Course coordinator
Dr Michael Devlin
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2024 (17/06/2024 - 16/11/2024)
- Study level
- Postgraduate Coursework
- Location
- Herston
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- Herston
- Coordinating unit
- UQ Medical School
The Critical Care course (CCC) is conducted in the teaching hospitals in each Clinical School. The CCC aims to teach you the skills, knowledge and attitudes involved in managing patients with critical illness as outlined in the critical care curriculum. This includes competencies in relation to the three critical care disciplines:
1. Critical illness requiring Intensive Care Unit (ICU) consultation & or admission
2. Emergencies and undifferentiated presentations in Emergency Medicine (EM)
3. Anaesthesia in elective and emergent settings
The CCC also includes competencies in relation to Intern preparedness for:
1. Recognising and managing critical illness in inpatient wards; and
2. Working in an EM rotation (mandatory in the Australian setting)
The majority of your time in each of the three disciplines will be clinical contact with some small group tutorial teaching. It is supported by an online module program and reflective clinical workbooks.
This semester-long course, is one of three courses that make up the Advanced Hospital Practice Semester. While each of the courses in AHP has a discipline focus and a related clinical placement, it is important to recognise that learning opportunities will arise for all courses in each one of the clinical placements. You are strongly encouraged to take every opportunity during the whole AHP semester to acquire discipline-specific knowledge when the opportunity presents, to reflect on the ways that different disciplines view the same clinical problem, and to recognise how each discipline can contribute in different ways to the management of that problem.
The Critical Care Course (CCC) aims to teach you the skills, knowledge and attitudes involved in managing patients with critical illness.ﾠ
Critical Illness as outlined in the critical care curriculum includes:
- Critical illness requiring intensive care andﾠconsultation
- Urgencies, Emergencies andﾠUndifferentiated presentations in Emergency Medicine
- Urgent, Emergent and Elective anaesthesia
- Intern Preparedness for an Emergency Medicine rotation (mandatory in the Australian setting) and in general
Clinical skills will be learned during the clinical placement and during simulation based tutorials, where available. Workbooks are designed to focus your clinical experience and prompt reflection. Theoreticalﾠknowledge is provided by online learning modules. Site specific tutorials should be attended, where they are provided.
Detail regarding assessment is provided in section 5.ﾠ
The course has two primary objectives:
- To provide you with the ability to recognise and initially manage a patient with a critical illness.
- To introduce you to the three specialties of Emergency Medicine, Intensive Care and Anaesthesia and provide you with an overview of these specialties.
Course structure:
(a) Practical Component
The clinical placements in the critical care course make up seven weeks of the advanced hospital practice semester.ﾠYou will spend three weeks in emergency medicine, two weeks in anaesthetics and two weeks in ICU.ﾠDuring the course you will learn about each individual specialty, and about critical illness in general. Simulation tutorials are provided at most sites.ﾠWhere they are available, attendance is expected.
The procedural skills to be learnt are:
(a) Must know:
- Intravenous cannulation
- Indwelling urinary catheter
- Basic airway manoeuvres
- Bag valve mask ventilation
- Insertion of laryngeal mask airway
- Oxygen delivery device selection and application
- Defibrillation using an automatic defibrillator
(b) Highly desirable:
- Nasogastric tube insertion
- Arterial blood gas sampling
(c) Optional:
- Endotracheal intubation
(b) Theoretical Component
The theoretical component consists of online learning modules.ﾠEach online presentation includes a quiz. These modules are a key source of essentialﾠtheoretical knowledge for this course and should be completed. Please note the learning content in the modules is examinable in the end of semester examination.ﾠﾠ
Local face-to-face theoretical teaching will vary between sites. Students should also attend departmental teaching sessions for junior doctors, where appropriate.
