Inherent requirements for Medicine

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Compliance with the codes, guidelines and policies facilitates safe, competent interactions and relationships for students and/or the people they engage with. This ensures the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of the individual is not placed at risk

Exemplars:

» Complying with academic and non-academic misconduct policies
» Demonstrating appropriate behaviour with confidential information in classroom and clinical settings

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Behavioural stability is required to work individually and in teams in changing and unpredictable environments. Medical students will be exposed to emergency situations and human suffering and will be required to have behavioural stability to manage these events objectively and professionally

Exemplars:

» Being receptive and responding appropriately to constructive feedback
» Coping with own emotions & behaviour effectively when dealing with individuals in the clinical setting

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Knowledge, understanding, and compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements are necessary pre-requisites to clinical placements in order to reduce the risk of harm, to self and others
» Compliance with these professional regulations and the Australian Law ensures that students are both responsible and accountable for their practice

Exemplars:

» Responding to the requirement for student registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
» Complying with relevant child protection and safety legislation

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Adequate communication with patients is essential to the diagnosis and management process in medicine
» Communication may be restricted to verbal because of physical limitations of the individual (e.g. injury, disease or congenital conditions)
» Speed and interactivity of communication may be critical for patient safety or treatment
» Timely, accurate and effective delivery of instructions is critical to patient safety, treatment and management

Exemplars:

» Participating in tutorial, simulation and clinical discussions
» Responding appropriately to a care request in the clinical environment

Justification of inherent requirement:

» The ability to observe and understand non-verbal cues assists with building a rapport with people and gaining their trust and respect in academic and professional relationships
» Displaying consistent and appropriate facial expressions, eye contact, being mindful of space, time boundaries and body movements and gestures promotes trust in academic and professional relationships
» Being sensitive to individual differences displays respect and empathy to others and develops trusting relationships
» The ability to observe and understand non-verbal cues is essential for safe and effective observation of patient symptoms and reactions to facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of patients

Exemplars:

» Recognising and responding appropriately in classroom situations
» Recognising and responding appropriately to cues in the clinical environment

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Construction of written text based assessment tasks to reflect the required academic standards are necessary to convey knowledge and understanding of relevant subject matter for professional practice
» Accurate written communication, including record keeping and patient notes, is vital to provide consistent and safe patient care

Exemplars:

» Constructing an essay to academic standards
» Constructing a medical report in a timely manner that meets professional standards

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Safe and effective delivery of medical care is based on comprehensive knowledge that must be sourced, understood and applied appropriately

Exemplars:

» Ability to conceptualise and use appropriate knowledge in response to academic assessment items
» Appropriately applying knowledge of policy and procedures in the clinical setting

Justification of inherent requirement:

» The ability to acquire information and to accurately convey messages is fundamental to ensure safe and effective assessment, diagnosis, treatment and delivery of care
» The ability to read, decode, interpret and comprehend multiple sources of information is fundamental for safe and effective delivery of medical care

Exemplars:

» Conveying a spoken message accurately and effectively in a clinical setting
» Paraphrasing, summarising and referencing in accordance with appropriate academic conventions in written assignments
» Producing accurate, concise and clear medical documentation which meets legal requirements

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Competent application of numeracy skills is essential in medicine to facilitate the safe and effective delivery of medical care

Exemplars:

» Performing accurate drug calculations
» Demonstrate accurate interpretation of patient's fluid balance status

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Sufficient visual acuity is necessary to demonstrate the required range of skills, through the performance of relevant tasks and assessments whilst maintaining consistent, accurate and safe care to self and others
» Visual observations, examination and assessment are fundamental to safe and effective medical practice

Exemplars:

» Accurately drawing up medication to administer
» Observing and detecting subtle changes in patient's response to medical procedures

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Sufficient auditory ability is necessary to monitor, assess and manage individual health needs consistently and accurately
» Auditory assessments and observations are fundamental to safe and effective medical practice

Exemplars:

» Accurately detecting heart sounds by auscultation
» Accurately undertaking a blood pressure measurement by auscultation

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Sufficient tactile ability is necessary to monitor, assess and detect patients' physical characteristics and act on any abnormalities detected to provide safe and appropriate medical care
» Tactile assessments and observations are fundamental to safe and effective medical practice

Exemplars:

» Detecting any changes in circulation observations e.g. temperature and pulse palpation
» Conducting a physical assessment and detecting any anatomical abnormalities

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Sufficient gross motor skills are necessary to perform, coordinate and prioritise care. Tasks that involve gross motor skills include lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, standing, twisting and bending. Students must be able to demonstrate and perform these tasks consistently and safely to reduce the risk of harm to self and others

Exemplars:

» Undertaking emergency life support
» Performing a physical assessment such as percussion and/or palpation of body parts

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Sufficient fine motor skills are necessary to perform, coordinate and prioritise care. Tasks that include fine motor skills include being able to grasp, press, push, turn, squeeze and manipulate various objects and individuals. Students must be able to demonstrate and perform these tasks consistently and safely to reduce the risk of harm to self and others

Exemplars:

» Manipulating instruments in diagnostic procedures
» Performing treatment techniques e.g. cannulation and/ or venipuncture

Justification of inherent requirement:

» Sufficient physical and mental endurance is an essential requirement needed to perform multiple tasks in an assigned period to provide safe and effective care without compromise

Exemplars:

» Participating in tutorials, lectures, skills throughout the day
» Providing consistent care over a negotiated time frame