Foundations of Professional Practice (SPCH2113)

Course overview

This clinical practicum fosters the transfer of theoretical knowledge to the clinical setting through simulation activities. Simulation activities are presented in a highly structured manner using actors as clients and students as clients for students to develop skills necessary for working as a speech pathologist. Students are given a high degree of supervisory demonstration, direction to support their learning in the simulated clinical activities.

In this course students will develop the abilityﾠto integrate knowledge, skills and attributes,ﾠprinciples of evidence-based practice,ﾠclinical reasoning and ethical andﾠprofessional behavioursﾠthat are necessary for speech pathologists practising in Australia to demonstrate and apply. Students will participate in professional practice experiences using real-world and simulated patients across aﾠrange of simulation-based learning tasks in both paediatric and adult speech pathology practice. Professional practice skills and reflective practice will be facilitated to prepare speech pathology students for future placement experiences. Emphasis will be placed on developing students'ﾠknowledge, skills and confidence required toﾠdemonstrate competency in a range of speech pathology practice areas across a variety of contexts (e.g. hospital, community, private practice, rehabilitation) across the lifespan.

Course requirements

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

ANAT1002, HLTH1000, LING1000, LING1005, PSYC1030, SPCH1101, SPCH1102, SPCH1201

Restrictions

BSpPath(Hons) students only

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

A detailed course outline for SPCH2113 is provided on the SPCH2113ﾠBlackboard site. Please note that students are expected to attend all simulation-based learning activities.ﾠ

Aims and outcomes

In this course, students will develop the foundational skills of ethical speech pathology clinical practice. Through a combination of lectures and simulated clinical activities, students will develop skills in self-reflection and how to build and maintain respectful clinical and professional partnerships. Students will engage in learning activities with actors and/or fellow students as clients to gain experience in case history taking and partnering with the client to share and discuss communicative strengths and needs. Through authentic hands-on learning activities, students will develop skills in interpreting and integrating assessment results to collaboratively develop early intervention goals for a client with communication and/or swallowing difficulties as well as gain experience in maintaining accurate client records.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

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

Professional Practice Reflections

• Hurdle
• Identity Verified
• Online

Mode

Oral

Category

Reflection

Weight

Pass/Fail, MUST PASS

Due date

Introductory Video Reflection 25/02/2025 10:00 am

Video 1a 28/02/2025 4:00 pm

Video 2a 7/03/2025 4:00 pm

Video 3a 14/03/2025 4:00 pm

Video 4a 21/03/2025 4:00 pm

Video 5a 4/04/2025 4:00 pm

Introductory Video Reflection 8/04/2025 10:00 am

Video 1b 11/04/2025 4:00 pm

Video 2b 24/04/2025 4:00 pm

Video 3b 2/05/2025 4:00 pm

Video 4b 16/05/2025 4:00 pm

End-simulation video reflection 27/05/2025 10:00 am

The Professional Practice Reflections are a MUST PASS assessment item in SPCH2113. In order to pass, students must achieve a pass result for SimART Domain 2 and are required to submit weekly video reflections by the allocated due date. If you are unable to submit your weekly video reflection by the due date and time you are required to apply for an extension. ﾠ

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Submit via Anthology link(s) in assessment folder on SPCH2113 Blackboard (learn.uq.edu.au)

For all submissions/weeks, there will be a list on Blackboard showing you who you need to submit to.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Students will need to provide a medical certificate or cite their Student Access Plan to be awarded an extension for this assessment task.

Late submission

The Professional Practice Reflections are a MUST PASS assessment item in SPCH2113. There is a resit opportunity available for this assessment task however, if you submit more than 2 weekly video reflections late, you will not receive an option to resit this assessment item. This means you will have to apply for a supplementary assessment.

Professional Practice Self-Evaluation (SimART)

• Hurdle

Mode

Activity/ Performance

Category

Portfolio, Role play/ Simulation

Weight

Pass/Fail, MUST PASS

Due date

SimART Self-evaluation 1 21/03/2025 10:00 am

SimART Self-evaluation 2 2/05/2025 10:00 am

SimART Self-evaluation 3 23/05/2025 10:00 am

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Use the link in SPCH2113 Blackboard to complete your SimART Self-evaluations in the ePortfolio.

