Master of Clinical Exercise Physiology

Compliance with Australian Law and professional regulations.

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

• Comply with relevant child protection safety, health and safety and anti-discrimination legislation. For examples of applicable Australian Federal legislations visit the ComLaw website.

Ethical and professional behaviour in academic and professional environments

Compliance with standards, codes, guidelines and policies that facilitates safe, competent interactions and relationships for students and the people they engage with in the many environments of practice is required for the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of all.

• Comply with academic and non-academic conduct codes and policies and professional standards
• Identify and enact relevant applications of these codes and standards, including those relating to plagiarism, informed consent, privacy, confidentiality, and equitable and respectful behaviour in academic and professional settings

Compliance with safe practice sufficient to meet client care needs, including considerations of current scope of practice, workplace health and safety and infection control.

Compliance with current scope of practice, workplace health and safety, infection control considerations and effective and timely response to alarm systems are required to provide safe environments for students, staff and others.

• Limit task performance to current scope of practice
• Comply with relevant workplace health and safety policies for equipment use and storage
• Remain up to date with first-aid and CPR knowledge and practice
• Work safely with clients with infectious diseases and with reduced immunity
• Be able to identify and respond to alarm systems to maintain safety and/or effective health management for self and clients

Knowledge acquisition, utilisation and retention spanning and drawing together all coursework subjects. Cognitive skills for focus, memory, attention to detail, theoretical deliberation, and practical functioning sufficient to meet client care needs.

Understanding and retention of coursework information and the effective processing of this information is required for appropriate, safe and effective delivery of care.

• Make safe and appropriate client care decisions from retained knowledge
• Assess the application of policy and procedures in the context of professional situations
• Research and use an evidence based framework to make sound decisions between management options
• Analyse and find solutions for causes of client responses or equipment malfunction
• Notice and respond effectively to critical changes in instructions, measurements or observable behaviour

Awareness of own thinking, and skills to reflect, evaluate, adapt and implement new cognitive strategies for improved learning and client care.

Understanding and ongoing learning about oneself as an instrument in client care is required for safe and effective delivery of practice.

• Progressively review a client’s exercise plan and adapt the plan based on the client’s changing circumstances
• Review and reflect on personal responses and cultural paradigms around client care challenges, and develop safe, effective and professional care approaches
• Manage and proactively learn from academic and professional set-backs through self-evaluation
• Reflect on the options, ethical implications, and impact for all stakeholders of client care decisions
• Be aware of and take responsibility for personal role in the client care process

English literacy skills that allow the creation and interpretation of clear meaning for client care through a range of symbols and English language text.

Client care information can be delivered by many different modes and competent literacy skills for these are essential to provide appropriate, safe and effective delivery of care/practice.

• Comprehend, summarise and reference a range of literature in accordance with appropriate academic conventions in written assignments
• Interpret scales, diagrams, graphs, and ECG tracings accurately
• Produce accurate, concise and clear documentation which meets academic and legal requirements.

Accurate processing and reasoning with numbers and numerical concepts for client care decisions.

Competent reasoning and reliable accuracy with numerical concepts are essential for safe and effective care/practice.

• Calculate, record and interpret accurate measurements of exercise responses and fitness capacities e.g. exercise intensity, range of motion, heart rate and oxygen level

Verbal communication in English to a standard that allows fluid, clear, and comprehensible two-way discussions for client care, tailored to the local English-speaking audiences.

Effective verbal communication, in English, with clients, university and professional staff is required for effective learning and to provide safe and effective delivery of care/practice.

• Convey spoken messages accurately and effectively in a professional situation
• Understand and respond to verbal communication accurately and appropriately in a time-constrained environment e.g. when a client expresses discomfort during an exercise test or session
• Build rapport with the client to promote participation
• Present information to, and engage in developing discussions with, a wide audience, including academic and professional presentations

Non-verbal communication skills that enable respectful communication with others to meet client care needs.

The ability to recognise, interpret and respond to non-verbal cues, to communicate with congruent and respectful non-verbal behaviour, and to be sensitive to individual and/or cultural variations in non-verbal communication is essential for safe and effective care.

