Introductory Clinical Reasoning and Practice (12087.1)

Required texts

These will be provided on CANVAS and will be assessable.

Submission of assessment items

Special assessment requirements

To pass this unit, students must complete the following:

1. Attempt and submit all assessments

2. Actively contribute and participate in all lectures which involve guest lecturers or involve the practice of clinical reasoning and all tutorial classes, and the small meeting with tutors as part of the assignment, as these involve the development of reasoning abilities which can require guided practice

3. Actively contribute and participate in all laboratory classes.

4. Achieve an aggregate mark of at least 50%.

Students who are absent from classes must submit an absence from class form, which will be made available on CANVAS, and provide supporting documentation to the unit convenor. Acceptance of the reason is at the discretion of the unit convenor. Illness will require a medical certificate.

In this unit, generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) will only be permitted in the context of the lecture and tutorial in Week 3, which specifically addresses the role of generative AI in clinical reasoning. For all other instances, including assessments, generative AI is not permitted and is considered a form of academic misconduct for this unit.

Any action or omission that affects safety or is deemed disrespectful to your patients, fellow students or the teaching staff can result in failure of the assessment task regardless of the aggregate mark for the assessment.

Supplementary assessment

This unit is not a final unit in the Bachelor of Vision Science degree so supplementary assessments do not apply.

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.

Participation requirements

This Unit contains participatory elements which are vital to the Optometry Board of Australia entry-level competencies for optometrists (Final_Entry-level-Competency-Standard-for-Optometry-2022-1.pdf). Except in the case of extenuating circumstances, 100% in-person on campus attendance is expected at all guest lectures and lectures where there are participatory activities regarding clinical reasoning, 100% in-person on campus participation is required in all tutorial and laboratory classes. Self-directed learning laboratories are not compulsory but are available for you to practice non-invasive clinical skills on your classmates. Note that there will not be any academic staff present to answer questions during self-directed learning laboratories. However, a staf member will be present for administrative reasons. One self-directed learning laboratory will have a lab instructor to supervise the instillation of anaesthetic for contact procedures.

Students are required to attend for the entire duration scheduled for lab sessions. 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 email. 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 UCLearn Canvas) with supporting documentation must be submitted to the Unit Convener. 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, with each student acting as 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. 

This course aims to develop your professional and communication skills in preparation for your journey towards being a health professional. During classes 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 patients or peers or is deemed disrespectful to your patients, fellow students or the teaching staff can result in failure of an 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 can be marked as absent for the class. Students who need guidance on expected behaviours 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

Students should bring their computer to the lecture and tutorial in Week 3.

In-unit costs

Student kit, as indicated on CANVAS.

Work placement, internships or practicums

None

• Semester 1, 2026, On-campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (230106)
• Semester 1, 2025, On-campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (222011)