameworks; demonstrates appropriate escalation and teamwork behaviours.	LO2
3	Identifies appropriate interventions and demonstrates a strong awareness of safety risks, human factors, and patient‑centred considerations.	LO2
4	Provides concise, relevant, guideline‑based explanations to justify decisions.	LO1, LO4
5	Reflects on performance, identifying strengths, development needs and strategies	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 any hurdle tasks.

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.