Course coordinator
Associate Professor Paul Fishburn
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2024 (22/07/2024 - 18/11/2024)
- Study level
- Postgraduate Coursework
- Location
- External
- Attendance mode
- Online
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- Herston
- Coordinating unit
- UQ Medical School
This course forms the crux of developing and discussing a doctor's clinical practice in skin cancer medicine. This course will comprise a series of clinical cases that will require active engagement from you by way of essay, that is marked by peer review, as well as discussions conducted online with a clinical expert. These activities will prepare you to complete a portfolio of your clinical work including case summaries, photographs, and interpretations. The course will prepare you for a final written examination.
This course consists of a series of clinical cases encountered in skin cancer medicine, which will be used as a basis for you to study, present an essay on aspects of management,ﾠand discuss aspects of diagnostic assessment and clinical management. In addition, you are required to present a series of cases that have been managed within your practice. It is assumed that you will be working within the area of skin cancer management as part of your usual medical practice, and that you will have already attained the fundamental skills of skin cancer aetiology, diagnosis, and therapeutics.
The course is taught over one semester.
Course requirements
Assumed background
Successful completion of IMED7001,ﾠIMED7002 IMED7003, IMED7010 (or their equivalents) is required prior to commencement of this course.
Prerequisites
You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:
IMED7001, IMED7002, IMED7003 and IMED7010
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
IMED7012 and IMED7013
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Associate Professor Paul Fishburn
Guest lecturer
Dr John Prossor
Aims and outcomes
The aim of this course is the development of a systematic and critical approach to the management of the patient presenting to a skin cancer practitioner.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Effectively manage a broad variety of skin cancer presentations within your practice;
LO2.
Use a consistent and logical approach to the diagnosis and management of suspected skin cancers;
LO3.
Select critically from a range of skin cancer treatment modalities available for each skin cancer presentation.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay/ Critique |
Case Study Essay
|
30% |
Week 1 - Week 13 |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Participation/ Student contribution |
Case Essay Peer Review
|
10% |
Week 1 - Week 13 |
| Presentation |
Clinical Case Management Presentations
|
30% |
Week 1 - Week 13 |
| Examination |
Final Examination
|
30% |
End of Semester Exam Period 2/11/2024 - 16/11/2024 |
A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.
Assessment details
Case Study Essay
- Hurdle
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Essay/ Critique
- Weight
- 30%
- Due date
Week 1 - Week 13
- Other conditions
- Peer assessed.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03
Task description
You will write an essay based on case material provided by the Course Co-ordinator and submit to Learn.UQ each fortnight. Each case is presented over a two week time period online. Case Study Essays must be submitted by you for each of the cases presented online during the course.
Hurdle requirements
Pass mark 60%Submission guidelines
Submission instructions will be provided via Learn.UQ. One submission required for each case study by the end of the first week that each case is online.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Late submission
Assessments submitted after the due date without an approved extension will receive a late penalty.
Case Essay Peer Review
- Hurdle
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Participation/ Student contribution
- Weight
- 10%
- Due date
Week 1 - Week 13
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03
Task description
You will write an essay based on case material provided by the course co-ordinator and this will be submitted to Learn.UQ each fortnight.
During the week following essay submission, you will automatically receive two essays from your peers to review for marking and provision of feedback. There is a marking rubric to guide the review process. Your marking and feedback will be assessed and graded by the Course Co-ordinator.
Hurdle requirements
Pass mark 60%Submission guidelines
Submission instructions will be provided via Learn.UQ. Submission of two peer reviews is required for each case study.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Late submission
Assessments submitted after the due date without an approved extension will receive a late penalty.
Clinical Case Management Presentations
- Hurdle
- Online
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance
- Category
- Presentation
- Weight
- 30%
- Due date
Week 1 - Week 13
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03
Task description
Clinical Case Management Presentations:
During the course of the program you will be required to submit six clinical cases from your own practice for assessment. The first three cases are due by mid-semester and the final three cases are due by end of semester. The requirements of the cases are as detailed below.
Clinical requirements:
- Each case must be a clinical case which has presented to and been managed in your practice during the course of the Masters degree.
- Each case must represent the clinical management of a lesion or series of lesions from presentation to final treatment or diagnostic outcome.
- Each case should involve skin cancer/precancerous lesions or lesions which may mimic skin cancer. General dermatology cases unrelated to skin cancer will not be accepted.
- Cases should be submitted from a variety of sites (e.g., nose, ear, cheek, forehead, neck, back, limb).
- Cases may include complex reconstruction, however, simple ellipses are acceptable.
The cases must include at least one of each of the following:
- Basal Cell Carcinoma
- Squamous Cell Carcinoma
- Melanoma
Content requirements:
Images
- Each case must include a macroscopic image taken prior to any treatment.
- Each case must include an image showing margins and excision lines inked pre-operatively.
- Each case must include a dermoscopic image.
- Each case must include an immediate post-operative image
- An image at suture removal should be submitted, except in circumstances where this is not attainable
Text
- A concise summary of the presentation and relevant past history (<100 words).
- A discussion of the clinical, macroscopic and dermoscopic features present, referring in particular to pattern recognition or Chaos and Clues method, but if desired including other dermoscopy diagnostic methods eg Menzies, ABCD, 7 point checklist. Diagnosis and or differential diagnoses should be included.(<200 words).