This course is a semester long one - forming one of the three courses that make up the Advanced Hospital Practice Semester. While each of the courses in AHP has a discipline focus and a related clinical placement, it is important to recognise thatﾠlearning opportunitiesﾠwill arise for all course in each one of the clinical placements. For instance,ﾠseeingﾠa dislocation reduced during their ED term is an opportunity for studentsﾠto read up about dislocations and principles of reduction,ﾠwhile clerking an elderly person with typical OA of the hands during a medical term is an opportunity to revise the topic ofﾠosteoarthritis. In this way, students will be able to acquire knowledge on individual placementsﾠthat will help them do well in the final exams for other courses in the semester.ﾠStudents are therefore strongly encouraged toﾠtake every opportunity during the whole AHP semester to acquire discipline-specific knowledge when the opportunityﾠpresents, to reflect on the ways that different disciplines view the same clinical problem, and to recognise how each discipline can contribute in different ways to the management of that problem.
Course requirements
Assumed background
This course builds on learnings from courses in Years 1 and 2 of the MD Program, and in particular from courses in Clinical Science and Clinical Practice. The knowledge we expect you to have gained from these courses includes but is not limited to teaching and learning in human structure and function, disease processes and pathophysiology approaches to clinical assessment, clinical reasoning and management. You are urged to review notes and learning materials from earlier courses in the program as appropriate during this course.
The course also builds on the Year 3 Hospital Practice semester clinical activities as the Critical Care course is part of the Advanced Hospital Practice semester.
Prerequisites
You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:
MEDI7212, MEDI7222, MEDI7232 and MEDI7242 or MEDI7202
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
MEDI7403
Restrictions
MD & MD (Ochsner) Students Only
Course contact
Course coordinator
Dr Alexandra Hickey
Course staff
Lecturer
Dr Michael Devlin
Dr Alexandra Hickey
Timetable
Additional timetable information
Clinical Unit specific timetables are available on Learn.UQ (Blackboard).
Participation and Attendance
Students should be aware of the MedicalﾠProgram Participation Guidelines. Non-compliance may result in failure in this course.ﾠ
You should engage well with placement supervisors and adhere to prescribed clinical attendance roster. You are also advised to engage well with the discipline specific workbooks to support satisfactory clinical immersion and guide professional and clinical development.
(Different clinical sites will have different learning sessions offered such as simulations or small group tutorials. Simulations if offered are highly valuable and critical learning opportunities. It would be expected that you engage in these activities if offered unless good reason. Individual critical care clinical sites should provide clear written information to students regarding required learning session attendance & times during the blocks they govern. Your participation and engagement in this area could be factored into supervisor assessments via the Emergency Medicine CPA if appropriate. If considered very problematic or aberrant this could be dealt with by critical care co-ordinator notification for discussion of a solution or a formal notice of concern depending on circumstance.)
Aims and outcomes
The Critical Care Course aims to teach you the skills and knowledge required for recognition and early management of patients with critical illness.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Critical Care Course - Module 1 Desired Learning Outcomes (DLO): - how can a critically ill patient be recognized - the approach to the patient - where do critically ill patients get treated - shock: oxygen consumption and delivery - the outcomes of critical illness and prediction of outcome - the ethics of the care of critically ill patients
LO2.
Critical Care Course - Module 2 DLO: - understand the anatomy of the airway - understand respiratory compromise (recognise the compromised patient) - know how to manage respiratory compromise (how to obtain an airway; recognise the devices used in obtaining an airway; how to intubate a patient; know devices used to deliver oxygen) - know the physiological measurement of respiration (know the principles of oximetry; understand how to interpret ABG)
LO3.
Critical Care Course - Module 3 DLO: - cardiovascular physiology - assess and manage the patient with chest pain and ischaemic heart disease - an approach to the emergency care of hypotension and hypertension - understand the management of peri-arrest arrhythmias
LO4.
Critical Care Course - Module 4 DLO: - revise basic physiology of cerebral function - formulate an approach to the comatose patient - principles of management of traumatic brain injury - emergency care of the patient presenting with signs of a stroke or subarachnoid haemorrhage - approach to the patient having a seizure - understand the management of CNS infections - understand the concept of "brain death"
LO5.
Critical Care Course - Module 5 DLO: - understand the principles and application of triage in emergency medicine - understand the primary survey and secondary survey in major trauma - be capable of recognising and managing a patient with anaphylaxis - have an approach to the management of a patient following overdose
LO6.
Critical Care Course - Module 6 Objectives: - understand how to assess a patient prior to general anaesthesia - understand the principles of regional anaesthesia - understand the conduct of general anaesthesia - understand the process of intubation in an elective and an emergency situation - understand the principles of perioperative pain management
LO7.
