Course Title: Professional Practice in Laboratory Medicine

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Professional Practice in Laboratory Medicine

Credit Points: 48.00

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
MEDS2137	Bundoora Campus	Postgraduate	160H Medical Sciences	Workplace	Sem 1 2011, Sem 2 2011, Sem 1 2012, Sem 2 2012, Sem 1 2013, Sem 2 2013, Sem 2 2014, Sem 1 2015, Sem 2 2015, Sem 1 2016, Sem 2 2016

Course Coordinator: Ms Fiona Maxey

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 7388

Course Coordinator Email: fiona.maxey@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 201.10.7a

Course Coordinator Availability: By appointment and via email

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Students must have completed 144 credit points from the Master in Laboratory Medicine program or equivalent before attempting this course.

Work Integrated Learning:

Students enrolled in this course will be required to undertake placement as part of the assessment of the course.  A number of requirements must be met by students to ensure eligibility for placement.  Further details on each of these are available in Part B of the Course Guide and on MyRMIT.

• National Police check
• Working with Children Check
• Immunisation Declaration Form

 

There is no flexibility with these requirements.  It is your responsibility to ensure THESE REQUIREMENTS ARE COMPLETED.  Any student who has not provided this information will not be able to attend placement and will receive a fail grade for the placement course.

Course Description

This course includes a Work Integrated Learning experience in which knowledge and skills will be applied and assessed in a real workplace context and where feedback from industry and/or community is integral to to the experience

This course is intended to cover the areas of: knowledge capability (in various areas of laboratory medicine), technical capability in discipline related skills relevant to the laboratory of placement; communication skills (with professional co-workers and key users of the laboratory); professional work practices (in the day to day performance); and reflective capability (in completion of the Portfolio of Evidence of competency standards).

Students undertake a program of supervised professional practice in either a medical research, hospital or private pathology laboratory affiliated with the school, for the purposes of educating and training future diagnostic or research Medical Scientists

If you have a long term medical condition and/or disability you should contact the Program Coordinator or the Disability Liaison Unit for further advice. Students need to be able to meet the inherent requirements of the program.

At any time prior to or during your placement if there are concerns raised related to your fitness to practice the WIL coordinator can request that you gain full medical clearance to continue your placement.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course contributes to the following Program Learning Outcomes for MC158 Master of laboratory Medicine (1) Knowledge capability; (2) Technical capability, (3) Professional work practices, (4) Communication skills, and (5) Reflective capability.

On completion of this course you should be able to:

1. Communicate accurate and relevant discipline specific knowledge
2. Show capability in discipline specific laboratory skills
3. Apply generic capabilities in a discipline specific context

Overview of Learning Activities

The main learning activity is this course is placement experience in an appropriate laboratory such as medical research, hospital or private pathology laboratory affiliated with the school.  In general the activities on placement include the use of instrumentation employed in the laboratory and performance of routine techniques. Exposure to special techniques will be provided to allow students to appreciate their use in problem solving situations. Students will participate in the correlation, validation and interpretation of test results. Through this process they should acquire an appreciation of the value of clinical information, including patient histories and therapy, for proper interpretation of results. They should develop an understanding of medical terminology including standard abbreviations.

The completion of a portfolio of evidence will allow demonstration of knowledge and reflection on key competencies.

 

Students are offered a full-time placement position and are required to complete a period of 16 weeks placement.  This 16 week undertaking is on the condition of 5 days per week and cannot be extended

Extension due to sick leave, outside what is outlined in the Professional Practice Handbook, or exceptional circumstances that arise during placement, must be discussed with the course coordinator.

Overview of Learning Resources

The learning resources available during this course include the resources of the laboratory or hospital for the placement and online resources such as myRMIT and RMIT library.

Overview of Assessment

All hurdle requirements for this course are indicated clearly in the assessment regime that follows, against the relevant assessment task(s) and all have been approved by the College Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor (Leaning & Teaching).

Assessment tasks Assessment in this course includes a Professional Practice Portfolio, including a performance appraisal conducted by the workplace supervisor; and a Laboratory Notebook. Professional Practice Portfolio Part 1: 25% Understanding workplace practice and structure This assessment task supports CLOs 1, 3 Part 2: 25% Professional approach to practice This assessment task supports CLOs 1, 3 Part 3: 25% Professional skills required for application of practice This assessment task supports CLOs 1, 2 Part 4: 25% Professional Practice Appraisal This assessment task supports CLOs 1,2,3 Students are also required to keep a Laboratory Notebook to submit on a regular basis as evidence of their undertaking. This assessment task supports CLO 3   Feedback will be provided by the laboratory supervisor in the workplace, academic feedback will be given during seminars. If students are unsure of what is expected of them they should contact the coordinator for clarification. To pass the course, a pass must be obtained in each piece of assessment. This is to ensure capability in the key areas of professional practice.  Further breakdown of each task requirement will be available on myRMIT.

 

Assessment in this course includes a professional practice portfolio and a performance appraisal conducted by the workplace supervisor.

Work Integrated Learning:
Students enrolled in this course will be required to undertake placement as part of the assessment of the course. A number of requirements must be met by students to ensure eligibility for placement. Further details on each of these are available in Part B of the Course Guide and on MyRMIT.
• National Police check
• Working with Children Check
• Immunisation Declaration Form

Work Integrated Learning:
Students enrolled in this course will be required to undertake placement as part of the assessment of the course. A number of requirements must be met by students to ensure eligibility for placement.
Students are responsible for any expenses associated to attending professional placement. These costs may include, but are not limited to the following: uniform, police check application, first aid training, travel, accommodation and vaccinations.
Further details on each of these are available on MyRMIT.

Placement Agreements:
Placement agreements between RMIT and the placement organisation are in place. Any information required by students contained in the agreement is available on MyRMIT or InPlace.

National Police check:
Students are required to apply for a National Police Record Check in each year that a placement is to be undertaken. In some cases students may be required to obtain an additional police check during the year where an organisation stipulates a shorter time period for the issue of the police check.
Where a student has a disclosable outcome recorded on their police check certificate, the Placement Coordinator or WIL Coordinator will make contact with the relevant placement organisation to confirm eligibility to attend the placement. It is important to note that a disclosable outcome may prevent a student from accessing suitable, or any, professional placement(s) and may therefore be delayed or prevented from satisfactorily progressing through the program.
Students are required to advise the School in a timely manner of any change to their criminal record during the academic year. In the case of a change, students are required to apply for a new National Police Record Check if placements for that year are still to occur.

Working with Children Check:
A current Working with Children Card (WWCC) must be held by the student. Students are required by law to list RMIT as an organisation with who you will be undertaking child related volunteer work. Where a student receives a negative notice for their WWCC, the Placement Coordinator or WIL Coordinator will make contact with the relevant placement organisation to confirm eligibility to attend the placement. A negative notice means you cannot engage in child-related work under any circumstance. It is important to note that a negative notice may prevent a student from accessing suitable, or any, professional placement(s) and may therefore be delayed or prevented from satisfactorily progressing through the program.

Immunisation Declaration form:
Students are required to submit the School’s Immunisation Declaration Form as evidence of vaccinations and immunity. This form must be completed and signed off by a medical practitioner.