Course Coordinator:Kerri-Anne Von Deest (kvondeest@usc.edu.au) School:School of Health - Occupational Therapy
UniSC Sunshine Coast |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
In this course you will develop introductory skills to work as an Allied Health Assistant. The focus of this course will be on assisting physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech pathologists in clinical practice. You will learn how to conduct client interviews and screening assessments, implement individual exercise and therapy programs, utilise technology and assistive equipment, and manage workplace risks.
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Online 1-hour workshop in weeks 1-6. | 1hr | Week 1 | 6 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 2 – Online 2-hour workshop in Weeks 1-6. | 2hrs | Week 1 | 6 times |
| Learning materials – Weekly online learning activities, approx. 1 hour per week. See Canvas for details. | 1hr | Week 1 | 8 times |
| Laboratory 1 – Intensive on campus teaching at Sunshine Coast campus - daily classes (approx. 6 hours per day) for 1 week. See Canvas for details of each session offering and class times. | 30hrs | Week 6 | Once Only |
Roles and responsibilities of allied health assistants
Physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech pathology professions
Booking appointments, electronic notes and practice management
Conducting client intake interviews and taking a brief history
Performing screening assessments and monitoring client health status
Introduction to augmentative and assistive communication and telehealth
Educating clients in the use of assistive technology, managing, maintaining and fitting technology
Reporting on client history, health status, and progress and liaising with health professionals
Implementing exercise programs, daily living skills training, structured therapy program
Assisting client movement, posture and function
Infection control, manual handling principles and risk management
Reflection on learning and skills and planning continuing professional development
100 Level (Introductory)
12 units
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | |
| 1 | Demonstrate knowledge in allied health theory and practice | Knowledgeable |
| 2 | Implement basic screening tools safely in an occupational and speech therapy and physiotherapy environments. | Empowered |
| 3 | Implement therapy programs prescribed by an allied health professional. | Empowered |
| 4 | Self-reflect on your learning needs as a future allied health assistant. | Creative and critical thinker |
| 5 | Communicate professionally and ethically with clients and other health professionals. | Engaged |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Not applicable
Not applicable
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Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
This course involves an assessment at the end of the second week which will provide you with feedback on your performance on task one.
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Practical / Laboratory Skills | Individual | 20% | 20 minutes |
Week 2 | To Supervisor |
| All | 2 | Quiz/zes | Individual | 20% | 1 hour |
Refer to Format | Online Test (Quiz) |
| All | 3 | Practical / Laboratory Skills | Individual | 40% | 15 minutes |
Refer to Format | To Supervisor |
| All | 4 | Portfolio | Individual | 20% | Variable - Depends on student collation of evidence. The reflective report, however, is limited to 500 words, and should include SMART goals related to career aspirations. |
Refer to Format | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Client interview and booking | |||||||||||||
| Goal: | You will demonstrate your skills as an allied health assistant and complete an intake interview and book a new client using an online booking system. |
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| Product: | Practical / Laboratory Skills | ||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||
| Format: | You will undertake a simulated phone call where you book a client for a telehealth appointment. During the phone call you complete a new client intake interview. Subsequent to the phone call you will book the client into an electronic medical record system and populate their profile with the information you have gathered. You will send the relevant allied health professional an email informing them of the new client booking. You will complete a clinical note documenting the phone call. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Applying technologies |
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| All - Assessment Task 2:Online Exam | ||||||||||
| Goal: | In this task, you will need to demonstrate the knowledge you have gained from this course in the context of allied health assistant practice with specific application to physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech pathology professions. |
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| Product: | Quiz/zes | |||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||
| Format: | You will participate in a 1 hour online exam that will be scheduled prior to your on campus intensive week of teaching. This will test your theoretical understand and knowledge regarding allied health practice and roles of an allied health assistant. Feedback from this assessment will assist you preparing for your intensive week of teaching on campus. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Collaboration, Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 3:Telehealth session | |||||||||||||
| Goal: | You will demonstrate your skills as an allied health assistant, conducting a screeening assessment and/or implementing a therapy program as prescribed by an allied health professional. This will be undertaken after you completed your on-campus intensive week of learning. |
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| Product: | Practical / Laboratory Skills | ||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||
| Format: | You will undertake a simulated telehealth session where you will conduct a screening assessment or implement a therapy program that has been prescribed by an allied health professional. This will be scheduled after you intensive week of learning on campus. Please see CANVAS for details. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Collaboration, Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 4:E-Portfolio | |||||||||||||
| Goal: | To facilitate student learning, reflection, and development of employability skills and to gather evidence of capabilities and experiences relevant to future practice as an allied health assistant. Students will be given a series of professional development activities and learning to undertake during the session, and completion of these tasks should be evidenced in the e-portfolio. |
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| Product: | Portfolio | ||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||
| Format: | Online electronic Portfolio due at the end of the session. Due dates will be provided on CANVAS. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Collaboration, Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
You need regular access to the resource(s) below. Many texts are available as ebooks through the Library at no additional cost.
| Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
| Recommended | Karen Sladyk,Sally E. Ryan | 2015 | Ryan's Occupational Therapy Assistant | n/a | Slack |
| Recommended | Mark Dutton | 2022 | Dutton's Introductory Skills and Procedures for the Physical Therapist Assistant | n/a | McGraw-Hill Education / Medical |
* You will require access to a stable internet connection, and two devices with cameras (e.g., a laptop and a smartphone) in order to take part in the workshops and Telehealth simulation components of this course, including assessment tasks.
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.
The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.
For course-specific questions, contact your teaching staff or Course Coordinator.
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