On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

​1. Demonstrate skills in safe work practices including infection control and work health and safety in a clinical setting.
2. Apply professional communication skills in a clinical setting.
3. Appraise and review assessment, diagnostic and management skills necessary for the development and application of treatment of patients with general foot and lower extremity pathologies.
4. Consolidate specialist diagnostic skills for the assessment of patients from special populations including radiographic interpretation, vascular assessment, neurological assessment, and biomechanical assessment.
5. Develop and apply assessment, diagnosis and management knowledge and skills in the context of complex clinical cases including paediatric, sports and geriatric patients.
6. Develop and demonstrate safe and competent skills in undertaking nail surgery procedures.
7. Develop and refine skills in the manufacture of custom made functional orthotic devices including neutral casting, positive cast manufacture, grinding and safety competencies.
8. Develop and apply soft tissue techniques in the context of management of musculoskelatal pathologies.

This is the third of four clinical practice subjects, the student will participate in patient assessment, diagnosis, and management.  Completing  this unit, builds on students clinical and academic skills in preparation for becoming a graduate podiatrist.
The activities will be divided into three areas:
(a) UniClinic (including surgery)
(b) Clinical therapies and clinical tutorials
(c) External Clinical Placement

(a)  UniClinic (including surgery)
In these clinics, the student will consolidate and further develop patient assessment, diagnosis and management, and clinical reasoning skills. The patients who attend these clinics will be new and ongoing patients who have basic foot problems, problems associated with an existing medical condition, mechanical/functional problems or require minor surgical intervention. Appropriate assessments and management strategies will be carried out including manufacture of orthoses, soft tissue techniques, and minor surgical procedures. The students will be supervised by registered practitioners.  Tutorials will support the management and educational needs (including case presentations) to faciliate learning during sessions.

(b) Clinical Therapies and clinical tutorials
This unit will continue to develop clinical skills and academic knowledge in a range of therapies. This unit will build on previous orthoses and surgery unit content taught in the 3rd year of the program.  Additional content (‘soft tissue techniques’) will also be introduced to refine student clinical application and reasoning skills to manage musculoskelatal pathologies. Clinical tutorials will support the management and educational needs (including case presentations) to facilitate learning during UniClinic sessions.
Content will include:
Manufacture of clinical devices, problem solving and ethics
Prefab and off the shelf devices
Soft tissue therapies including trigger point, dry needling and active release techniques
Revision of surgical procedures and protocols
Orthotic scripts
Translation of patient pathology and condition to orthotic script prescription 
Translation of biomechanical assessment results to orthotic script prescription 

(c) External Clinical Placement
A placement for 20 days of clinical activities in an external clinical site will be undertaken. The focus of this placement will be on developing assessment, diagnostic, management, and patient interaction skills in a real world clinical setting.

Legislative pre-requisites

Special Requirements - NSW Health Legislative Prerequisites

Student Compliance Information for all Health-Related Placements

Prior to enrolling in this subject, students must have submitted a Student Undertaking Form and undertake to apply for a National Police Check, which is required to be submitted before placement, and a Working with Children Check Student Declaration. Use the link to the Special Requirements webpage below for more information.

To be eligible to enrol in this subject and complete any required health-related placements or experiences, students must meet Western Sydney University program requirements as well as any special, legislated, or policy-mandated requirements.

Western Program Requirements

Visit the Special Requirements webpage for details about your program.

Special Requirements

Mandatory NSW Health student placement policy requirements

To be able to undertake placement in any NSW Health facility you must be assessed as compliant with NSW Health student placement policy in the first year of your program, regardless of when you expect to go on your first placement. Access and read the NSW Student Compliance Information Booklet.

NSW Student Compliance Information Booklet

Please ensure that you

1.  Find your existing National Police Check or apply for one
2.  Gather documentary evidence of your vaccination history
3.  Print and compete all relevant NSW Health forms relevant to the campus you are enrolled at or online enrolment requirements
4.  Follow booklet instructions on how to have your compliance documents assessed by NSW health staff.

International students have additional requirements; the link to the booklet will inform you of these requirements.

School Requirements

Contact your School for further details regarding your School’s requirements, if any, such as

• If you live outside of NSW or Australia and need to meet your state, territory or country’s compliance requirements
• If you need to meet different state, territory or country compliance requirements.
• NSW Working with Children Check (WWCC) or other state equivalent, valid for your entire program.
• Current approved first aid certificate valid for your entire program - approved program providers can be found at the Government Training website
• http://training.gov.au
• Other non-health related requirements.

Student Compliance Resources are also available on the Placements Hub web page (NSW students only)

https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/learning_futures/home/placements_hub/placements_hub/student_compliance