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  2. Advanced Cardiac Studies [PST5110]

School: Medical and Health Sciences

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Advanced Cardiac Studies

  • Unit Code

    PST5110

  • Year

    2026

  • Enrolment Period

    1

  • Version

    2

  • Credit Points

    20

  • Full Year Unit

     N

  • Mode of Delivery

    Online

  • Unit Coordinator

    Mrs Judy SHEAHAN

Description

This unit will provide students with the advanced knowledge required to work independently or in conjunction with other health and medical practitioners in the provision of advanced out-of-hospital care for patients with acute life threatening cardiac conditions. Emphasis will be placed on obtaining a high level of understanding of the pathophysiology of cardiac conditions in order to make adequate and sound assessments of the situations. Students will learn current management strategies for the treatment of cardiac conditions in critical situations and develop knowledge of interventions aimed to result in good patient outcomes in a diverse population.

Equivalent Rule

Unit was previously coded PST4103, SCH4101

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Interpret the complex pathophysiology of cardiac disease recognising complications and barriers that impact correct diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
  2. Investigate contemporary treatment and management of cardiac conditions to manage cardiac conditions of patients in critical care situations.
  3. Examine and correctly assess the clinical presentation of patients with cardiac conditions formulating appropriate pre-hospital care and treatment plans.
  4. Apply medical and paramedical theory and knowledge to develop effective, evidence-based, pre-hospital treatment plans for life threatening cardiac conditions.

Unit Content

  1. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies used to treat cardiac conditions.
  2. Diagnosis and assessment of cardiac conditions.
  3. Develop and present case management rationale using case study presentations.
  4. Complications of cardiac disease and barriers to diagnosis.
  5. Interpretation of ECG recordings.
  6. Pathophysiology and causes of cardiac disease including atrial and ventricular dysrhythmias, coronary artery disease and cardiogenic shock.
  7. Physiology of normal cardiac function including sinus rhythm, ectopy in the mature and paediatric systems.

Learning Experience

Students will engage in learning experiences via ECU’s LMS as well as additional ECU learning technologies

Additional Learning Experience Information

Online lectures and tutorials.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
PortfolioPathophysiology of Cardiac Conditions30%
AssignmentEvidence-based Cardiac Care35%
Case StudyPrehospital Assessment and Management of Cardiac Emergencies35%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

  • Plagiarism: Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).
  • Unauthorised collaboration (collusion): Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).
  • Contract cheating: Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.
  • Cheating in an exam: Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment Procedure - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment Procedure - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

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