Critical Care Course - Module 7 DLO: - know the current practice of basic life support -
understand the techniques of advanced life support, including the use of drugs and defibrillation
LO8.
Critical Care Course - Module 8 DLO: - revise the indications, contraindications and technique applicable to the following procedures: arterial puncture, nasogastric tube insertion, indwelling catheter insertion, lumbar puncture
LO9.
Critical Care Course - Hospital Component: Students are expected to learn from clinical exposure the following: (i) recognition of the critically ill patient; (ii) principles of early management of the critically ill patient; (iii) recognition of how to call for appropriate help. Practical skills required to be learnt are: (i) recognition and management of airway problems; (ii) recognition and management of breathing difficulties; (iii) recognition and management of circulatory failure; (iv) recognition and management of neurological failure; (v) recognition and management of sepsis, and other medical problems resulting in critical states; (vi) management of cardiac arrest. These therefore include: (i) airway manoeuvres, insertion of airway devices, and intubation; (ii) manual and mechanical ventilation; (iii) oxygen therapy; (iv) cannulation; (v) use of intravenous therapy; (vi) basic haemorrhage control; (vii) use of monitoring.
LO10.
Critical Care Course - Skills: The skills required to be learnt are: Must know: Intravenous cannulation; Indwelling urinary catheter; Basic airway manoeuvres; Bag valve mask ventilation; Laryngeal mask airway; Oxygen delivery device selection and application; Defibrillation using an automatic defibrillator. Highly desirable: Nasogastric tube insertion; Arterial blood gas puncture. Optional: Endotracheal intubation.
LO11.
Critical Care Course - Recognise the varying roles of medical, nursing and allied health staff within an acute care ward, and demonstrate skills and attributes which allow for effective interactions and teamwork with those staff as part of a health care team.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notebook/ Logbook |
ED, ICU & Anaesthesia Workbook & Engagement Record
|
Due 3pm next business day following last day of each respective clinical placement (ICU, ED, Anaesthesia) |
|
| Participation/ Student contribution, Placement |
Clinical Participation Assessment - ED
|
5pm on last day of your ED Clinical Placement |
|
| Examination |
Critical Care End of Semester MCQ Exam
|
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
ED, ICU & Anaesthesia Workbook & Engagement Record
- Hurdle
- In-person
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance
- Category
- Notebook/ Logbook
- Due date
Due 3pm next business day following last day of each respective clinical placement (ICU, ED, Anaesthesia)
- Learning outcomes
- L09, L10, L11
Task description
Performance Hurdle: A combined workbook grade of 18/30 is required to pass the course.
Workbooks are provided at the commencement of the clinical placement. Students are required to complete tasks as per the descriptions in the workbook. The workbooks direct students to engage in meaningful ways in clinical duties, as well as prompting reflections on clinical cases and investigation profiles. Many activities within these workbooks mimic intern responsibilities/skills, or clinical scenarios likely to be encountered early in a medical career.
Criteria & Marking:
Your final workbook mark for each of the three disciplines will include any late penalty deductions. The final mark (inclusive of any deductions) will be applied to pass fail thresholds. Your supervisor, student coordinator, critical care course administrator, or critical care course coordinator can action these deductions based on late submissions.
Each workbook contains a marking grid for your clinical supervisor, which clearly outlines the marking criteria. Please refer to this at the commencement of the clinical placement. Penalties apply for late submission.
Hurdle requirements
Performance Hurdle: You must complete and meet the passing standard to pass the courseSubmission guidelines
Workbooks must be submitted for marking to the Clinical Supervisor on the last day of the clinical placement. Once marked, submit each workbook to your site student coordinator. Penalties apply for late submission.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Late submission
If you fail to meet the submission deadline for the ED/ICU/Anaesthesia Workbooks without an approved extension, it will be considered as a lapse in professional conduct. The penalty will be a deduction of 10% relative percentage per day. Late submission longer than 7 calendar days will be considered as not meeting the passing standard for this assessment, in addition to being considered a lapse in professional conduct.
