Master of Advanced Clinical Practice (Paramedicine Practitioner)
2023 Deakin University Handbook
| Year | 2023 course information |
|---|---|
| Award granted | Master of Advanced Clinical Practice (Paramedicine Practitioner) |
| Course Map | Course maps are available on the Course Maps webpage or please contact a Student Adviser in Student Central. |
| Campus | Offered Online with intensives to be held at Warrnambool Campus |
| Duration | 2 or 3 years of part-time study, depending on trimester utilisation. The course is only available to students on a part-time basis. |
| Deakin course code | H762 |
| Approval status | This course is approved by the University under the Higher Education Standards Framework. |
| Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition | The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 9 |
For continuing students only | |
Course sub-headings
- Course overview
- Indicative student workload
- Professional recognition
- Career opportunities
- Participation requirements
- Mandatory student checks
- Fees and charges
- Course Learning Outcomes
- Course rules
- Course structure
- Work experience
Course overview
Our Master of Advanced Clinical Practice (Paramedicine Practitioner) will set you up to become an advanced clinical practitioner and a leader in the emerging paramedicine practitioner field.
Our course provides experienced paramedics with a training program and pathway that leads to an expanded scope of practice and career advancement opportunities, by meeting the necessary competencies for advanced paramedicine practice. You will be specifically trained to meet the requirements for admission to Fellowship of the Australasian College of Paramedic Practitioners*.
Are you an experienced paramedic keen to take your career to the next level?
The Master of Advanced Clinical Practice (Paramedicine Practitioner) gives you the knowledge to provide evidence-based paramedic practitioner expertise in the assessment, diagnosis and management of clinical conditions, and skills in the performance of appropriate procedures to provide advanced patient care. You’ll graduate with key skills and strategies enabling you to effectively care for, educate, and engage and collaborate with patients, carers, communities, colleagues, and other health professionals.
By broadening your skills and expertise as an experienced paramedic, you will be ready to work as a paramedic practitioner in various primary care settings. The paramedic practitioner role is an innovative way of delivering healthcare to rural and regional communities, as you will provide complementary care to that provided by GPs and nurse practitioners, and will work with community health partners and allied health professionals to prevent and treat health problems.
The course has a strong focus on healthcare delivery to rural and regional communities.
Alternative course offerings
Once you complete the masters degree, if you wish (and pending meeting entry requirements), you’ll have the opportunity to complete a period of research within your discipline to obtain an extended masters qualification – the Doctor of Advanced Clinical Practice (Paramedicine Practitioner). This extended masters will prepare you for leadership roles within the profession. You’ll also have the option to exit from the masters program with a Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma, which will give you the additional skills required for future career progression within paramedicine but will not enable you to work as a paramedic practitioner.
Indicative student workload
As a student in the Faculty of Health you can expect to participate in a range of teaching activities each week. This could include classes, seminars, workshops, online interaction and clinical placements. You can refer to the individual unit details in the course structure for more information. You will also need to study and complete assessment tasks in your own time.
All years of the course require a part-time commitment, with a substantive load of required learning activities and study time. Although the course is designed for working health professionals, students will on average spend 150 hours over the teaching period undertaking the teaching, learning and assessment activities per unit credit point.
Professional recognition
The Master of Advanced Clinical Practice (Paramedicine Practitioner) was designed in accordance with the Australasian College of Paramedic Practitioners (ACPP) accreditation requirements. If you complete the ‘ACPP Fellowship Stream’, which includes clinical placement (2 credit points taken as electives) you will be eligible to apply to seek accreditation with the ACPP under the College’s ACPP Fellowship program. If you complete the masters program without taking the ACPP Fellowship stream you may still be eligible for accreditation with the ACPP if you also complete the appropriate number of clinical placement hours before applying to the ACPP^
*The course is currently pending accreditation with the Australasian College of Paramedic Practitioners.
