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.

Grading of Assessments

You will receive a grade for each assessment within this unit. The grades awarded will reflect a holistic evaluation of the work against the criteria outlined within the corresponding assessment rubric. Course grading will be used for the HAWC assignment and Viva examination with the calculation of numerical marks for these assessment tasks based on the following percentages, and rounded to the nearest full mark:

• High distinction (HD) – 95%
• Distinction (D) – 80%
• Credit (C) – 70%
• Pass (P) – 60%
• Pass threshold (P-) – 50%
• Fail (F) – 40%

Submission of an incomplete assessment task may result in the Fail (F) grade to be awarded a numerical grade below 40%.

Hurdle Assessment

Assessment task 4, the Clinical Placement Logbook, is a hurdle assessment. A hurdle assessment is defined as an assessment task mandating a minimum level of performance as a condition of passing the unit in which it occurs. You must obtain a pass grade in this assessment as a minimum requirement for passing the unit. Should you fail to obtain a pass grade upon your initial attempt, one supplementary opportunity will be provided to demonstrate that you meet the minimum requirements for this assessment. This supplementary opportunity may be in the form of additional time to complete the task. Should you still not meet a pass standard a Fail (Hurdle) grade will be awarded, as indicated by a FH grade upon your transcript.

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:

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.

Teaching and Learning Strategy

This unit integrates the development of Evidence-based and Inter-professional Health Care skills in lectures and tutorials with clinical application in the Community Clinical Placement. Lectures will provide foundation knowledge, using a variety of delivery modes, including online and in-person lectures and Connected Curriculum modules. In-person tutorials will give you the opportunity to develop practical skills in the key topics, such as formulating clinical questions, searching electronic databases and critical appraisal of evidence. By integration of these skills with real-life clinical examples from your experiences on your Community Clinical Placement, you will develop the ability to implement Evidence-Based Health Care in clinical practice.

Inter-professional Learning and Teaching

In this unit, you will have a unique opportunity to work together with inter-professional peers across the Doctor of Physiotherapy, Doctor of Medicine, and Master of Clinical Audiology courses on their Community Clinical Placements. Lectures and tutorials will be conducted with students from all courses together in the learning spaces, to facilitate inter-professional team work and understanding. The unit is delivered by an inter-professional team, including health professionals, academics and clinicians with expertise in medicine, physiotherapy, audiology, psychology and other clinical backgrounds. 

Attendance

Professionalism is a key capability embedded in the Macquarie DPT course. As part of developing professionalism, you are expected to attend all small group interactive sessions including tutorials. If attendance is deemed to be of concern, this will be referred to the Lead (Student Professionalism) for remediation, subsequent monitoring, and recording.

There will be two in-person lectures, and all other material is available on iLearn as online modules. Tutorials are scheduled in your individual timetable. The timetable for classes can be found on the University web site at: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/. You may make a request to your tutor to attend a different tutorial on a one-off basis for extenuating circumstances.

Failure to attend/complete any learning and teaching activities, including lectures and tutorials, may impact your final results. It is your responsibility to contact your tutor or the unit convenor by email to inform tutors if they are going to be absent.

iLearn

This unit's iLearn site will provide weekly resources for students, including:

• lecture notes
• tutorial worksheets
• preparation and consolidation material
• videos
• other teaching resources
• assessment details

Unit materials and readings

The textbooks for the unit are:

• Strauss et al. Evidence-Based Medicine: How to Practice and Teach it. 4th or 5th Edition.
• Herbert et al. Evidence-based Physiotherapy. 2nd Edition 
• Greenhalgh et al. Understanding Research Methods for Evidence-based Practice in Health. 3rd Edition. 

Copies of these books are available in the MQ library. Digital version of these books are available online and can be accessed via the MQ Library database. Weekly readings will come from journal articles and a range of text book chapters. Most weekly readings will be available on iLearn (Unit Readings and Access to Papers) or MQ Library e-reserve.

Technology and Equipment

On-campus

Teaching rooms are equipped with state of art audio-visual and ICT equipment including ipads, laptops, internet connection, high quality video cameras and multiple LCD screens. 

Off-campus

To study optimally when off campus you will need to have access to a reliable internet connection to retrieve unit information & submit assessment tasks via iLearn. 

Unit organisation

This is a ten credit point unit. Overall, it is anticipated that you spend approximately 150 hours across the session on this unit. Within this session there will be 56 hours spent on learning activities including class preparation, flipped content delivery and on-campus tutorials. In addition, 35 hours allocated to Community Clinical Placement activities.

Consultation with staff

All staff will be available for individual consultations, please see iLearn site for information on staff availability for consultation.

Detailed information pertaining to the unit schedule can be found on iLearn.

There has been an addition of Master of Audiology as part of co-teaching and community clinical placements which further enhances inter-disciplinary education in this unit. 

Social inclusion and belonging at Macquarie University is about giving everyone the opportunity to benefit from higher education by studying at university, participating in campus life, and flourishing in their chosen fields. The University continues to work towards the promotion of an inclusive, equitable, and diverse campus community for the benefit of staff and students. Fostering a supportive and flourishing culture at the University is everyone's responsibility. As a member of the Macquarie University community, you must not discriminate against or harass others based on their sex, gender identity, gender expression, race, ethnicity, culture, marital status, carers' responsibilities, socioeconomic status, disability status, sexual orientation, age, political conviction, and/or religious belief. All staff and students are expected to display appropriate behaviour that is conducive to a healthy learning environment for everyone. For more information on how Macquarie University fosters a culture of support, please see this website. If you have any concerns regarding equity, inclusivity, and diversity in this unit, please contact your Unit Convenor. 

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.