96025 Clinical Practice 3
Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a
particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
Requisite(s): (96007 Drug Disposition AND 96005 Professional Services 2 AND 96006 Integrated Therapeutics 1 AND (96008 Evidence-based Practice OR 96858 Evidence-based Primary Health Care) AND 96024 Clinical Practice 2)
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses.
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Description
This subject continues the transfer of class-acquired knowledge to real work situations. It consists of one two-week simulation placement and two two-week block placements.
The simulation placement includes simulation labs, practical workshops, and online modules in preparation for clinically-oriented settings, such as hospital pharmacy or specialty clinics/services.
The block placement sites include patient-care and organisational settings. Students can express a preference to focus their learning in a hospital or community placement, or broaden their experience in a rural, industry or organisational placement setting (subject to availability).
Use of an e-portfolio to showcase learning and competency is an important part of this subject.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| 01. | Develop effective leadership and communication skills within teams in pharmacy practice settings, fostering collaboration, innovation, and optimal patient care outcomes. |
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| 02. | Demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning, employing a reflective approach to maintain professional competence |
| 03. | Integrate relevant patient, drug, disease and system factors in the selection and management of appropriate therapy for patients |
| 04. | Apply a systematic process of inquiry, problem-solving, decision- making, and prioritisation to understand and manage a patient's health problem(s). |
| 05. | Apply coursework learning in a range of practice settings. |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
The learning outcomes for this subject are as follows:
- Reflect on knowledge, skills and attributes required for the evaluation and integration of emerging evidence into practice, promoting the growth of personal and professional learning and the education of others (01.02)
- Analyse and synthesise knowledge of health science concepts and theory, and apply skills of scientific research and clinical reasoning to support decision-making in pharmacy practice. (01.03)
- Demonstrate safe and competent operational, interpersonal and clinical skills for the benefit and care of patients and the wider community. (02.01)
- Engage in team undertakings adopting a range of roles in diverse teams, building cohesion and maximising team contributions. (02.04)
- Demonstrate sound ethical, compassionate and respectful patient-focused care, taking responsibility for personal health and wellbeing. (02.05)
- Capably communicate to patients, their families, carers and members of the healthcare team; contribute to wider health education and promotion, choosing and adapting communication modes to address cultural and linguistic diversity. (02.06)
- Represent pharmacy perspectives in multidisciplinary environments, and optimise patient outcomes through self-awareness and acknowledgement of the contributions of other healthcare disciplines. (02.08)
- Integrate into daily practice knowledge of health systems and concerns in national and global communities, with awareness of the social and cultural contexts of health to meet the diverse needs of individuals and communities. (03.07)
- Acquire specialised knowledge and skills to inform professional cultural capability to work effectively with and for, Indigenous Australians across the pharmacy profession. (04.09)
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
Clinical placements provide an important platform for the integration of the knowledge gained through pharmacy coursework, emphasising the relevance and application to the practice setting, as well as practicing newly developed skills.
The Master of Pharmacy Clinical Practice Subjects contribute to the following UTS:Pharmacy Graduate Attributes:
Lifelong learning
Graduates of the Master of Pharmacy are lifelong learners, committed to and capable of reflection and inquiry in their quest for personal development and excellence in professional practice.
Professional capacity
Graduates of the Master of Pharmacy are client-focused, ethical practitioners with the understanding and proficiency to be leaders in their profession, capable of effectively researching and communicating solutions in a global context.
Global citizenship
Graduates of the Master of Pharmacy contribute to society, resolving to undertake those actions and responsibilities that will enhance their role in local, national and global communities.
Cultural competence
Graduates of the Master of Pharmacy are culturally competent professionals, able to reflect on and explain their own cultural perspectives, accommodate cultural differences and achieve optimal outcomes through the adoption of a consultative approach to health care with indigenous Australians and other cultural groups.
