QUM Research Focussed Placement (PHRM4071)

Permission to conduct a QUM Research Project must be sought by application to the School of Pharmacy via the PHRM4071 Blackboard site during the timeframe specified and using the QUM Ethics and Project Outline form available on Blackboard (under Learning Resources). Ethics approval for any project (if required) is to be obtained at the placement site; however, approval to commence the project is granted by the PHRM4071 Course Coordinator and this project approval is a compulsory component of the research project placement. The application must be submitted as soon as possible after commencement of the placement, and at the latest prior to the end of Week 2.

The placement project cannot commence until the Course Coordinator indicates approval on the PHRM4071 Blackboard site. If no approval is indicated then the project cannot commence and all marks for the project approval, report, and presentation cannot be achieved by the student. Data collection can only begin AFTER the project has received approval from the School.

This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Successful completion of the assessment will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which AI will provide only limited support and guidance. A failure to reference AI use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI tools.

PLACEMENT PARTICIPATION

PHRM4071 is a compulsory 4-week QUM research-focussed placement course for all Year 4 students except those students undertaking the Major program.

Each student should attend their QUM Research placement for 4 (FOUR) complete and consecutive weeks (i.e. daily, Monday to Friday) and gain at least 150 hours of workplace contact.

Contact the Preceptor TWO WEEKS prior to the start of the placement to confirm attendance for the placement period and to make arrangements for meeting on the first day. If you have contacted the site and do not receive a reply, please contact the Course Coordinator for advice.

The start and finish time each placement day will depend on the workplace and collegiate negotiations. If the placement includes a public holiday relevant to that placement site, the students are expected to attend/not attend the placement site in accordance with usual practice at that site e.g. if the facility is not open during the public holiday then the students do not attend AND that time is included within the 150 hours.

Any attendance problems or placement absences are to be discussed with the Course Coordinator PRIOR to any planned absences or as soon as possible in the case of prolonged absence ( >3days). 

Absences due to illness are to be covered by a medical certificate that will be submitted to the School with the appropriate paperwork. Irrespective of medical certificates, any cumulative absence over the 4 week period longer than 3 days must be immediately brought to the attention of the Course Coordinator.

With the permission of the workplace and preceptor, students may be allowed to have library days away from the placement site; however, a maximum of 2 library days per placement are allowed and these days must be spent on quality project activities (not at another workplace). There is no requirement that a library day will be granted by the workplace - some sites will not allow this time away. Students are expected to be at the placement site on a full-time daily basis unless the absence has the approval of the site and the Course Coordinator.

PRECEPTOR'S CONFIRMATION OF PLACEMENT ATTENDANCE AND EVALUATION OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE

The Preceptor's confirmation that the Student has attended their Placement and their evaluation of their performance during Placement are each compulsory components of this QUM Research Placement. Both requirements will be fulfilled when the Preceptor fills out an ePortfolio form that the system itself will email to them (as part of a process initiated by the student).

Prior to the conclusion of the placement period (e.g. from Wednesday of the last placement week onwards) students should:

• Upload a headshot photo of themselves (to assist preceptor with remembering them, as some sites host multiple students) and submit to relevant placement site
• This will trigger an email to your Preceptor via the ePortfolio that will allow them to complete your final student evaluation and confirm your attendance for 4 consecutive weeks full time
• They will perform these two tasks on the same web page (an electronic SPA Form) - which has been combined for convenience. This email that the Preceptors will receive will have in the subject line: "Work Assessment from UQ ePortfolio - Surname (of student), First name (of student)". Please note that the 'Surname' and 'First name' will appear as they are in Blackboard, i.e. there will be no preferred names, nicknames, etc. 
• The Preceptor will indicate their confirmation of your placement attendance as well as their evaluation of your Placement performance as either Needs Attention, Developing, or Satisfactory across several criteria outlined on the SPA Form.
• The Course Coordinator will review these evaluations and take necessary action where/if needed.
• The final decision regarding the overall Pass or Fail mark for this assessment component of the course will be made by the Course Coordinator, in discussion with the Preceptor.
•  Students are able to confirm submissions and review pending or marked submissions by using the 'My Results' section inside the UQ ePortfolio, or by viewing if the item is indicated to have been submitted in the top right hand side corner of the submission page. Students will be able to view the mark in 'My results' once the mark has been released. The result will appear as 'pending' prior to the mark release. Once marked, the mark will appear as N/A since it has no numerical value. 

The SEAL Reflections are a compulsory component of the PHRM4071 QUM placement to facilitate learning and reflection. In each of these submissions, students are encouraged to provide a deep, meaningful reflection focusing particularly on a key activity that enhanced their learning most. Students can reflect on any relevant event, incident, activity, task or experience they were involved in during their 4 week placement timeframe. This could include clinical tasks/experiences or activities related to their research project. Students are encouraged to choose a situation that would allow an authentic reflection and provide insight into specific gaps identified through the experience of the situation, in order to allow students to outline specific actions that can be implemented to bridge the identified gaps and further their professional development. 

