Required texts

Required:

• Elliott DB. Clinical Procedures in Primary Eye Care (4th Ed, 2016) or (5th Ed, 2020; ISBN: 9780702077890.)

Recommended:

• Carlson NB. Clinical Procedures for Ocular Examination (4th Ed, 2016). ISBN : 9780071849203

The above texts are available for purchase in bookshops/online, but are also available for loan from ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Library.

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

• For the purposes of late penalties, all days of the week count, including weekends and public holidays, even when the University may be closed.
• For clarification, one (1) minute past the specified due date and time is considered a late submission.

It is students' responsibility to be familiar with the electronic submission process (e.g., the use of Canvas). Students are reminded to ensure they plan well enabling adequate time to submit assessments prior to the deadline, in order to avoid a mark adjustment.

Special assessment requirements

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment will not be offered to students as this unit is not a unit in the final semester of a course.

Extensions to practical assessments, deferred intra-semester tests and examinations

In the event a student misses an assessment due to an extenuating and evidenced circumstance, the student must contact the Unit Convener and request a deferred assessment/quiz/placement within three (3) days of the scheduled exam, quiz or placement. The request must be made in writing (by email) with an ‘Assignment Extension’ form. The student must provide documentary evidence (e.g. medical certificate – leave certificates will not be accepted) or other relevant documents as requested by the Unit Convener before sitting the deferred assessment. Failure to do so will result in a zero grade being awarded for that assessment item. Students are not permitted to defer a deferred intra-semester exam, quiz or placement. Any student unable to undertake the deferred intra-semester exam will be failed for the assessment task.  

In the event a student is unable to attend their scheduled examination and the reason meets the criteria for acceptable grounds for extenuating circumstances, the student should submit a 'Request for Deferred Examination Application' form with original documentary evidence to the Timetabling and Examinations Office. This must be lodged within three (3) days of the scheduled examination. Deferred Examination Applications lodged after the due submission date may be considered only if circumstances made it impossible for the application to be lodged before, or immediately after the original examination (e.g. ongoing serious illness exists). Students are not usually permitted to defer a deferred final exam. Any student who does not undertake their deferred exam will received a mark of zero for the exam. Where students are able to provide evidence of exceptional circumstances that led to them being unable to sit their deferred final exam, they may apply for a late withdrawal from the unit using the 'Enrolment Amendment' form. Full details are found in the Assessment Procedures. 

Students are only permitted one extension per assignment and one deferral per examination/test/placement (on the grounds of illness or other unavoidable and verifiable personal circumstances, see Assessment Procedures) unless otherwise approved. Students must make themselves available for deferred intra-semester exams and tests which will be scheduled by the Unit Convener no later than the Friday of Week 13.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø students have to complete the annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Inclusion and engagement

Reasonable Adjustment Plan (RAP)

If you have a RAP that you wish to apply to your studies, it is your responsibility to communicate with your Unit Convener in writing at least 7 days before your in-class assessment is due. Please attach your RAP with your request.

Further, if a student has an impairment that results in inability to do a clinical task, the student must make the unit convenor aware of this issue so that alternative means of doing the clinical tasks can be taught to the student to ensure that the student grows to be an effective clinical practitioner.

Participation requirements

This Unit contains participatory elements which are vital to the Optometry Board of Australia entry-level competencies for optometrists (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cxo.12216).

Except in the case of extenuating circumstances, attendance is expected at all lectures as is participation in all tutorials, practicals, laboratories and presentations.

Please note, that not all learning material covered in lectures, e.g. worked examples of problems or discussion in small groups, will be captured by the lecture recording software. Students are required to attend for the entire time scheduled for practicals, laboratories and presentations. Students who are late by more than 15 minutes without an adequate documented reason will be regarded as absent; students who leave before the end, unless all assigned work has been completed to the satisfaction of the lecturer or tutor will be regarded as absent from the laboratory. It is expected that students unable to fulfil these participation requirements will inform the Unit Convener as soon as practical, by email. If attendance requirements cannot be regularly satisfied (e.g. timetable clash) it may be recommended that you schedule this unit for a future semester. Failure to adhere to these requirements may result in failure of the associated assessment piece. For inability to attend a scheduled laboratory session, an ‘Absence from Class' form (available on ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøLearn Canvas) with supporting documentation must be submitted to the Unit Convener; students may be required to attend an additional laboratory session to complete the required tasks.  Consideration will be given for illness; however evidence such as a medical certificate will be required.

The final decision will be at the discretion of the Unit Convener.  

Students are required to cooperate in (laboratory classes, workshops or remediation sessions) where students may be asked to practice optometry skills on each other, so each student is the patient and practitioner in turn and in approximately equal duration. By both conducting the clinical procedures and participating in the tests, you will gain an insight and empathy into the issues associated with testing visual function, both from the point of view of both an optometrist and patient. 

As stated earlier, this course aims to develop your professional and communication skills in preparation for your journey towards being a health professional. During classes and placements, you will be required to demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively as part of a team, negotiate, and resolve conflict. Any action or omission that affects the safety of your patient or peers or is deemed disrespectful to your patients, fellow students or the teaching staff can result in failure of a patient assessment task regardless of the aggregate mark for the assessment. Virtual classes have additional requirements where you will further develop communication skills in the virtual environment. While in a virtual environment, students are required to present themselves and communicate with peers, staff and invited speakers in a professional way. Hence the default for all virtual classes is for all student web cameras to be turned on during virtual classes. Instructors may require students to interact either verbally, through polls or the shared chat function. Students who do not participate in this way will be marked as absent for the class. Students who need guidance on expected behaviors and participation may consult with the unit convenor and/or Study Skills. Instructors may request that cameras are turned off under certain circumstances.

Required IT skills

The use of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøLearn Canvas, library searching skills, word and data processing (Microsoft Office Suite) and electronic presentation skills are necessary for this unit. 

In-unit costs

Students are expected to purchase their own non-programmable scientific calculator.  Students may wish to print electronically provided material for their own study. Students are required to have their own equipment for entrance clinical tests. Please contact the unit convenor for further guidance if required.

Work placement, internships or practicums

None

Additional information

The Student Conduct Rules state your rights and responsibilities as a student at the University of Canberra. Please be aware there may be serious penalties for academic misconduct and you should familiarise yourself with the section within the Student Conduct Rules that address this topic.

Pursuant to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009, optometry practitioners (registered optometrists) and education providers have an obligation to report ‘notifiable conduct', to the Optometry Board of Australia in order to prevent the public being placed at risk of harm. 

Education providers are also required, under s.143 of the National Law, to make mandatory notifications in relation to students, if the provider reasonably believes:

1. a student enrolled with the provider has an impairment that, in the course of the student undertaking clinical training, may place the public at substantial risk of harm; or 
2. a student for whom the provider has arranged clinical training has an impairment that, in the course of the student undertaking the clinical training, may place the public at substantial risk of harm. 

Practitioners are required to make a mandatory notification in relation to a student if the practitioner reasonably believes that a student has an impairment that, in the course of the student undertaking clinical training, may place the public at substantial risk of harm.

All concerns raised within the Discipline of Optometry or by clinical preceptors will be reviewed by the Head of Discipline and the Course Convener before any reporting action is taken.

These professional obligations are taken seriously by staff and the University.  Students should be aware of their obligations under student registration. 

For further information, please refer to:  

• Semester 2, 2024, On-campus, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø - Canberra, Bruce (221864)