Unit rationale, description and aim
Accredited Exercise Physiologists (AEPs) need to work competently, ethically and effectively across a range of clinical and research settings. This unit is a hybrid clinical–research placement in the ACU Exercise Lifestyle Clinic (ELC), where students spend part of their week delivering clinical services and the other part undertaking research assistant activities which may include project work, clinical data collection/interpretation, outcomes evaluation, or quality improvement with ELC members.
With guidance from clinical educators and research staff, students will build on their existing clinical skills while developing foundational research competencies including their research proposal, ethical application, data collection/interpretation, and scholarly communication. Developing research skills will enhance students’ evidence-based and person-centred exercise physiology practices.
To satisfy the practicum requirements mandated by Exercise and Sport Science Australia (ESSA) for accreditation as an exercise physiologist, students must complete a minimum of 360 hours of clinical placement across the clinical placement units throughout the course (EXSC642, EXSC643, and either EXSC646 or EXSC683). For EXSC683 the student will be expected to complete approximately 120 hours of clinical placement.
The aim of this unit is to develop core clinical competencies alongside foundational research and ethics competencies, preparing students for both AEP accreditation and the dedicated research block (EXSC681/EXSC682).
Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Implement safe and effective person-centred exerci...
Learning Outcome 01
Critically reflect on the application of clinical ...
Learning Outcome 02
Practise evidence-informed decision-making in coll...
Learning Outcome 03
Demonstrate appropriate standards of technical and...
Learning Outcome 04
Communicate a research proposal in written form to...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
- Equitable, person‑centred service delivery across varied health systems.
- Accountable, scope‑appropriate clinical decision‑making.
- Professional communication and interprofessional collaboration.
- Professional, ethical and legal responsibilities in practice.
- Culturally responsive and respectful practice.
- Reflective practice and continual professional development.
- Introduction to research methods: clinical data collection, collation, basic analysis and interpretation.
- Research ethics: NHMRC National Statement, HREC processes, working within existing blanket ethics approval in the ELC, ethical considerations for diverse populations including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, responsible conduct of research.
- Conference poster or abstract preparation based on RA project work.
- Research proposal development to accompany ethical application. This will include preliminary research project scoping to establish an original research topic for EXSC681/EXSC682.
Assessment strategy and rationale
All assessments are pass/fail, reflecting the unit’s role as a gateway to the research capstone. To meet ESSA practicum requirements and demonstrate research readiness, students must complete the required placement hours and successfully complete four assessment components.
Students must be deemed competent on the Clinical Performance Assessment Tool (CPAT) at the summative assessment point to meet ESSA professional practice requirements. A signed CPAT must be submitted within five days of placement completion. Students must also submit a Placement Summary Report (PSR), reviewed and signed by the clinical educator, within five days of placement completion. Only one (1) attempt is permitted given students are unable to be granted multiple clinical placements.
To demonstrate foundational research competence, students complete an ethics application addressing ethical principles, risk assessment, informed consent, data management and considerations for diverse populations. One resubmission opportunity is provided. Students also develop a research proposal for their planned original research project. Students will have a maximum of two (2) attempts permitted to pass this assessment.
Generative AI must not be used unless explicitly permitted.
Overview of assessments
To pass this unit, students must: achieve every learning outcome, complete attendance requirements, and pass all hurdle tasks.
Assessment Task 1* Clinical Performance Assessmen...
Assessment Task 1* Clinical Performance Assessment
Enable students an opportunity to demonstrate the development of essential clinical competencies during clinical placement.
Hurdle Task*
Assessment Task 2* Placement Summary Report Ena...
Assessment Task 2* Placement Summary Report
Enables students to reflect on the application of enhanced knowledge, clinical skills, attributes and experiential learning in the clinical workplace.
Hurdle Task*
Assessment Task 3** Ethics Application Enables s...
Assessment Task 3** Ethics Application
Enables students to demonstrate understanding of research ethics, regulatory frameworks and responsible conduct of research within the ACU ethics framework.
Hurdle Task**
Assessment Task 4*** Research Proposal*** Enable...
Assessment Task 4*** Research Proposal***
Enables students to confirm their research question, justify the study, and outline methodology for their research project.
Hurdle Task***
* Hurdle Tasks - Assessment 1 and Assessment 2: Only one (1) attempt for these hurdle tasks is permitted given students are not able to be granted multiple clinical placements.
**Hurdle Task - Assessment 3: One resubmission opportunity is provided.
***Hurdle Task - Assessment 4: Maximum of two (2) attempts for these hurdle tasks are permitted.
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This learner-centred unit is delivered in Multi-mode informed by social constructivist, experiential, and work‑integrated learning principles. Learning activities support integrated development of clinical competence and foundational research capability through authentic participation in a clinical–research environment.
Clinical placement within the Exercise Lifestyle Clinic (ELC) provides structured learning aligned with Kolb’s experiential learning cycle, including deliberate clinical practice, reflective observation, conceptualisation, and active experimentation. These processes extend to research skill development, with students engaging in supervised research assistant activities including: ethical data collection, collation, basic analysis and interpretation within an approved ethics framework.
Students participate in workshops and tutorials that scaffold clinical reasoning and research literacy. Activities include analysis of clinical cases, examination of research‑informed practice, introduction to research governance and ethics, and guided interpretation of clinical and research data. Structured debriefing and facilitated discussion, support critical reflection and peer learning within a community of practice.
Learning activities may include case based learning, reflective journaling, skills practice, peer mentoring, supervised research tasks and scholarly communication. Students prepare for EXSCC681/EXSC682 by developing their original research project plan through completion of a research proposal and ethical application. Collectively, these strategies prepare students for ethical, culturally responsive, person-centred exercise physiology practice and future research-focused units.