The diary submissions should provide a clear description of the situation/experience that provides the reader with understanding and context for the activity, the emotional response or impact it had on the student and the action that was taken to navigate through the situation. Most importantly, students should reflect on what was learnt from the experience, and try to identify what capabilities or personal qualities were developed or enhanced through this experience. Students should create a clear action plan to describe how they would continue developing their skills, knowledge or personal attributes to bridge the gaps they have identified from the selected scenario. The action plan should include any trainings, resources or references that are relevant to the specific situation identified. 

See Blackboard (under Learning Resources) for an outline of the SEAL template.

Assessment:

• Maximum word limit is 800 words 
• The reflections are to be uploaded to the e-Portfolio via the submission links on Blackboard under the Assessment tab
• Reflection 1 - due Week 3
• Reflection 2 - due Week 5
• the reflections will be assessed on the demonstration of appropriate reflection using the SEAL template (see Marking Criteria)
• each submission is worth 5% (2 x 5% = 10% total)
• no marks will be given for late diary entries

This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Successful completion of the assessment will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which AI will provide only limited support and guidance. A failure to reference AI use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI tools.

The QUM Research Project written report should be submitted in the format of a JOURNAL ARTICLE, structured to promote clarity and ease of reading. QUM Research Projects may be quantitative or qualitative in nature, and students are encouraged to read widely around the published literature relevant to their project and format their journal article in a style consistent with published work in their field. 

A general report structure (2000 word limit) should include the following headings:

• Title
• Author information
• Abstract (limit 150 words) - Background, Aims, Methods, Results and Conclusion 
• Introduction or Background
• Aim(s) and Objectives of the project (as approved)
• Methods 
• Results 
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Acknowledgements 
• References (Vancouver style)
• Figures/Tables/Appendices with captions

Please note the following:

- Words in tables may be data (not counted in total word count)

- Words may be concise for headings and titles (not counted in the total word count)

- Extra text should NOT be added into tables instead of being in the main body of the report. The assessor will decide if tabular form is appropriate.

- References are NOT included in the total word count

- Appendices may be attached to document the complete learning experience for the student, but only the project write-up will be assessed. All data which is required for understanding of the project (and hence assessment) must be presented in the main body of the report.

Reference Style: Vancouver style as in Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research (see SHPA website http://www.shpa.org.au under Journal, Reference Citation Guide; and the Citation Guide on the UQ Library Web Site).

This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Successful completion of the assessment will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which AI will provide only limited support and guidance. A failure to reference AI use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI tools.

Digital Poster Oral Presentations will take place during the designated PHRM4071 tutorial times during Weeks 10 and 11. There will be no student sign-on for these tutorials as participation will depend on the scheduling of other courses. The timetable for tutorial attendance and presentations will be available on Blackboard prior to the end of Week 9. 

Students will be required to design and create a two-slide Digital Poster which will be presented in a 5 minute oral presentation + ~2 minutes questions. Students are encouraged to present their projects creatively and consider the key points of information they wish to present. Poster slides should be a concise summary of the project and the following headings are suggested to be included:

1. Introduction
2. Aims/Objects
3. Methods
4. Results
5. Conclusions
6. References (if relevant)

Please consider the following points when creating your digital poster:

• Slides should be readable as a projected slide (students are advised to use two slides so that the text is readable)
• Text and background should be suitable to be seen in a lecture theatre or seminar room (ensure colours for text and background sufficiently contrasting for visibility) 
• Do not overcrowd the slide with text 
• Consider using figures/tables/graphs to present data effectively
• Do not use abbreviations or acronyms unless explained 
• Include relevant references
• Keep information concise and consistent with a 5 minute presentation 
• Practice your presentation to ensure you are confident in your verbal communication skills and are within the allocated time limit 
• Examples of posters have been uploaded to Blackboard for ideas of layout of your poster (students are encouraged to be creative in poster design)

At your designated tutorial, an attendance record is signed at each tutorial and absences will require a medical certificate or prior discussion with the Course Coordinator.

This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Successful completion of the assessment will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which AI will provide only limited support and guidance. A failure to reference AI use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI tools.

Students are to perform a 'critical appraisal' and provide feedback on another student's Written Project Report (which will be randomly allocated and emailed to students) using the Peer Assessment of Written Report and Reflection Marking Criteria provided. Students are also asked to write a short 400 word reflection on the process of peer review, using the prompt questions provided.

This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Successful completion of the assessment will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which AI will provide only limited support and guidance. A failure to reference AI use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI tools.