^Please refer to the Australasian College of Paramedic Practitioners for further information
Career opportunities
The role of paramedic practitioner provides an important new career path for experienced paramedics who would like to work more sociable hours or provide more primary care to their communities, or who can no longer meet the physical demands of working on-road.
As a paramedic practitioner, you will be equipped to expand your clinical practice by conducting more comprehensive patient assessment, ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests and providing expanded health management in order to provide more complete episodes of care. As a paramedic practitioner you will possess the knowledge, skills and attitude to undertake practitioner roles within your healthcare field. You will be able to provide care complementary to that provided by GPs and nurse practitioners, particularly in regional and rural areas where collaborative models are being used to meet healthcare workforce shortfalls.
Into the future, paramedic practitioners are expected to play an important role in alternative rural health Models of Care proposed due to the medical workforce shortages in rural and remote areas. Upskilled paramedic practitioners will help fill the ongoing shortfall and play a vital role in healthcare in regional areas.
Participation requirements
Attendance at on-campus intensives and, depending on electives selected, clinical placements are required through the course – see individual unit descriptions for full details.
Reasonable adjustments to participation and other course requirements will be made for students with a disability
Mandatory student checks
Please refer to Commencing Student Guide for further detailed mandatory student requirements. This guide will be sent to all applicants and include:
- Checklist for students
- Placement requirements and timelines, if applicable
- Compliance documentation, including:
- All students are required to maintain AHPRA registration throughout the course.
- Students who intend to undertake the ACPP Fellowship Stream and associated clinical practicums will be required to meet the Working with Children Check obligations of EACH placement organisation prior to the commencement of the unit. Students who fail to do so prior to the commencement of clinical placement will not be able to undertake the placement and this will impede progress in the course. Please note that requirements differ between states and also between organisations within states.
- Students are also required to declare their immunisation status to satisfy the requirements of health organisations where they will be undertaking their clinical learning experience. A health organisation may refuse to accept a student for placement if the student’s immunisation status is not satisfactory to the health organisation.
Alternative Exit Points
There are two alternative exit points available from H762 Master of Advanced Clinical Practice (Paramedicine Practitioner)
Graduate Certificate of Advanced Clinical Practice (Paramedicine) (H562)
Graduate Diploma of Advanced Clinical Practice (Paramedicine) (H662)
Fees and charges
Fees and charges vary depending on your course, the type of fee place you hold, your commencement year, the units you choose and your study load.
Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.
Use the Fee estimator to see course and unit fees applicable to your course and type of place. Further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods is available on our Current students fees website.
Course Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Learning Outcomes | Course Learning Outcomes |
| Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities | Apply knowledge to demonstrate expert evidence-based Paramedic Practitioner judgement in the assessment, diagnosis and management of clinical conditions and performance of appropriate procedures to provide safe patient care |
| Communication | Apply appropriate communication techniques to engage, educate, collaborate with, influence and lead patients, carers, communities, colleagues, other health professionals, and professional organisations. |
| Digital literacy | Responsibly use digital technologies to collect information and enhance patient outcomes through evidence-based practice. |
| Critical thinking | Critically and professionally assess, plan, evaluate and reflect on Paramedic Practitioner practice, including recognition of limits of own expertise and the need to involve other health professionals. |
| Problem solving | Integrate evidence-based practice, knowledge and skills to formulate and implement person-centred care plans to deliver best possible care. |
| Self-management | Demonstrate professionalism and accountability through clinical proficiency monitoring and self-evaluation; and commitment to life-long learning through educational needs identification with ongoing professional development. |
| Teamwork | Demonstrate collaborative practice within the healthcare team through appropriate consultation and referral to provide high quality care. |
| Global citizenship | Apply a holistic approach to enhance the health and well-being of individuals, communities and populations with recognition of the diversity of needs; particularly those of rural, remote, Indigenous and marginalised communities. |
Course rules
The majority of your learning activities will take place via Deakin’s award-winning online campus. Throughout the masters program, you’ll be required to attend on-campus study intensives associated with five of the units, each of a five-day duration, which are held at the Warrnambool Campus. The intensives will include a mix of classroom activities (lectures, small group teaching, group activities) and practical skill sessions (clinical skill teaching, low and high fidelity clinical scenarios).
