Clinical science

These inherent requirements apply to the following course: Bachelor of Clinical Sciences.

Prospective and current students who are concerned about their capacities in relation to inherent requirements are strongly encouraged to contact the CDU Access and Inclusion team to discuss possible adjustments or alternative courses.

E: inclusion@cdu.edu.au

These inherent requirements should be read in conjunction with other course information and Medical Board of Australia (MBA) publications such as Guidelines for Mandatory Notifications and Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors in Australia.

There are eight domains of inherent requirements for the Bachelor of Clinical Sciences.

Each domain has five levels:

1. Introduction
2. Description
3. Justification
4. Adjustments
5. Exemplars

Acting in ways consistent with the recognised values of society and avoiding activities that do harm.
In the context of inherent requirements, students undertaking a course of study may be governed by practice standards and codes of ethics.

1. Introduction
   Medicine is a profession governed by codes, guidelines, and policies where practitioners are both accountable and responsible for ensuring professional behaviour in all contexts.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates knowledge of, and engages in, ethical behaviour in practice.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Compliance with the codes, guidelines and policies facilitates safe, competent interactions and relationships for students and/or the people with whom they engage. This ensures the physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing of the individual is not placed at risk.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must not compromise codes, guidelines and policies or result in unethical behaviour.
5. Exemplars:
   • Complying with academic and non-academic misconduct policies
   • Demonstrating appropriate behaviour with confidential information in classroom and clinical settings.

The maintenance of conduct that is acceptable and appropriate, according to the recognised norms of society over a given period.

1. Introduction
   Behavioural stability is required to function and adapt effectively and sensitively in a demanding role.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates behavioural stability to work constructively in a diverse and changing academic and clinical environment.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Behavioural stability is required to work individually and in teams in changing and unpredictable environments. Medical students will be exposed to emergency situations and human suffering and will be required to have behavioural stability to manage these events objectively and professionally.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must support stable, effective, and professional behaviour in both academic and clinical settings.
5. Exemplars:
   • Being receptive and responding appropriately to constructive feedback
   • Coping with own emotions and behaviour effectively when dealing with individuals in the clinical setting.

Related to the law. In the context of inherent requirements, this refers to the legal requirements of professional bodies relevant to specific courses of study.

1. Introduction
   Medical practice is mandated by specific legislation to enable the safe delivery of care.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates knowledge and compliance with Australian Law, professional regulations, and scope of practice.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Knowledge, understanding, and compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements are necessary pre-requisites to clinical placements to reduce the risk of harm to self and others.
   Compliance with these professional regulations and the Australian Law ensures that students are both responsible and accountable for their practice.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must be consistent with legislative and regulatory requirements.
5. Exemplars:
   • Responding to the requirements for student registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
   • Complying with relevant child protection and safety legislation.

Verbal communication: Conveying messages, ideas, or feelings through speech.

1. Introduction
   Effective and efficient verbal communication, in English, is an essential requirement to provide safe delivery of care.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • The ability to understand and respond to verbal communication accurately, appropriately and in a timely manner
   • The ability to provide clear instructions in the context of the situation
   • Timely clear feedback and reporting.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Adequate communication with patients is essential to the diagnosis and management process in medicine. Verbal communication may be the only available means of communication between medical practitioner and patient/others. Speed and interactivity of communication may be critical for patient safety or treatment. Timely, accurate and effective delivery of instructions is critical to patient safety, treatment, and management.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments for impaired verbal communication must address effectiveness, timeliness, clarity, and accuracy issues to ensure patient safety.
5. Exemplars:
   • Participating in tutorial, simulation, and clinical discussions
   • Responding appropriately to a care request in the clinical environment.

Non-verbal communication: Communication other than speech that conveys meaning including gestures and facial expressions, body posture, stance, touch, eye movements, eye contact and distance from the person/s with whom you are communicating. Non-verbal cues can provide significant additional information to the person with whom you are communicating.

