• Before you enrol
• Observation skills
• Communication skills
• Motor skills
• Behavioural and social skills
• Intellectual - conceptual, integrative and quantitative abilities
• Sustained performance

Committed to equity and diversity

At UniSC, we are committed to facilitating the integration of all students into the University Community.

Reasonable adjustments in teaching and/or assessment methods can be made for students provided those adjustments do not compromise the inherent requirements of the program.

The inherent academic requirements of the Bachelor of Health Science are the fundamental skills and abilities that the student must be able to achieve in order to demonstrate the essential learning outcomes of the Bachelor of Health Science.

This Statement provides realistic information about the inherent academic requirements that you must meet in order to complete your chosen Bachelor of Health Science extended major and graduate. Make sure you read and understand the requirements for the Bachelor of Health Science so you can make an informed judgement about your ability to fulfil them.

Externally accredited

UniSC offers Bachelor of Health Science (Applied Environmental Health) which meets external Environmental Health Australia accreditation requirements and provides graduates with the necessary qualification to be admitted as an Environmental Health Officer in Australia.

• Key environmental health practice skills are embedded and assessed throughout the Bachelor of Health Science (Applied Environmental Health).

UniSC offers Bachelor of Health Science (Prosthetics and Orthotics) which meets external The Australian Orthotic Prosthetic Association accreditation requirements and provides graduates with the necessary qualification to be admitted as a Prosthetist and/or Orthotist in Australia.

• Key prosthetics and orthotics practice skills are embedded and assessed throughout the Bachelor of Health Science (Prosthetics and Orthotics).

Skills you need

The Bachelor of Health Science has inherent academic requirements in six categories:

• Observational skills
• Communication skills
• Motor skills (N.B. Prosthetics and Orthotics extended major only)
• Intellectual, such as conceptual, integrative and quantitative abilities
• Behavioural and social skills
• Sustained Performance

Before you enrol

If you intend to enrol in a Bachelor of Health Science degree at the University of the Sunshine Coast, look carefully at the inherent academic requirements listed in this statement and think about whether you might experience challenges in meeting them.

If you think you might experience challenges related to your disability, health condition or for any other reason, you should discuss your concerns with a University Ability Adviser or School staff.

Reasonable adjustments

Students with disabilities or other special circumstances may be provided with reasonable adjustment to enable them to meet the inherent academic requirements of the Bachelor of Health Science if the adjustment is:

• logistically reasonable
• likely to result in the student being able to perform the skills adequately and in a timely manner

Support and further information is available from UniSC

• Ability Advisers

• Career Advisers

• Relevant academic contacts

Observational Skills 

The capacity to demonstrate effective observational skills.

Students will use these observational skills to:

• observe non-verbal information from people and/or environments, including technology
• recognise hazards and safety issues
• recognise a range of behavioural cues 

Justification

These are inherent academic requirements of the Bachelor of Health Science because students must be able to: 1) observe people in order to interact effectively with community and/or clients; and 2) use lab equipment and technology based systems. These observational skills are specified in professional core competency and/or accreditation standards across the Bachelor of Health Science extended majors.

Adjustments

Reasonable adjustments to address the effects of vision impairment must be effective, consistent and not compromise care or safety.

Exemplars

As a student, you must:

• observe non-verbal information and cues within a multi-disciplinary group context, including being culturally appropriate
• observe non-verbal information and cues from clients, such as identifying individual needs, risk factors and circumstances
• use observational information from the physical and built environment to identify hazards eg. pollution in water (Applied Environmental Health), trip hazards in the home (Prosthetics and Orthotics)
• enter and access information from computer systems such as Microsoft Office applications, data analysis software and health-related databases

Communication Skills 

The capacity to demonstrate the following verbal communication skills:

• Verbal
• Nonverbal
• Writing 

Verbal

Students are required to have a capacity to demonstrate proficient oral English language.

Students will use these verbal skills to:

• elicit and provide relevant information
• communicate sensitively and with cultural awareness
• convey a spoken message accurately and effectively
• communicate in a respectful, clear, attentive, empathetic, honest and non-judgemental manner

Nonverbal

Students are required to have a capacity to demonstrate effective non-verbal and active listening skills.

Students will use these skills to:

• hear, concentrate and understand oral communication
• respond through paraphrasing to confirm understanding

Writing

Students are required to have a capacity to demonstrate proficient written English language skills.

Students will use these writing skills to:

• draft, revise and edit a range of professional written communication types
• write accurate records that meet legal and professional standards
• document professional practice processes, evidence, outcomes and recommendations
• develop education resources
• use appropriate grammatical structures and vocabulary
• paraphrase, summarise and reference in accordance with appropriate academic conventions

Justification

These are inherent academic requirements of the Bachelor of Health Science because students must be able to communicate verbally and non-verbally with student peers, teaching staff and industry professionals across the curricula including workplace integrated learning. This range of communication skills are specified in professional core competency and/or accreditation standards across the Bachelor of Health Science extended majors.

Adjustments

Adjustments for impaired verbal communication must address effectiveness, timeliness, clarity and accuracy issues, to ensure safe and effective practice.