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

Late submission

The Professional Practice Self-evaluations are a MUST PASS assessment item in SPCH2113 and must be submitted by the due date and time.

Clinical Performance in Simulation Program

• Hurdle
• In-person

Mode

Activity/ Performance

Category

Performance, Role play/ Simulation

Weight

Pass/Fail, MUST PASS

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Additional assessment information

Absentee Process

Process

If you are unable to attend a compulsory clinical learning activity due to medical or extenuating circumstances, you are required to complete the SHRS Absentee Form. The completed form along with the required evidence must be emailed to the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Student and Academic Support Unit (enquiries.shrs@uq.edu.au) within three calendar days of the scheduled activity.

The SHRS Absentee Form can be found on your relevant Course Blackboard site.

If your absence is due to a non-permissible circumstance (as per the SHRS Absentee Form), your attendance at the clinical activity is expected.

Please note, it is expected that you will notify your practice educator prior to or on the day of clinical placement and as soon as is practical to notify of your absence, in addition to submitting the above information to SASU.

Implications for lack of attendance

A minimum of 90% attendance is expected at all compulsory clinical learning activities. This includes sessional clinical placement, block clinical placement, and simulations. This ensures that you can participate in all relevant learning experiences and allows your practice educator to observe sufficient clinical activities to complete relevant ratings and assessments.

Resubmission/Resit of assessment items

The School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences supports the concept of resubmission or resitting of failed assessment items in specific and defined circumstances.

In this course, the Professional Practice Reflections are eligible for consideration for the resubmission option if the assessment item was submittedﾠon time. Students who are granted a resubmissionﾠfor an assessment item and do not submit by the scheduled date will not be granted an extension.

Note: a resit is not available for the simulation activities as assessment is continuous and based on performance over the course of each of the modules.

Submitting assessment in Blackboard and Turnitin

When assessment is submitted throughﾠBlackboardﾠyou will receive a confirmation page as a digital receipt. This information will also be sent to your student e-mail account. Please ensure you keep this email.

When assessment is submitted throughﾠTurnitinﾠyou will receive a confirmation page displaying “Submission Complete!” and can then proceed to download your digital receiptﾠfrom yourﾠAssignment inbox.ﾠIt is suggested that you save a copy of the receipt for your personal records.

Instructions on how to submit assignments through Blackboard and Turnitin are available at:ﾠhttps://web.library.uq.edu.au/library-services/it/learnuq-blackboard-help/learnuq-assessment. Please review this information so you understand how to successfully submit your assessment items.

Use of Generative AI in assessments

Assessment tasks in this course evaluate students' abilities, skills, and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students 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.

If the student is unable to complete the assessment task on or by the listed due date, extensionsﾠcan be requested for the following assessment items:ﾠ

• Professional Practice Reflectionsﾠ
• Professional Practice Self-Evaluation (SimART)

Students applying for an extension must submit a request viaﾠmy.UQ > my.UQ Dashboard > my.ﾠRequestsﾠand provide evidence of their circumstance, as soon as it becomes evident that an extension is needed, butﾠno later than the assessment item submission date.ﾠ

Further information regarding what constitutes an acceptable reason for an extension is listed on theﾠmy.UQﾠwebsiteﾠApplying for an extension - my.UQ - University of Queenslandﾠ

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.

Additional learning resources information

All learning materials (including weekly simulation session student workbooks) will be linked to the SPCH2113ﾠBlackboard site.

Students are encouraged to use the SPCH2113ﾠEd Discussion Board on the eLearning Blackboard site to post any questions about course content,ﾠsimulation-based learning activities, and/or assessment tasks. The Discussion Board will be checked by the Course Coordinator at least once a week during the semester. All student questions regarding assessment will be addressed on the relevant Discussion Board.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

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 for Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.

You'll also need to be aware of the following policies and procedures while completing this course:

• Fitness to Practise Policy
• Vaccinations and Immunisation Procedure

School guidelines

Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course:

• Resources for Current Students