| Semester 1, 2020 On-campus Ipswich | |
| Short Description: | Behavioural Conditions & Emerg |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences |
| School or Department : | School of Health and Wellbeing |
| Student contribution band : | Band 2 |
| ASCED code : | 069905 - Paramedical Studies |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
Staffing
Examiner:
Requisites
Pre-requisite or Co-requisite: PMC1105
Rationale
Behavioural Conditions & Emergencies is designed to provide paramedics with the foundational knowledge and interpersonal skills necessary to effectively and appropriately manage people with mental health illnesses and other behavioural emergencies. Students will acquire knowledge of the causes, processes and manifestations of mental illness and common behavioural and emotional presentations that may or may not reflect diagnostic criteria for mental illness. Students will learn how human development and culture impacts on mental health and will learn interpersonal skills to interact with diverse age groups and cultural backgrounds, particularly in the role of crisis intervention. Students will also receive content surrounding commonly used psychiatric medications and their side-effects, overdose implications, etc. Pre-hospital management within relevant government mental health policy and legislation as well as core ethical principles will also be addressed.
Synopsis
Paramedics are increasingly required to respond to patients with behavioural conditions and emergencies therefore students need to develop strong communication skills, perform high quality mental status assessments, and develop the skills required to manage risk. This course will enable students to further their knowledge and application of communication, interpersonal and professional skills in relation to managing difficult patients and situations. Additionally, students will be provided with opportunities to consider professionalism, empathy, cultural sensitivity, recovery-orientated practice, ethics, legal issues, self-awareness and reflective practice, safety, evidence-based practice and the role of a paramedic within the broader health system.
Objectives
On successful completion of this course students will be able to:
- Explain the historical and socio-politico, and legal context of behavioural conditions
- Examine causes, processes & presentations of behavioural conditions & mental health emergencies
- Demonstrate the skills to effectively communicate & interact with diverse age groups and cultures, particularly in the role of crisis intervention
- Demonstrate a high level of communication skills and clinical reasoning in relation to managing behavioural conditions and mental health emergencies in the pre hospital environment
- Explain how human development & culture affects mental health across the lifespan.
- Examine commonly-used psychiatric medication and its side-effects and overdose implications.
- Apply evidence-based practice and contemporary management of behavioural conditions and mental health emergencies in paramedic situations
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. |
Understanding mental health Professional competencies |
10.00 |
| 2. | Mental health assessment | 10.00 |
| 3. |
Mood disorders Anxiety disorders |
10.00 |
| 4. |
Thought disorders Cognitive disorders |
10.00 |
| 5. | Substance abuse & related disorders | 10.00 |
| 6. |
Somatiform disorders Dissociative disorders |
10.00 |
| 7. |
Difficult and Combative patients Therapeutic communication |
10.00 |
| 8. |
Pharmacology and mental illness Sedation and Complex airway Side effects and limitations |
10.00 |
| 9. | Communication skills, clinical reasoning and reflective practice | 10.00 |
| 10. | Evidence based practice and mental health and wellbeing | 10.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=01&subject1=PMC2101)
Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)
Reference materials
s Clinical Examination, 8th edn. Elsevier. (including online resources).
Student workload expectations
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Assessments | 35.00 |
| Directed ¾«¶«´«Ã½app | 40.00 |
| Lectures | 24.00 |
| Private ¾«¶«´«Ã½app | 54.00 |
| Tutorials | 12.00 |
Assessment details
| Description | Marks out of | Wtg (%) | Due Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written Assignment | 40 | 40 | 27 Mar 2020 | (see note 1) |
| Group Project | 40 | 40 | 13 May 2020 | (see note 2) |
| Online Quiz | 20 | 20 | 27 May 2020 | (see note 3) |
Notes
- Details of the written assessment will be provided on ¾«¶«´«Ã½appDesk
- Group Project will assessed weekly (in class) until the end of the semester.
- Details of the online quiz will be provided on ¾«¶«´«Ã½appDesk
Important assessment information
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Attendance requirements:
It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. -
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To satisfactorily complete an assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks for that item. Students do not have to satisfactorily complete each assessment item to be awarded a passing grade in this course. Refer to Statement 4 below for the requirements to receive a passing grade in this course -
Penalties for late submission of required work:
Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4) -
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course. -
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative items for the course. -
Examination information:
NO EXAM: There is no examination in this course. -
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
NO EXAM: There will be no deferred or supplementary examinations or assessments. -
¾«¶«´«Ã½app Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene ¾«¶«´«Ã½app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .
Assessment notes
-
Students must familiarise themselves with the USQ Assessment Procedures. (.
-
Referencing in Assignments must comply with the APA referencing style. This system should be used by students to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. The APA referencing style to be used is defined by the USQ library’s referencing guide. These policies can be found at
Evaluation and benchmarking
In meeting the ¾«¶«´«Ã½app’s aims to establish quality learning and teaching for all programs, this course monitors and ensures quality assurance and improvements in at least two ways. This course:
1. conforms to the USQ Policy on Evaluation of Teaching, Courses and Programs to ensure ongoing monitoring and systematic improvement.
2. forms part of the Bachelor of Paramedicine
o internal USQ accreditation/reaccreditation processes which include (i) stringent standards in the independent accreditation of its academic programs, (ii) close integration between business and academic planning, and (iii) regular and rigorous review.
Other requirements
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Computer, e-mail and Internet access:
Students are required to have access to a personal computer, e-mail capabilities and Internet access to UConnect. Current details of computer requirements can be found at . -
Students can expect that questions in assessment items in this course may draw upon knowledge and skills that they can reasonably be expected to have acquired before enrolling in this course. This includes knowledge contained in pre-requisite courses and appropriate communication, information literacy, analytical, critical thinking, problem solving or numeracy skills. Students who do not possess such knowledge and skills should not expect the same grades as those students who do possess them.