Exemplars

As a student, you must:

• practice verbal communication skills during tutorial/workshop discussions, simulation and work integrated learning placements
• practice listening skills during tutorial/workshop discussions and work integrated learning eg. paraphrasing task instructions
• comprehend and respond in a timely way to verbal feedback during tutorials, labs and work integrated learning
• create written reports, project plans, communication briefs, health literacy resources, posters, infographics
• read academic sources of evidence and legislation to inform professional practice

Motor Skills 

The capacity to demonstrate the following fine and gross motor skills in the Bachelor of Health Science (Prosthetics and Orthotics) extended major.

Prosthetics and orthotics requires fine and gross motor skills to provide safe and effective care.

Justification

These are inherent academic requirements of the Bachelor of Health Science (Prosthetics and Orthotics) because students will be required to perform these tasks consistently and safely to reduce the risk of harm to self and others.

Sufficient fine motor skills are necessary to coordinate and prioritise care. Tasks that involve 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.

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.

Adjustments

Adjustments must facilitate functional effectiveness, safety of self and others and a capacity to provided appropriate care.

Exemplars

Fine motor skills:

• Perform assessment techniques, e.g. evaluation of hand sensation and joint movement.
• Assemble and fit a prosthesis or orthosis using various tools.

Gross motor skills:

• Maintain own and client's balance, while providing client support, when transferring and mobilising individuals in a safe manner.
• Evaluate clients, in a safe and effective manner, who have varying physical capacity, when positioning on plinths and hospital beds, mats on the floor, on chairs and when standing.

Behavioural and Social Skills 

The capacity to demonstrate the following behavioural and social skills:

• ethical decision-making abilities
• respect diverse values, beliefs and cultures
• reflective abilities
• manage stressful situations
• sufficient self-awareness to identify and manage fluctuations in health and emotional status
• adapt to change and uncertainty 

The behavioural and social skills are used to facilitate professional behaviours in practice as evidenced by compliance with academic and non-academic codes of conduct, and codes of conduct of industry partners and discipline specific competency requirements relating in academic, health and community service settings.

• Student Conduct - Governing Policy
• Student placement agreement (login to Sonia Online required).
• Code of Conduct - Queensland Public Service
• Australian Orthotic Prosthetic Association Ethical Code and Professional Conduct

Justification

These are inherent academic requirements of the Bachelor of Health Science because students are accountable and responsible for ensuring professional standards of behaviour. Abiding by these professional standards ensures integrity, accountability and ethical practice that benefits public and/or client health and wellbeing. Professional ethical knowledge, attitudes and skills are specified in all Bachelor of Health Science extended major discipline competency/standards frameworks. Behavioural standards are a requirement of the accrediting body for Bachelor of Health Science (Applied Environmental Health) and Bachelor of Health Science (Prosthetics and Orthotics) and professional standards and competencies for all extended majors.

Adjustments

Reasonable adjustments must comply with standards and maintain ethical behaviour.

Exemplars

As a student, you must:

• establish rapport with clients and key stakeholder groups to be able to work collaboratively to achieve health and wellbeing outcomes
• respond appropriately to the complex health and wellbeing needs of clients/communities
• manage complex situations that require negotiation, collaboration and critical thinking eg. community planning and risk management, regulating food premises or comprehensive client care
• comply with relevant codes of conduct while at university and during work integrated learning
• comply with privacy and confidentiality requirements in academic, professional and field experience settings

Intellectual - Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities 

The capacity to demonstrate the following conceptual, integrative and quantitative abilities: 

• process information relevant to professional practice
• apply logic and objective reasoning to practice and problem solving
• have awareness of and ability to modify own professional behaviour to suit current situation
• understand, calculate, interpret and apply numerical data to problem solving scenarios
• interpret and comprehend information in formats that include hand written text, printed text, electronic texts, graphs and diagrams 

Justification

These are inherent academic requirements of the Bachelor of Health Science because students must be able to obtain, understand, interpret and apply information as the basis for evidence-based practice.

Adjustments

Reasonable adjustments must support the student's ability to acquire, analyse and apply knowledge.

Exemplars

As a student, you must:

• identify and assess client and key stakeholder capabilities or issues using evidence and critical reasoning e.g. conducting a client or community needs assessment
• develop and implement appropriate initiatives to improve health and wellbeing outcomes eg. project or client care plans
• evaluate outcomes of health and wellbeing initiatives and plans within defined timeframes, quality benchmarks and budget
• identify appropriate guidelines and legislative requirements for managing environmental health risks and determine appropriate risk mitigation and compliance options for specific and generic settings
• identify, interpret and apply statistical data to inform professional practice eg. identify patterns of health and wellbeing within populations

Sustained Performance 

The capacity to demonstrate the ability to maintain physical, mental and emotional performance over extended and/or specified periods of time: 

• Physical skills and energy are required to perform tasks in a timely manner or over an extended period.
• Mental and emotional skills are required to concentrate on multiple tasks for an assigned period of time.
• Concentration skills are required to perform repetitive activities until a task is completed appropriately.

Justification

These are inherent academic requirements of the Bachelor of Health Science because students must be able to perform activities with a level of concentration that ensures a capacity to focus on the activity until it is completed appropriately. Activities may occur over extended periods of time.

Adjustments

Adjustments must ensure that performance is consistent and sustained over a given period.

Exemplars

As a student, you must:

• maintain consistent concentration throughout classroom learning activities, field trips and whilst on work integrated learning placement
• remain focussed and provide consistent responses over a work integrated learning placement which may exceed usual working hours per day
• perform multiple tasks in an assigned period of time with a level of concentration that ensures a capacity to focus on the activity until it is completed appropriately