Teaching and learning strategies
Clinical Practice 3 uses a hybrid learning approach combining self-directed learning, clinical simulation and work integrated learning. The Simulation Placement in Clinical Practice 3, a hybrid of self study and clinical simulation, prepares students for their work integrated learning in hospitals setting. The 4 week work integrated learning clinical placement enables students to learn by reflecting on their experiences in real clinical situations, and through patient-centred tasks related to the learning content of their other Master of Pharmacy subjects.
Student preparation for learning: Prior to the simulation and work integrated learning, students read and use online resources to prepare for their participation in practice-oriented learning sessions. This includes completion of online interprofessional modules and quiz, which covers topics such as healthcare ethics, teamwork and interprofessional collaboration.
Clinical Simulation (Practice-orientated Learning): students have the opportunity to develop the clinical skills needed to practice as a pharmacist in the hospital setting via a series of simulations. In these simulations students will develop hands-on clinical skills and apply their academic knowledge of pharmacy in authentic simulated scenarios, The simulated learning will provide a foundation for students to build on in their work integrated learning.
Experiential Learning (Practice-orientated Learning): As a clinical placement subject, students have the opportunity to engage in clinical pharmacy practice, utilise and further develop their hands-on clinical skills and apply their academic knowledge in pharmacy to real patients and authentic experiences and scenarios within the clinical environment. Learning in the clinical environment is under the mentorship of qualified registered pharmacist. Students are expected to actively engage in all aspects of clinical practice under the guidance of the preceptor.
Collaborative Learning: Pharmacists work within a multi-disciplinary team environment and often collaborate with other health professionals to provide optimal patient care. Through clinical placement, students have the opportunity to work within these collaborative teams and develop both general teamwork skills and specific clinical skills such as; medication history taking, medication reconciliation and case conferencing. Students also have the opportunity to collaborate closely with peers, registered pharmacists, general practitioners and other allied health professionals throughout their clinical placement.
Reflective Learning: Reflective practice is an essential skill for health professionals to develop. Students are encouraged to critically reflect on their learning throughout the subject to identify areas where they may improve their performance and to assist in the development of lifelong learning skills. Specific activities where reflective learning is encouraged are; self-evaluation of learning within the clinical environment and reflection on a learning tasks.
Ongoing Feedback: Feedback will be frequent and will include ongoing feedback from preceptors throughout experiential placement activities as well as from the subject coordinator. Students are provided with ongoing feedback relating to the performance of clinical skills, clinical reasoning and understanding of key concepts of clinical practice by preceptors when on clinical placement. Formative feedback about a student’s performance while on clinical placement is provided via the preceptor evaluation assessment at the end of each 2 week placement block.
Content (topics)
Topics that students will be examined include:
- Work Integrated Learning Placement activities
- Clinical competence
- Reflective Practice
- Interprofessional collaborative relationships
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Simulation Placement (must-pass)
| Intent: | Pharmacists working in clinical practice are required to be familiar with clinical activities across a range of pharmacy practice settings such as community and hospital. This comprises a suite of self-directed online activities and simulation activities to allow students to become familiar with clinical activities that they will be undertaking in the simulation and pharmacy environments. |
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| Objective(s): | This task is aligned with the following subject learning objectives: 02, 03, 04 and 05 This task is aligned with the following course learning outcomes: 01.02, 01.03, 02.01, 02.04, 02.05, 02.06, 03.07 and 04.09 |
| Type: | Laboratory/practical |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 15% |
| Criteria: | Marks will be awarded according to the criteria provided in Canvas. |
Assessment task 2: Clinical Practice Activities
| Intent: | Pharmacists working in clinical practice are required to be familiar with clinical activities across a range of pharmacy practice settings. This comprises a range of clinical activities that will be undertaken in alignment with your placement setting to demonstrate the application and integration of coursework learning to the practice setting and the practical experiences and competencies gained during the clinical pharmacy placement block. |