- Management discussion describing how the case was managed, giving rationale for management options taken and briefly mentioning other possible options. A review of literature surrounding the case is NOT expected but an understanding of current management, particularly with regard to ACN guidelines is expected. These guidelines are not expected to be followed slavishly, however significant deviations from their recommendations should be supported with solid clinical reasoning and/or evidence.(<500 words).
Formatting requirements:
- Text font: Times New Roman 11-point. Bold and underline may be used for headings.
- Label each case with your name and student ID
- Title each case according to anatomic requirement (e.g., Nose Case 1, Nose Case 2, etc.)
- Images should be JPEG format, and inserted in the document (Word or PDF). We will provide guidelines on how to insert images and on resizing.
- Oversize images and answers longer than outlined above will not be accepted.
- You must seek the patient’s consent prior to submission of material. You may also de-identify patients.
- Whilst we recognise you are clinicians, not clinical photographers, images are required to be clear enough to adequately illustrate the case presentation. Out of focus photos should not be submitted.
Hurdle requirements
Pass mark 60%Submission guidelines
Submission instructions including specific due dates for the cases will be provided via Learn.UQ.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Late submission
Assessments submitted after the due date without an approved extension will receive a late penalty.
Final Examination
- Hurdle
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Examination
- Weight
- 30%
- Due date
End of Semester Exam Period
2/11/2024 - 16/11/2024
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03
Task description
You are required to undertake an examination comprised of written, short answer, short essay, and problem solving questions at the end of the semester.
Hurdle requirements
The pass mark of the exam is 60%.Exam details
| Planning time | no planning time minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Calculator options | Any calculator permitted |
| Open/closed book | Closed Book examination - no written materials permitted |
| Exam platform | Learn.UQ |
| Invigilation | Not invigilated |
Submission guidelines
Submission instructions including details of the exam time and date will be provided via Learn.UQ.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to defer this exam.
Late submission
Exams submitted after the end of the submission time will incur a late penalty.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Pass/Fails | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| P | 70 - 100 |
Course grade description: See below. |
| F | 0 - 69 |
Course grade description: See below. |
Additional course grading information
Non-graded pass: Demonstrated evidence of competency in meeting course learning objectives:
- To pass the course, you must achieve an aggregated final score of 70%, in addition to a minimum score of 60% within each of the assessment elements of Essays, Peer Reviews, Case Presentations and Final Examination. The composition of your final score is as follows:
- 30% will be derived from the combined marks of the 7 Case Study Essay submissions submitted by you during the course of online case study series. Each essay will therefore contribute 4.29% of the final score. In addition, you must score a minimum 60% within this element to pass the course.
- 10% will be derived from the combined marks of the 7 Peer Reviews of the Case Essays. Each Peer Review will therefore contribute 1.43% of your final score. In addition, you must score a minimum 60% within this element to pass the course.
- 30% will be derived from the combined marks of the 6 Clinical Case Presentations submitted by you from your own clinical practice. Each case will therefore contribute 5% of your final score. In addition, you must score a minimum 60% within this element to pass the course.
- 30% will be derived from the Final Examination mark. In addition, you must score a minimum of 60% within this element to pass the course.
Non-graded fail: Insufficient evidence of competency in meeting course learning objectives:
- If you achieve an aggregated final grade of less than 70%, you will receive a fail grade. In addition, if you achieve a score of less than 60% within any of the assessment elements of Essays, Peer Reviews, Case Presentations and Final Examination, you will receive a fail grade for the entire course.
Marginal Fail: Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes:
- If you do not meet the passing standard for the course (as defined above) you may be considered for supplementary assessment if you:
- Attains an aggregated final grade of at least 65% but less than 70%; AND
- Achieve a score of at least 60% for all the assessment elements of Essays, Case Presentations and Final Examination; OR
- Attain an aggregated final grade of at least 70%; AND
- Achieve a score of at least 60% for two of the assessment elements of Essays, Case Presentations and Final Examination.
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Additional assessment information
Please note that all submission dates for assessments are in Brisbane time - Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST).
Pass marks are set for assessment items, however on occasion a recognised standard setting method may be used to determine the pass mark.ﾠ
You are advised to keep track of submission dates for various sections of the mentioned assessment on the Learn.UQ site for IMED7015.
Assessment is spread out approximately evenly throughout the semester.
You are advised to:
- carefully format your essays and assignments in accord with any guidelines set, especially in relation to word count, type font and size.
- save an electronic record of your assignments.
- check your official UQ email regularly for any correspondence.
Deferred examinations
If you are unable to sit or complete a scheduled final examination, you must apply for a deferred examination no later than 5 calendar days after the date the original examination was held.
Please see my.UQ for further information regarding applications for deferred exams. Deferred exams will be held in the deferred and supplementary exam period .
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) provides emerging tools that may support you in completing some assessments. You may appropriately use AI in completing your assessment tasks for this course unless otherwise indicated by the Course Coordinator. You must clearly reference any use of AI in each instance. A failure to reference AI use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. Refer to the following guide regarding referencing ofﾠAI:ﾠOverview - ChatGPT and other generative AI tools - Library Guides at University of Queensland Library (uq.edu.au).
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Multiple weeks From Week 1 To Week 13 |
Case-based learning |
Clinical Case Management Presentations You will prepare 6 case studies from patients that you have consulted and managed within your practice. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03 |
Case-based learning |
Case Study Essay Case Study Essays must be forwarded by you for each of the cases presented online during the course. Each case is presented over a two week time period online, and your Case Study Essay submissions are to be submitted by the end of the first week that each case is online. Case Study Essay is marked via Peer Review Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.