| Available teaching periods | Delivery mode | Location |
|---|---|---|
| View teaching periods | On-campus |
Bruce, Canberra |
| EFTSL | Credit points | Faculty |
| 0.375 | 9 | Faculty Of Health |
| Discipline | Study level | HECS Bands |
| Discipline Of Optometry | Post Graduate Level | Band 2 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021) Band 3 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021) |
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:1. Sequence and perform the eye and vision patient examination into an efficient and accurate clinical routine with appropriate case analysis and management including therapeutic and optical prescribing;
2. Communicate effectively with the patient, and relevant health professionals, using appropriate person-centred modes of communication to elicit information, accurately record and share patient history and findings for diagnosis and management;
3. Evaluate the underlying design principles of the visual environment, and the external factors that affect comfort, safety and performance of everyday tasks; and counsel patients about their suitability for occupational or other tasks;
4. Apply ethical and culturally safe behaviour in personal and professional contexts and explain the concepts of error and violation in health care, using quality and safety improvement processes to analyse and prevent adverse events in healthcare; and
5. Assess parameters for, and the fitting of, soft contact lenses (spherical, toric, multifocal), demonstrating handling and infection control, appropriate clinical reasoning and patient management.
Graduate attributes
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
1. UC graduates are professional - work collaboratively as part of a team, negotiate, and resolve conflict
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
2. UC graduates are global citizens - understand issues in their profession from the perspective of other cultures
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology
4. UC graduates are able to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing - use Indigenous histories and traditional ecological knowledge to develop and augment understanding of their discipline
4. UC graduates are able to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing - communicate and engage with Indigenous Australians in ethical and culturally respectful ways
4. UC graduates are able to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing - apply their knowledge to working with Indigenous Australians in socially just ways
Prerequisites
None.Corequisites
Must be enrolled in the Master of Optometry, 374JA.Incompatible units
None.Equivalent units
None.Assumed knowledge
None.| Year | Location | Teaching period | Teaching start date | Delivery mode | Unit convener |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Bruce, Canberra | Semester 2 | 28 July 2025 | On-campus | Dr Vicki Evans |
| 2026 | Bruce, Canberra | Semester 2 | 10 August 2026 | On-campus | Dr Vicki Evans |
Required texts
David B. Elliott. Clinical Procedures in Primary Eye Care. Elsevier 2020. ISBN: hardcover 9780702077890 or ebook ISBN:9780702077906.
Nathan Efron. Contact Lens Practice. 3rd Edition. ISBN 9780 7020 6660 3 or ebook ISBN 9780702066627 or 9780702066610.
Visual Ergonomics Handbook. Edited By Jeffrey Anshel. CRC Press. 2019. paperback ISBN 9780367392611.
Scheiman, Mitchell; Wick, Bruce. Clinical Management of Binocular Vision: Heterophoric, Accommodative, and Eye Movement Disorders. 5th Edition. ISBN 9781 4963 9973 1.
These books will be available for purchase at the School Locker online-shop and for loan at the library and in the Reading List on Canvas.
Submission of assessment items
Extensions & Late submissions
Late Submission (Additional information)
- For the purposes of these 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 and Turnitin). 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. Penalties on late submissions will be strictly enforced. More details can be found in the Assessment Procedures.
Special assessment requirements
The final mark for this unit will be calculated by an accumulation of marks from each assessment item. To achieve a passing grade or higher in this unit, students must:
- Attempt all assessment items;
- Participate in all Practical/Laboratory/Tutorial sessions;
- Complete and submit e-portfolio and PBL assessments;
- Achieve competency mark in special instruments rotation (hurdle);
- Achieve a mark of at least 50% in the final written exam;
- Achieve a mark of at least 50% in practical assessment C;
- Achieve a final aggregate (overall) mark of 50% or higher;
- The Unit Convener reserves the right to question students orally on any of their submitted work.
In order to pass the unit, students must pass assessments with a 50% hurdle or competency hurdle.
Supplementary assessment
This unit is not in the final semester of the course, and a supplementary assessment is NOT available.
Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. 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.
UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).
UC 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.