The course will be undertaken online, with on-campus intensives at the Warrnambool Campus*. Students are responsible for all costs associated with attending the intensives (e.g. travel, accommodation).
*Intensives will be held prior to scheduled commencement of each Trimester.
To complete the Master of Advanced Clinical Practice (Paramedicine Practitioner) students must attain 12 credit points. Nine compulsory core units and two elective units. Students must pass all units including all components of units in the course.
All commencing Faculty of Health Undergraduate and Postgraduate course work students are required to complete HAI010 Academic Integrity in their first semester of study (0 credit point compulsory unit).
The course is only available on a part-time basis.
Course structure
Core units
Completed over 2 years of part-time study across Trimesters 1, 2 and 3
Year 1 - Trimester 1
| HAI010 | Academic Integrity (0 credit points) |
| HMP701 | Advanced Principles of Primary Care 1 |
Trimester 2
| HMP704 | Advanced Clinical Diagnostics 1 |
| HMP706 | Advanced Pharmacotherapeutics 1 - Quality and Safety |
Trimester 3
| HMP702 | Advanced Principles of Primary Care 2 |
Plus one elective unit
Year 2 - Trimester 1
| HMP705 | Advanced Clinical Diagnostics 2 |
| HMP707 | Advanced Pharmacotherapeutics 2 - Prescribing and Medication Management |
Trimester 2
| HMP703 | Advanced Principles of Primary Care 3 |
| HME702 | Clinical Leadership 2 |
Trimester 3
| HSH725 | Research Literacy |
Plus one elective unit
Course completed over 3 years of part-time study across Trimesters 1 and 2
Year 1 - Trimester 1
| HAI010 | Academic Integrity (0 credit points) |
| HMP701 | Advanced Principles of Primary Care 1 |
Trimester 2
| HMP704 | Advanced Clinical Diagnostics 1 |
| HMP706 | Advanced Pharmacotherapeutics 1 - Quality and Safety |
Year 2 - Trimester 1
| HMP702 | Advanced Principles of Primary Care 2 |
Plus one elective unit
Trimester 2
| HMP705 | Advanced Clinical Diagnostics 2 |
| HMP707 | Advanced Pharmacotherapeutics 2 - Prescribing and Medication Management |
Year 3 - Trimester 1
| HMP703 | Advanced Principles of Primary Care 3 |
Plus one elective unit
Trimester 2
| HME702 | Clinical Leadership 2 |
| HSH725 | Research Literacy |
Electives
ACPP Fellowship stream (2 credit points))
| HMP708 | Advanced Clinical Practicum 1 (Fellowship Stream) |
| HMP709 | Advanced Clinical Practicum 2 (Fellowship Stream) |
OR
2 credit points from:
| HSH702 | Contemporary Health Issues and Policies |
| HSH704 | Health Communication |
| HSH717 | Health Economics 1 |
| HME704 | Fundamentals of Health Informatics |
| HME711 | Health Law and Ethics |
Work experience
As part of the degree you can choose elective units to undertake 300 hours of clinical placement at an appropriate location of your choosing, such as a hospital, general practice, or community health facility, where appropriate supervision is available. You will be responsible for arranging these placements but they must be mutually agreed to by the health service and Deakin at least three weeks prior to the commencement of the placement. Clinical placements give you the opportunity to apply your newly acquired knowledge in a real-word context, adding experience to your resume and further developing your professional networks so that you graduate confident and ready to take the next step in your career. The clinical placements are also a requirement for the Fellowship of the Australasian College of Paramedic Practitioners.
Course duration - additional information
Course duration may be affected by delays in completing course requirements, such as accessing or completing work placement.
Further information
Student Central can help you with course planning, choosing the right units and explaining course rules and requirements.
- Contact Student Central