• Recognise cues in client facial expression, appearance, behaviour, posture, and movement
• Deliver information to a distressed client incorporating non-verbal behaviour that matches the nature of the information
• Recognise and adjust to differing physical contact preferences of clients

Ability to produce English text to a standard that provides clear and professional-level communication for client care, with language usage and style tailored to the targeted recipients.

Effective communication in English text is required to demonstrate applied skills in academic writing conventions and in sustained and organised academic argument and provide safe and effective delivery of care/practice.

• Communicate complex academic and professional perspectives in writing, e.g. essays; professional case notes
• Summarise and appropriately reference a range of literature  in written assignments
• Use precise and appropriate language to contribute to both handwritten and electronic records in a time-constrained environment

Ability to interact with visual inputs sufficiently to manage learning environments and to meet client care needs.

Elements in the working and learning environment are delivered by visual means, and the ability to learn from or respond to these inputs is required to provide safe and effective practice.

• Detect visual changes in a client’s posture, movement and facial expression
• Monitor client performance responses and read instructions for safe equipment use
• Process visual information from monitoring equipment e.g. heart rate monitors, wall-posted information, handwritten and electronic client records
• Monitor the broader environment for client safety including observing multiple clients and events simultaneously

Ability to interact with auditory inputs sufficiently to manage learning environments and to meet client care needs.

Elements in the learning and working environments are delivered by auditory means, and the ability to learn from or respond to these inputs is required to provide safe and effective practice.

• Detect and discriminate changes in blood pressure sounds
• Detect and discriminate alarms, emergency calls over PA systems, and urgent verbal information for client care
• Follow developing discussions with colleagues and clients for care decisions

Ability to respond to tactile input and provide appropriate tactile interaction sufficient to meet client care needs.

Elements in the working and learning environment are detected and measured by tactile means, and the ability to learn from or respond to these inputs is required to provide safe and effective practice.

• Palpation of a major artery to detect and feel for pulse
• Apply appropriate pressure with both hands to assist with correct movement techniques

Strength, range of motion, coordination and mobility sufficient to meet client care needs.

A wide range of physical client care actions in a time-constrained environment is required to provide safe and effective practice.

• Contribute to emergency life support
• Move readily around clients, between work areas and clients, and around varying surfaces and levels, to complete tasks within timeframes
• Independently transport and manipulate instruments, materials and equipment including weights and exercise equipment
• Maintain balance and safely assist with client exercise routines
• Safely retrieve, move and utilise stock and equipment from reasonable storage positions at a range of heights

Manual dexterity and fine motor skills sufficient to meet client care needs.

A wide range of fine-motor manual tasks in a time-constrained environment are required to provide safe and effective practice.

• Perform assessment techniques including blood sampling and blood pressure measurement
• Perform intricate tasks during testing including adjusting equipment and exercise timings (e.g. stopwatch use)
• Contribute to both handwritten and electronic client records

Sustained physical, cognitive and psychosocial performance sufficient to complete the required activities for the degree.

A range of complex, multi-component or extended client care tasks carried out over a period of time and in a time-constrained environments is required to provide safe and effective practice.

• Sustain study practices and workplace performance to successfully engage with learning environments (e.g. teaching and placement) during the course
• Sustain personal physical and emotional health and fitness during the undertaking of manual and cognitive tasks throughout the course
• Sustain performance for durations that are manageable within overall shift-planning for client care

Behaviour that adapts to changing situations sufficiently to maintain safe and complete client care, and instigates self-care consistent with professional expectations.

Behavioural adaptation is required to manage personal emotional responses as an individual and within teams in changing and unpredictable environments, including emergency situations and times of human distress. Students will also be required to adapt their behaviour appropriately during times of additional stressors in their own lives, whether this adaptation involves ways of continuing to engage with their role or withdrawing for self-care for a period.

• Be receptive and respond appropriately to constructive feedback
• Adjust ways of working within teams of varied personal and professional backgrounds and preferences to facilitate effective client decisions
• Cope with own emotions and behaviour effectively when dealing with changing circumstances of individuals and families in the professional setting
• Maintain respectful lines of communication and practices in times of increased stressors or workloads
• Adjust to changing circumstances in a way that allows self-care while maintaining a professional-level focus on the client