Students

SPTH8840 – Advanced Professional 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
Rebecca McNeil
Elisabeth Harrison
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
SPTH8832
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

In this unit, students will explore the relationships between healthcare policy and funding settings, ethical speech pathology service delivery and practice, and the future of the speech pathology profession. Emerging national and international topics in healthcare will be included to prepare students for future practice and leadership.

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: Demonstrate understanding of current and projected legal regulations, and federal and state policies, and their potential impact on speech pathology service delivery.
  • ULO2: Analyse the implications of major health care funding systems for the delivery of speech pathology services in Australia and elsewhere.
  • ULO3: Explain the ethical application of marketing, branding, and e-media promotion of professional services within speech pathology.
  • ULO4: Critically evaluate the relationship between individual professional development and leadership systems in healthcare, and how this impacts the development of the speech pathology profession.

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

 

For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Critical analysis of policy 40% Yes Week 7
Critical analysis of speech pathology marketing 30% No Week 10
Critical self-reflection and development planning 30% Yes Week 14

Critical analysis of policy

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 31 hours
Due: Week 7
Weighting: 40%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

 

In this assessment, students will be required to discuss and critically appraise current or proposed policy settings relevant to speech pathology practice. Potential sources of policies are Speech Pathology Australia, Australian or international federal and state governments, and other relevant regulatory bodies. Students must demonstrate advanced understanding of the current or possible future effects of the policy settings on speech pathology practice in Australia, and offer a coherent response to the challenges and opportunities presented.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate understanding of current and projected legal regulations, and federal and state policies, and their potential impact on speech pathology service delivery.
  • Analyse the implications of major health care funding systems for the delivery of speech pathology services in Australia and elsewhere.

Critical analysis of speech pathology marketing

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 23 hours
Due: Week 10
Weighting: 30%

 

In this assessment, students will critically evaluate an example of current speech pathology marketing material that is available in Australia. Students will apply concepts derived from the Speech Pathology Australia Code of Ethics, and other relevant professional guidelines in their evaluation.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate understanding of current and projected legal regulations, and federal and state policies, and their potential impact on speech pathology service delivery.
  • Explain the ethical application of marketing, branding, and e-media promotion of professional services within speech pathology.

Critical self-reflection and development planning

Assessment Type 1: Reflective Writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 23 hours
Due: Week 14
Weighting: 30%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

 

In this assessment, students will identify areas of professional competency requiring further development as new graduate speech pathologists, and how this contributes to the speech pathology profession more broadly. They will also identify and critically evaluate their role in a challenging clinical situation that they have experienced, and discuss what they would do differently in a similar situation in future.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse the implications of major health care funding systems for the delivery of speech pathology services in Australia and elsewhere.
  • Critically evaluate the relationship between individual professional development and leadership systems in healthcare, and how this impacts the development of the speech pathology profession.

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

As a student enrolled in this unit, you will engage in a range of independent and collaborative learning activities. In particular, students will participate in 2 hour seminar classes blending teaching-fronted delivery with small group activities. Students will be expected to engage with learning materials and activities before attending and participating in weekly classes, and then to complete learning activities following class. All scheduled learning activities will take place over the standard 13 weeks of the session. Full details can be found on the iLearn site for this unit.

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.

Diversity and Inclusion

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.


Unit information based on version 2023.02 of the Handbook