1. Introduction
   Effective non-verbal communication is fundamental to medicine and needs to be respectful, clear, attentive, empathetic, honest, and non-judgemental.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • The capacity to recognise, interpret and respond appropriately to behavioural cues
   • Consistent and appropriate awareness of own behaviours
   • Sensitivity to individual differences.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   The ability to observe and understand non-verbal cues assists with building a rapport with people and gaining their trust and respect in academic and professional relationships. Displaying consistent and appropriate facial expressions, eye contact, being mindful of space, time boundaries and body movements and gestures promotes trust in academic and professional relationships. Being sensitive to individual differences displays respect and empathy to others and develops trusting relationships. The ability to observe and understand non-verbal cues is essential for safe and effective observation of patient symptoms and reactions to facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of patients.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must enable the capacity to recognise, respond to or initiate, effective non-verbal communication, or its equivalent, in a timely and appropriate manner.
5. Exemplars:
   • Recognising and responding appropriately in classroom situations
   • Recognising and responding appropriately to cues in the clinical environment.

Written communication: Communication by written symbols including electronic means, print or handwriting.

1. Introduction
   Effective written communication, in English, is a fundamental medical responsibility with professional and legal ramifications.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • Capacity to construct coherent written communication appropriate to the circumstances
   • The capacity to use a range of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to complete academic assessment requirements. 
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Construction of written text-based assessment tasks to reflect the required academic standards are necessary to convey knowledge and understanding of relevant subject matter for professional practice. Accurate written communication, including record keeping and patient notes, is vital to provide consistent and safe patient care.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must meet necessary standards of clarity, accuracy, accessibility, transferability, and portability to ensure effective recording and transmission of information in both academic and clinical settings.
5. Exemplars:
   • Constructing an essay to academic standards
   • Constructing a medical report in a timely manner that meets professional standards.

The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through one's thoughts, experience, and senses.

Knowledge and cognitive skills: Acquired skills that reflect an individual's ability to think. Cognitive skills include verbal and spatial abilities, concentration, memory, perception, reasoning, planning and organisation, flexible thinking, and problem solving.

1. Introduction
   Consistent and effective knowledge and cognitive skills must be demonstrated to provide safe and competent medical care.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • Capacity to locate appropriate and relevant information
   • Ability to process information relevant to practice
   • Ability to integrate and implement knowledge in practice.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Safe and effective delivery of medical care is based on comprehensive knowledge that must be sourced, understood, and applied appropriately.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must ensure that a clear demonstration of knowledge and cognitive skills is not compromised or impeded.
5. Exemplars:
   • Ability to conceptualise and use appropriate knowledge in response to academic assessment items
   • Appropriately applying knowledge of policy and procedures in the clinical setting.

Literacy (language): This relates to the ability to acquire, understand, and apply information in a scholarly manner.

1. Introduction
   Competent literacy skills, in English, are essential to provide safe and effective delivery of medical care.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • Ability to accurately acquire information and convey appropriate, effective messages
   • Ability to read and comprehend a range of literature and information
   • The capacity to understand and implement academic conventions to construct written text in a scholarly manner.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   The ability to acquire information and to accurately convey messages is fundamental to ensure safe and effective assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and delivery of care. The ability to read, decode, interpret, and comprehend multiple sources of information is fundamental for safe and effective delivery of medical care.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments to address literacy issues must meet accuracy and clarity requirements and demonstrate a capacity to effectively comprehend, apply, and communicate information.
5. Exemplars:
   • Conveying a spoken message accurately and effectively in a clinical setting
   • Paraphrasing, summarising, and referencing in accordance with appropriate academic conventions in written assignments
   • Producing accurate, concise, and clear medical documentation which meets legal requirements.

Numeracy: This relates to the ability to understand and work with numbers.

1. Introduction
   Competent and accurate numeracy skills are essential for safe and effective patient care.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student interprets and correctly applies data, measurements, and numerical criteria.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Competent application of numeracy skills is essential in medicine to facilitate the safe and effective delivery of medical care.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must demonstrate a capacity to interpret and apply concepts and processes appropriately in a timely, accurate and effective manner.
5. Exemplars:
   • Performing accurate drug calculations
   • Demonstrate accurate interpretation of patient's fluid balance status.

The way a person recognises external stimuli - through sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. This course requires adequate visual, auditory, and tactile abilities.