Learner engagement
For this 9 credit point unit the total notional workload over a semester or term is assumed to be 450 hours. Engagement with the lectures, practicals, turorials and engagement with materials on Canvas is expected in order to complete the unit at Masters level.
Inclusion and engagement
If you have a RAP that you wish to apply to your studies, it is your responsibility to communicate this with your Unit Convener in writing at least 7 days before your in-class assessment is due. Please attach your RAP with your request. Impairments that impact a student's ability to carry out ocular assessments are required to be disclosed to the unit convenor and clinical educators. Alternative examination techniques and strategies will be taught to students who require it, to ensure that they can appropriately examine patients and that patient safety is not compromised.
Participation requirements
This Unit contains participatory elements which are vital to the Optometry Board of Australia entry-level competencies for optometrists (https://www.optometry.org.au/history/entry-level-competency-standards-for-optometry-revised-to-reflect-current-best-practice/). Students are expected wot work towards and gain therse competencies during the Master of Optometry Course.
Please note, not all learning material covered in lectures, e.g. worked examples of problems or discussion in small groups, can be captured by the lecture recording software. Students are required to attend for the entire time scheduled for tutorials, 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 tutorial.
It is expected that students unable to fulfil these participation requirements will inform the Unit Convener as soon as practical, by telephone or 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 Laboratory' form (available on UCLearn Canvas) with supporting documentation must be submitted to the Unit Convener; students may be requested to attend an additional laboratory sessions outside of timetabled hours within or outside weeks 1-13 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.
Required IT skills
The use of UCLearn Canvas, library searching skills, reference management software, 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 and small tape measure. Students will be expected to have the optometry student equipment starter kit and may additionally purchase equipment as described above in Materials and Equipment section 4b. Students may wish to print electronically provided material for their own study.
Work placement, internships or practicums
This unit involves work integrated learning simulation.
For students who have already completed 10329, Optometry for Special Populations PG, this unit precedes an observational or clinical placement.
Successful completion of this unit 10329 Optometry for Special Populations PG along with successful completion of 10328 Advance Primary care Optometry PG enables students to enrol in the clinical placement units for the Masters of Optometry Program.
This unit has pre-placement requirements (e.g. Working with Vulnerable People registration, immunisations, recording of relevant details in InPlace etc), which must be completed prior to commencement of your observational or clinical placement; refer to Placement Requirements.
Students must adhere to University policy during WIL experiences, including the Student Conduct Rules 2018, the WIL Policy and WIL Procedure, and the Assessment Policy and Assessment Procedure.
Contact your unit convener if you have any concerns with meeting the requirements of this unit.
Additional information
Academic Misconduct and Contract Cheating.
Contract cheating (academic outsourcing / ghost-writing / use of artificial intelligence) is a form of academic misconduct in which students submit written or creative work which has been drafted or produced by someone else and claim authorship for it. It includes (but is not limited to) using a third party, offering their services for commercial or other benefits, to complete (either partially or fully) an assignment or other assessment items on behalf of the student.
You are at risk of contract cheating if you ask someone to:
- complete an assignment for you
- substantially edit your assignment
- do your university work for you, with or without compensation check test or quiz answers
- sit a test or quiz for you
- provide someone with your UC login details
- use artificial intelligence to complete your assignment.
You may also be at risk of contract cheating if you provide information to people or organisations outside UC, such as:
assignment questions and briefs- lecture notes
marking rubrics and marking guides
UC considers contract cheating serious misconduct which may attract suspension or exclusion from the university. Furthermore, we, as your education provider, have mandatory reporting responsibilities under National Law. We are required to notify the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (AHPRA) if we believe that a registered health practitioner (including those with student registration) has behaved in a way that constitutes notifiable conduct including signature departure from accepted professional standards. Contract cheating may also result in UC submitting a mandatory notification to AHPRA.
You can learn more about contract cheating in the Academic Integrity Module - which is a compulsory module that provides information about a range of issues including plagiarism and contract cheating. UC provides a range of services to support student learning - further information regarding Study Skills, Studiosity and Medical & Counselling services are available in your unit's Canvas site.
Professional Obligations
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:
- 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
- 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.