Clinical Participation Assessment - ED
- Hurdle
- In-person
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance
- Category
- Participation/ Student contribution, Placement
- Due date
5pm on last day of your ED Clinical Placement
- Other conditions
- Work integrated learning.
- Learning outcomes
- L05, L09, L10, L11
Task description
The Medical School considers that participation and engagement at clinical placements are fundamental aspects of the MD program, consistent with the framework of self-directed and life-long learning and indicative of the need for clinical competence and professional conduct in addition to theoretical knowledge.
In all courses during Years 3 and 4 of the MD program, you are assessed on your professional conduct and clinical skills and the extent to which you have contributed and engaged in your clinical placement and clinical learning activities. The nature of these activities will vary according to the placement, but may include admitting/clerking patients, assessing patients at outpatient clinics, presenting at ward rounds and demonstrating initiative in attending other activities such as grand rounds.
Scoring in the Clinical Participation Assessment (CPA) is based on conduct and contribution during ward rounds and case discussions, initiative in seeking learning opportunities, behaviour towards peers and medical (and all other) colleagues, patient assessment, ability to succinctly present a patient case including differential diagnosis, and awareness of social and ethical issues including risk assessment.
The CPA components are:
- Clinical Communication
- History Taking
- Examination Skills
- Clinical Reasoning
- Engagement in Practice
- Professional Practice
- Reflective Practice
- Social/Cultural Competence and Safety
There is also a Student Flag component which allows a supervisor to report a student with concerning unprofessional or unsafe behaviour. The Student Flag component also provides a mechanism for notifying exemplary performance to the School.
To maximise your learning, you are encouraged to actively seek feedback from your clinical teacher/s during your clinical placement. This will assist in identifying any areas requiring further improvement before your final Clinical Participation Assessment is completed. Active engagement in the clinical setting is a requirement to pass this assessment task.
The CPA rubric can be found on Learn.UQ (Blackboard), and is provided for guidance so that you are familiar with marking criteria for each component.
Criteria & Marking:
The CPA is a global assessment of professional and clinical practice and contributes to your overall performance in the following ways:
- If you are enrolled concurrently in the WLP course, four components contribute to this MEDI7415 course (Clinical Communication, History Taking, Examination Skills, Clinical Reasoning) and the remaining components (Engagement in Practice, Professional Practice, Reflective Practice, Social/Cultural Competence and Safety and Student Flag) contribute to the WLP course.
- If you are not enrolled concurrently in the WLP course all components contribute to this MEDI7415 course.
Additional information may be received by staff from clinical placement site/s where you completed this course. This will be reviewed by the Course Coordinator and ratings completed by your supervisor in the CPA may be revised. For example, if your supervisor rated you as satisfactory related to professional conduct but the Medical School has other information available, the supervisor’s ratings may be moderated based on this additional information.
Your performance will also be reviewed at the End of Semester Examiner’s meeting and following discussion you may receive a non-graded fail for the course, if:
- There are any unsatisfactory results recorded in any of the CPA components contributing to this course (including moderations made by the Course Coordinator)
- There are four or more borderline results recorded in any of the CPA components contributing to this course (including moderations made by the Course Coordinator)
- The required number of CPAs have not been submitted to your supervisor for completion by the due date.
Factors that will be taken into account during the review undertaken at the End of Semester Examiner’s meeting include:
- Evidence of temporal improvement in performance across the course (if applicable)
- Completion and content of the WLP Task Review in response to unsatisfactory or borderline ratings
- Relative opportunity available across the semester
- Other factors relevant to your performance
Hurdle requirements
Performance Hurdle: You must complete and meet the passing standard to pass the courseSubmission guidelines
A function of the CPA discussion and form completion is to consider information from the whole placement. Therefore, you are expected to complete your CPA discussion and submit your CPA form during the final week of placement. Given clinician availability, there may be times when this is not always possible. If you complete your CPA discussion and submit your CPA form before the final week of placement for placements of 3 weeks or less, or before the penultimate week of placement for placements longer than 3 weeks, additional information obtained by your supervisor or Course Coordinator maybe considered to add to that discussed and submitted. Therefore, you are discouraged from completing the CPA discussion and form submission early.
