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Location Domestic International
Gold Coast
Online

Unit Summary

Unit type

UG Coursework Unit

Credit points

24

AQF level

7

Level of learning

Advanced

Unit aim

Students undertake supervised clinical experience in the general provision of pedorthic services to the general public. Students learn about professional issues such as workplace health and safety, ethical behaviour, communication, boundaries and referral. Within this supervised environment the student clinician will be responsible for case planning and management.

Unit content

While on placement students, under supervision and guidance, will participate in learning experiences to develop foundational level clinical, professional and communication skills.  These experiences will include:

  • Taking health histories for low risk clients
  • Biomechanical assessments and reviewing medical reports, including radiology results
  • Clinical assessments
  • Treatment planning, implementation and progress review including appropriate adjustments to treatment (for the lower limb)
  • Three-dimensional foot and ankle model (casting and scanning) for low risk clients
  • Manufacture and/or modification of pedorthic appliances for low risk clients, this may include the design and construct the cast negatives and positives, orthoses and footwear
  • Reviewing cases by peer and supervisor interaction

In this context, workplace professionalism including teamwork; limitations of pedorthic practice and appropriate referral to other health care professionals; workplace health and safety regulations and infection control; and medico-legal and ethical principles pertaining to clinical practice will be explored. Integral to this, students will have the opportunity to communicate by written and oral means with clients, peers, staff and other health care professionals using language and terminology appropriate to the situation.

 

Learning outcomes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

GA1: , GA2: , GA3: , GA4: , GA5: , GA6: , GA7:
On completion of this unit, students should be able to: GA1 GA2 GA3 GA4 GA5 GA6 GA7
1 demonstrate developing skills required to work as a safe, competent pedorthic practitioner
2 demonstrate case management skills - assessment, planning, therapeutic intervention and evaluation
3 provide person centred pedorthic advice and appliances at a beginning level
4 discuss professional boundaries of practice, including ethics
5 communicate competently by written and oral means with clients, peers, staff, and other health care professionals
6 evaluate and critique the evidence for pedorthic practice
7 identify hazards and develop safe work procedures with the pedorthic environment

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

  1. demonstrate developing skills required to work as a safe, competent pedorthic practitioner
    • GA3:
    • GA4:
  2. demonstrate case management skills - assessment, planning, therapeutic intervention and evaluation
    • GA1:
  3. provide person centred pedorthic advice and appliances at a beginning level
    • GA3:
    • GA4:
    • GA7:
  4. discuss professional boundaries of practice, including ethics
    • GA3:
  5. communicate competently by written and oral means with clients, peers, staff, and other health care professionals
    • GA6:
    • GA7:
  6. evaluate and critique the evidence for pedorthic practice
    • GA1:
    • GA4:
  7. identify hazards and develop safe work procedures with the pedorthic environment
    • GA3:

Prescribed texts

  • Prescribed text information is not currently available.

  • Alexander, I, 1990, The foot: examination and diagnosis, Churchill Livingstone.
  • Baumgartner, R, Moller, M & Stinus, H, 2016, Pedorthics: Foot disorders, foot orthoses, footwear, C. Maurer, Germany.
Prescribed texts may change in future teaching periods.