Visual

1. Introduction
   Adequate visual acuity is required to provide safe and effective medical care.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates sufficient visual acuity to perform the required range of skills.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Sufficient visual acuity is necessary to demonstrate the required range of skills, through the performance of relevant tasks and assessments whilst maintaining consistent, accurate and safe care to self and others. Visual observations, examination and assessment are fundamental to safe and effective medical practice
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must address the need to perform the full range of tasks involved in clinical practice. Any strategies to address the effects of vision impairment must be effective, consistent, and not compromise treatment or safety.
5. Exemplars:
   • Accurately drawing up medication to administer
   • Observing and detecting subtle changes in patient's response to medical procedures.

Auditory

1. Introduction
   Adequate auditory ability is required to provide effective and safe medical care.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates sufficient aural function to undertake the required range of tasks.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Sufficient auditory ability is necessary to monitor, assess and manage individual health needs consistently and accurately. Auditory assessments and observations are fundamental to safe and effective medical practice.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must address the need to perform the full range of tasks involved in clinical practice. Any strategies to address the effects of hearing impairment must be effective, consistent, and not compromise treatment or safety.
5. Exemplars:
   • Accurately detecting heart sounds by auscultation
   • Accurately undertaking a blood pressure measurement by auscultation.

Tactile

1. Introduction
   Sufficient tactile ability is required to perform competent and safe medical care.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates sufficient tactile function to undertake the required range of skills and assessments.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Sufficient tactile ability is necessary to monitor, assess and detect patients' physical characteristics and act on any abnormalities detected to provide safe and appropriate medical care. Tactile assessments and observations are fundamental to safe and effective medical practice
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must enable the capacity to make effective assessments of physical characteristics and abnormalities within safe time frames.
5. Exemplars:
   • Detecting any changes in circulation observations e.g. temperature and pulse palpation
   • Conducting a physical assessment and detecting any anatomical abnormalities.

Gross motor skills: The use of large muscle groups that coordinate body movements for activities such as walking, lifting, pushing, pulling, and maintaining balance.

1. Introduction
   Utilisation of appropriate gross motor skills is required in medicine to undertake appropriate clinical care.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates the ability to perform gross motor skills to function within scope of practice.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Sufficient gross motor skills are necessary to perform, coordinate and prioritise care. Tasks that involve gross motor skills include lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, standing, twisting, and bending. Students must be able to demonstrate and perform these tasks consistently and safely to reduce the risk of harm to self and others.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must facilitate functional effectiveness, safety of self and others and a capacity to provide appropriate care.
5. Exemplars:
   • Undertaking emergency life support
   • Performing a physical assessment such as percussion and/or palpation of body parts.

Fine motor skills: The ability to undertake precise coordinated movements of the hands for activities such as writing and manipulating small objects.

1. Introduction
   Medicine is a profession that requires manual dexterity and possession of fine motor skills is fundamental in providing adequate clinical care.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates the ability to use fine motor skills to provide safe effective diagnosis, treatment, and clinical care.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Sufficient fine motor skills are necessary to perform, coordinate and prioritise care. Tasks that include fine motor skills include being able to grasp, press, push, turn, squeeze and manipulate various objects and individuals. Students must be able to demonstrate and perform these tasks consistently and safely to reduce the risk of harm to self and others.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must facilitate functional effectiveness, safety to self and others and a capacity to provide appropriate care.
5. Exemplars:
   • Manipulating instruments in diagnostic procedures
   • Performing treatment techniques e.g. cannulation and/ or venepuncture.

The ability to undertake a task/s over a pre-determined length of time. This could include physical performance such as standing for a length of time, or cognitive (mental) performance such as concentrating for a particular length of time.

1. Introduction
   Medical practice requires both physical and mental performance at a consistent and sustained level to meet individual needs over time.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • Consistent and sustained level of physical energy to complete a specific task in a timely manner and over time
   • The ability to perform repetitive activities with a level of concentration that ensures a capacity to focus on the activity until it is completed appropriately
   • The capacity to maintain consistency and quality of performance throughout the designated period of duty.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Sufficient physical and mental endurance is an essential requirement needed to perform multiple tasks in an assigned period to provide safe and effective care without compromise.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must ensure that performance is consistent and sustained over a given period.
5. Exemplars:
   • Participating in tutorials, lectures, skills throughout the day
   • Providing consistent care over a negotiated time frame.