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| Objective(s): | This task is aligned with the following subject learning objectives: 02, 03, 04 and 05 This task is aligned with the following course learning outcomes: 01.02, 01.03, 02.01, 02.04, 02.05, 02.06, 02.08, 03.07 and 04.09 |
| Type: | Laboratory/practical |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 60% |
| Criteria: | You will be assessed on your competency to complete the assessment activity in relation to your placement setting. Marks will be awarded according to the criteria provided in Canvas. |
Assessment task 3: Preceptor Evaluation (must-pass)
| Intent: | This task will allow the preceptors to engage with students on placement to facilitate the development of clinical competency and evaluate their performance, professionalism and behaviour during placement. |
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| Objective(s): | This task is aligned with the following subject learning objectives: 02, 03, 04 and 05 This task is aligned with the following course learning outcomes: 01.02, 01.03, 02.01, 02.04, 02.05, 02.06, 02.08, 03.07 and 04.09 |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 20% |
| Criteria: | You will be assessed by your preceptor on clinical competency, performance, professionalism and behaviour during placement according to the Preceptor Evaluation Form criterion, available via Canvas. |
Assessment task 4: Interprofessional Modules and Quiz (must-pass)
| Intent: | Pharmacists working in clinical practice must be proficient in a variety of clinical activities across diverse pharmacy practice settings, including community and hospital environments. This involves fostering interprofessional collaboration, ensuring pharmacists are well-prepared to work effectively within healthcare teams. |
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| Objective(s): | This task is aligned with the following subject learning objectives: 01 This task is aligned with the following course learning outcomes: 02.04 and 02.08 |
| Type: | Quiz/test |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 5% |
| Length: | Open book quiz; 40 minutes; approximately 20 multiple choice questions |
| Criteria: | Marks will be awarded according to the criteria provided in Canvas. |
Assessment task 5: Clinical Compliance (must-pass)
| Intent: | The Graduate School of Health has adopted NSW Health policies and procedures for all clinical placement sites utilised throughout the placement program. Students are required to maintain their compliance requirements, and action and submit all relevant documentation to the Clinical Placement team and then NSW Health. Undertaking and continuing the clinical compliance process are the first steps towards starting a career in health. The compliance process is there to protect students and the people students will care for in practice. |
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| Objective(s): | This task is aligned with the following subject learning objectives: 05 This task is aligned with the following course learning outcomes: 02.01 and 02.05 |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | Mandatory task that does not contribute to subject mark |
| Criteria: | Task must be submitted to meet requirements. |
Minimum requirements
Attendance at 190 hours of Clinical Practice
Note: There are must-pass assessments in this subject. Please check the assessment descriptions for details.
Required texts
- Australian Medicines Handbook (AMH) - Available via the UTS library.
Recommended texts
Textbooks and references:
- Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary (APF) and Handbook, 26th Edition, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Curtin, ACT.
- Rutter P and Newby D. Community Pharmacy: Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. (Elsevier, 2019)
- Therapeutic Guidelines (Victorian Drug Usage Advisory Committee, North Melbourne, Vic. Available via the UTS Library.
Professional Organisations:
- Advanced Pharmacy Australia
www.adpha.au - Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
www.psa.org.au
Other:
Coursework Assessments Procedures
Graduate School of Health Policy, Guidelines and Procedures
Graduate School of Health Clinical Placement Manual
Other resources
- UTS Pharmacy Uniform and appropriate attire (NB: closed-toe footware)
- UTS Pharmacy Identification Badge
- Portable computer (laptop, notebook, netbook, iPad) for use on clinical placements
Go to Canvas → Subject Resources
Prior to undertaking clinical placements, you must complete specific clearance checks to comply with the Australian health system (e.g. Ministry of Health) requirements:
- Vaccinations (evidence of immunity)
- Criminal record check (National Police Certificate)
- Compliance with the Ministry of Health requirements for students undertaking clinical placements
(Student Undertaking, Codes of Conduct, Prohibited Employment Declarations)
Evidence of compliance must be provided prior to commencing clinical placements.
Go to Canvas → Subject Resources