You are expected to engage in discussions about your performance with your supervisor or their delegate throughout the course, preferably face-to-face. To ensure you receive synchronous feedback from your supervisor or their delegate, you are encouraged to request your supervisor to complete the assessment in real-time before the end of your placement. However, if your supervisor is unable to assess in real-time, you have the option to submit your CPA to your supervisor or their delegate, on or before the due date specified in the Assessment Section of this Course Profile, using the Email for later option in MyProgress. CPAs submitted after the due date without an approved extension will not be accepted and may result in a course failure.
If your supervisor has not assessed your CPA within 7 days after submission, you are encouraged to send a gentle reminder email to your supervisor via MyProgress. If there are problems contacting your supervisor or if your CPA remains unassessed, please contact your local Student Coordinator.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Late submission
If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any Clinical Participation Assessment without an approved extension, it will not be accepted and may result in course failure regardless of whether the supervisor has rated your participation at a satisfactory or proficient level in the related course components.
Critical Care End of Semester MCQ Exam
- Hurdle
- In-person
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Examination
- Due date
End of Semester Exam Period
2/11/2024 - 16/11/2024
- Other conditions
- Time limited.
Task description
The End of Semester Exam is a 90 minute multiple choice exam delivered through Examsoft. The majority of questions will be derived from material in the online learning modules and workbooks. The module content includes written, diagrammatic and audio-visual learning aids. All of these are assessable material.
Criteria & Marking:
This is a single Best Answer MCQ with 5 options from which to choose. The pass mark for the exam has historically been between 31-36 and is determined by a recognised standard setting method. You may be eligible for a supplementary assessment as outlined in Course Grading Section.
Hurdle requirements
Performance Hurdle: You must complete and meet the passing standard to pass the courseExam details
| Planning time | no planning time minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Calculator options | (In person) Casio FX82 series only or UQ approved and labelled calculator |
| Open/closed book | Closed Book examination - no written materials permitted |
| Exam platform | ExamSoft |
| Invigilation | Invigilated in person |
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to defer this exam.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Pass/Fails | Description |
|---|---|
| Pass |
Course grade description: Demonstrated evidence of competency in meeting course learning objectives. See Additional Course Grading Information below. |
| Fail |
Course grade description: Insufficient evidence of competency in meeting course learning objectives. See Additional Course Grading Information below. |
Additional course grading information
PASS: Awarded when you achieve ALL of the following:
- Meet the criteria for the CPA detailed in Assessment detail section,
AND;
- Meet passing standard of the combined Workbook detailed in Assessment detail section,
AND;
- Meet passing standard of MCQ Exam detailed in Assessment detail section,
AND;
- Complete and submit all assessment tasks detailed in Assessment detail section.
MARGINAL FAIL: You will be considered a Marginal Fail and you may be eligible for a Supplementary Assessment, if you:
- Have completed all assessment tasks,
AND;
- Meet the criteria for the CPA detailed in Assessment detail section,
AND EITHER;
- Meet passing standard for combined Workbook,
OR;
- Meet passing standard for MCQ exam.
FAIL: You will receive a Fail grade if you:
- Do not meet the criteria for CPA,
AND/OR;
- Do not meet passing standard for combined Workbook,
AND;
- Do not meet passing standard for MCQ Exam.
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is not available for some items in this course.
Additional assessment information
Remark of assessment
The Clinical Participation Assessment (CPA) is not eligible for requests for re-mark. This assessment comprises expert evaluation over an extended period within an authentic clinical learning environment which cannot be duplicated. This assessment therefore cannot be re-marked, and it cannot be cross-marked by another examiner.
Previous academic difficulties
If you have experienced academic difficulties in previous years of the Program or during clinical placement, you are encouraged to reflect on the nature of these difficulties and discuss any need for extra assistance with your Course Coordinator/s and clinical unit / Learning Community at the beginning of the course.
Use of Artificial Intelligence in Assessments
Assessment evaluates your abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). You are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
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
Find the required and recommended resources for this course 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 |
Placement |
Workbooks in ED, ICU, Anaesthesia |
Tutorial |
Simulation Based Tutorials Learning outcomes: L09, L10, L11 |
|
Problem-based learning |
CCC Modules including online quizzes |
|
Workshop |
Introductory week |
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.
School guidelines
Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course: