Students

PSYN8917 – Neuropsychological Practice

2023 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Heather Francis
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MClinNeuro and (PSYN840 or PSYN8840) and (PSYN855 or PSYN8855) and (PSYN853 or PSYN8853 or PSYG8001)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit builds on material taught in PSYN8840, PSYN8855, and PSYN8853 and encourages students to consider the range of issues that can impact on cognitive test performance. Issues fundamental to differential diagnosis will be explored. Students are exposed to complex areas of clinical practice such as mTBI. Various secondary influences on neuropsychological functioning including depressive disorders, trauma-related disorders, and anxiety disorders are detailed. Issues specific to working with elderly patients are considered and the neuropsychology of neurodegenerative disorders is detailed.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Apply neuropsycholigcal knowledge to conduct sophisticated differential diagnosis.
  • ULO2: Understand the neuropathology and neuropsychology of various neurological syndromes.
  • ULO3: Understand how different psychological tests contribute to neuropsychological formulations.
  • ULO4: Understand major psychiatric diagnoses and the neuropsychological sequelae of those conditions.
  • ULO5: Competently undertake case formulation and report writing for different audiences.

General Assessment Information

Grade descriptors and other information concerning grading are contained in the Macquarie University Assessment Policy.

All final grades are determined by a grading committee, in accordance with the Macquarie University Assessment Policy, and are not the sole responsibility of the Unit Convenor.

Students will be awarded a final grade and a mark which must correspond to the grade descriptors specified in the Assessment Procedure (clause 128).

To pass this unit, you must demonstrate sufficient evidence of achievement of the learning outcomes, meet any ungraded requirements, and achieve a final mark of 50 or better.

Further details for each assessment task will be available on iLearn.

Late Submissions

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (OF THE TOTAL POSSIBLE MARK) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern. 

 For example:

Number of days (hours) late

Total Possible Marks

Deduction

Raw mark

Final mark

1 day (1-24 hours)

100

5

75

70

2 days (24-48 hours)

100

10

75

65

3 days (48-72 hours)

100

15

75

60

7 days (144-168 hours)

100

35

75

40

>7 days (>168 hours)

100

-

75

0

 

Late submission of time sensitive tasks, such as timetabled tests/exams, scheduled performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs, will be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application.  

Special Consideration

If you are unable to complete an assessment task on or by the specified date due circumstances that are unexpected, unavoidable, significantly disruptive and beyond your control, you may apply for special consideration in accordance with the special consideration policy. Applications for special consideration must be supported by appropriate evidence and submitted via ask.mq.edu.au.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Interpretation of results of a traumatic brain injury case 50% No 10/09/2023
Case Formulation report 50% No 08/10/2023

Interpretation of results of a traumatic brain injury case

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 29 hours
Due: 10/09/2023
Weighting: 50%

In 1750 words students are required to interpret and report on clinical data of a traumatic brain injury case.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply neuropsycholigcal knowledge to conduct sophisticated differential diagnosis.
  • Understand the neuropathology and neuropsychology of various neurological syndromes.
  • Understand how different psychological tests contribute to neuropsychological formulations.
  • Understand major psychiatric diagnoses and the neuropsychological sequelae of those conditions.
  • Competently undertake case formulation and report writing for different audiences.

Case Formulation report

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 08/10/2023
Weighting: 50%

Students will submit a report of 2000 words which is a differential diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply neuropsycholigcal knowledge to conduct sophisticated differential diagnosis.
  • Understand the neuropathology and neuropsychology of various neurological syndromes.
  • Understand how different psychological tests contribute to neuropsychological formulations.
  • Understand major psychiatric diagnoses and the neuropsychological sequelae of those conditions.
  • Competently undertake case formulation and report writing for different audiences.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Lectures will be held from 9am-12pm on Tuesdays in 01CC 115.

Required and recommended readings are provided in the relevant sections of the ilearn page. 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Inclusion and Diversity

Social inclusion at Macquarie University is about giving everyone who has the potential to benefit from higher education the opportunity to study at university, participate in campus life and flourish in their chosen field. The University has made significant moves to promote an equitable, diverse and exciting campus community for the benefit of staff and students. It is your responsibility to contribute towards the development of an inclusive culture and practice in the areas of learning and teaching, research, and service orientation and delivery. As a member of the Macquarie University community, you must not discriminate against or harass others based on their sex, gender, race, marital status, carers' responsibilities, disability, sexual orientation, age, political conviction or religious belief. All staff and students are expected to display appropriate behaviour that is conducive to a healthy learning environment for everyone.

Professionalism

In the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, professionalism is a key capability embedded in all our courses.

As part of developing professionalism, students are expected to attend all small group interactive sessions including clinical, practical, laboratory, work-integrated learning (e.g., PACE placements), and team-based learning activities. Some learning activities are recorded (e.g., face-to-face lectures), however you are encouraged to avoid relying upon such material as they do not recreate the whole learning experience and technical issues can and do occur. As an adult learner, we respect your decision to choose how you engage with your learning, but we would remind you that the learning opportunities we create for you have been done so to enable your success, and that by not engaging you may impact your ability to successfully complete this unit. We equally expect that you show respect for the academic staff who have worked hard to develop meaningful activities and prioritise your learning by communicating with them in advance if you are unable to attend a small group interactive session.

Another dimension of professionalism is having respect for your peers. It is the right of every student to learn in an environment that is free of disruption and distraction. Please arrive to all learning activities on time, and if you are unavoidably detained, please join activity as quietly as possible to minimise disruption. Phones and other electronic devices that produce noise and other distractions must be turned off prior to entering class. Where your own device (e.g., laptop) is being used for class-related activities, you are asked to close down all other applications to avoid distraction to you and others. Please treat your fellow students with the utmost respect. If you are uncomfortable participating in any specific activity, please let the relevant academic know.

Changes since First Published

Date Description
13/08/2023 The due date for assessment 1 has been changed from 03/09/2023 to 10/09/2023. I was collaborating with a content expert to revise the assessment task, and that person was quite sick for a number of weeks. That delayed finalisation of the assessment task, which meant I released the details about 1 week later than I had planned. Out of consideration for the students, I have delayed the due date by one week.
23/07/2023 No changes were made. I'm unsure how the unit guide ended up in draft form again.

Unit information based on version 2023.03 of the Handbook