Skip to main content
Unit of study_

PHAR1821: Pharmacy Practice 1

Semester 2, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

This unit of study consists of three integrated streams: (1) Social Pharmacy, which is designed to provide a broad perspective of health and illness, and encourages a view of the patient as a whole person. Topics include self-management and patient communication. (2) Quality Use of Medicines in primary care focusing on the provision of non-prescription medicines, which introduces and develops students' knowledge of Pharmacy Only and Pharmacist Only medicines. Skills will include information gathering, clinical decision making and provision of pharmaceutical care. Core areas covered include responding to minor ailments such as pain, eye, ear, nose, fever, viral infections as well as gastrointestinal complaints. (3) Academic Writing Skills, which provides instruction and support for developing skills for academic writing and critical appraisal.

Unit details and rules

Unit code PHAR1821
Academic unit Pharmacy
Credit points 6
Prohibitions
? 
None
Prerequisites
? 
None
Corequisites
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Shweta Kumar, shweta.kumar@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Assignment Placement verification
Placement verification
0% -
Due date: 20 Nov 2020 at 23:59
Ongoing over the course of the semester
Outcomes assessed: LO6 LO7
Final exam (Record+) Type B final exam hurdle task Final exam
MCQ (50%) and SAQ (50%) of the exam marks.
50% Formal exam period 1.5 hours
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7
Participation Workshop participation
Pre/post-work and in-class participation and professionalism
5% Multiple weeks 20 hours
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO8 LO7 LO6 LO5 LO4 LO3 LO2
Presentation group assignment Health topic oral presentation
Oral presentation
15% Week 05 10 minutes
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8
Assignment group assignment Health topic written report
Report
15% Week 08
Due date: 25 Oct 2020 at 23:59
1200 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8
Assignment Reflective ability clinical assessment
Video, written reflective summary
15% Week 11
Due date: 15 Nov 2020 at 23:59
5 minute video and 2 pages report
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7
hurdle task = hurdle task ?
group assignment = group assignment ?
Type B final exam = Type B final exam ?

Assessment summary

  • Workshop pre/postwork, participation and professionalism: In the first workshop students will form teams that they will then work in for the entire semester. Satisfactorily participated in and required pre-work or post-work submitted.
  • Health topic oral presentation: Each team will deliver an oral presentation on the aetiology, signs and symptoms, and treatment of an over-the-counter (OTC) condition, chosen from a list.
  • Health topic written report: Each team will write a report on the OTC condition delivered in their oral presentation, focussing primarily on comparing and contrasting its treatment options and role of a pharmacist in the management of that condition.
  • Peer assessment (relative performance factor) will be applied to moderate the groupwork marks for both the health topic oral presentation and written report. Students will take part in a formative peer assessment conducted in week 5 (after their team has delivered their oral presentation), and a summative peer assessment in week 9 (after submitting the group written report). Peer assessment will be completed online using Sparkplus to obtain a factor between 0-1, and will be according to an agreed set of criteria established by teams in the first workshop.
  • Reflective ability clinical assessment: Each student will create a video of an OTC scenario and write an associated written summary and self-reflection of the task.
  • Placement verification: Students must satisfactorily complete required tasks listed in the Student Verification Pack (https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/students/documents/nsw-ministry-health-verification-pack.pdf). Students who do not complete the verification process by the due date will receive an RI (Result Incomplete) grade for PHAR1821.
  • Final exam: This exam will consist of multiple choice questions and short answer questions. Material from all lectures and workshops are examinable. You must obtain a grade of ‘Pass’ in this assessment to satisfy the requirements for this unit of study. If you do not pass this assessment the maximum final grade you can obtain will be 45 FA, regardless of the total raw mark you obtain for the unit of study. If you wish to sit your exam on-campus, a limited number of on-campus places will be available through an online booking system. The Replacement Exam for this UoS will be in the formal Replacement Exam Period (11/01/2021 to 14/01/2021).

Repeating students: Exemption from coursework components (Health Topic Oral presentation, Health Topic written report, RACA, workshop participation) for students repeating PHAR1821 will only be granted for students who achieved a grade of Credit (65%) or above for the components in their previous attempt. Students who have been granted a coursework component exemption cannot attend the classes for that component and will have their overall mark for PHAR1821 based upon their performance in the final exam only.  Coursework component marks from a previous attempt will not be carried over.

Exemptions must be provided in writing (email), and explicitly state how the marks are reweighted. Students must accept or decline the exemption in writing (email).

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

 

 

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

 

Distinction

75 - 84

 

Credit

65 - 74

 

Pass

50 - 64

 

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Non submission of peer assessment will result in a factor of zero (0) being applied to the non-submitter’s groupwork mark.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website  provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.  

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Multiple weeks Communication and Cultural competence Lecture (6 hr)  
Clinical decision making and Pharmacy services Lecture (3 hr)  
Gastrointestinal Lecture (4 hr)  
Herbal medicines, Vitamins and Minerals Lecture (2 hr)  
Other Lecture (5 hr)  
Week 01 Information sources and Professional writing Lecture (3 hr)  
Week 02 Introduction and Information Sources Tutorial (2 hr)  
Week 03 Communication Tutorial (2 hr)  
Week 04 Cultural Competence Tutorial (2 hr)  
Week 05 Health Topic Oral Presentations Presentation (2 hr)  
Week 06 Healthy Living and Reflective Practice Tutorial (2 hr)  
Skin health Lecture (2 hr)  
Week 07 Healthy Skin Tutorial (2 hr)  
Common childhood ailments (including cold and cough) Lecture (4 hr)  
Week 08 Cold and Cough Tutorial (2 hr)  
Pain Lecture (2 hr)  
Week 09 Pain and Headache Tutorial (2 hr)  
Week 10 Gastrointestinal Tutorial (2 hr)  
Parasites Lecture (1 hr)  
Week 11 Parasites Tutorial (2 hr)  

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: students must attend a minimum of 85% (9 out of 10) tutorials to satisfy attendance requirements for this unit of study. If a tutorial is missed due to illness or misadventure, students are to submit a special consideration form along with supporting documentation.

Students swapping a tutorial without prior approval from the UoS co-ordinator will be marked as absent.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed through the Library eReserve, available on Canvas.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. communicate effectively with patients, families, carers and other health professionals
  • LO2. outline physiology and pathophysiology associated with ambulatory medical conditions that can be managed using over the counter (OTC) options
  • LO3. identify appropriate sources of clinical information and locate, process and deliver required or relevant information
  • LO4. apply a systematic reasoning process to diagnose and manage a range of simple, ambulatory and non-prescription medication-related problems that present in pharmacy
  • LO5. provide over the counter products using endorsed professional protocols
  • LO6. demonstrate an understanding of the role of the pharmacist in promoting public health (wellness. self-care. disease prevention)
  • LO7. learn independently and engage in continuous reflection and take responsibility for personal and professional development
  • LO8. work effectively and cooperatively as a member of a learning team

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

This unit of study has been improved based on student and staff feedback from previous years.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.