SHS3 Biomedical Science · Semester 1 Week 1: Biomedical Science Practice

Lesson notes

Learning Objectives

Indicator: 3.1.1.LI.1 - Explain common practices that could result in malpractice, liability and/or negligence in the field of biomedical science.

By the end of the lesson, learners can:

Define malpractice, negligence, and liability in their own words and distinguish clearly between them.
Identify at least five common practices in biomedical science that could constitute malpractice or negligence, giving a concrete example for each.
Explain how poor documentation, misdiagnosis, and medication errors can lead to legal liability for a biomedical scientist.
Analyse a hypothetical scenario and classify the actions described as malpractice, negligence, or liability, justifying their reasoning.
Create a poster that highlights one act of malpractice or negligence and suggests at least two ways to guard against it.

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Curriculum details

Strand: Biomedical Science in Society (Strand 1)
Sub-strand: Biomedical Science Practice (1.1)
Content standard: 3.1.1.CS.1 - Demonstrate knowledge of good professional practice as biomedical scientists. 3.1.1.LO.1 Explain actions that can constitute malpractice, liability and/or negligence and how biomedical scientist can guard against them. 5 Gender Equality and Social 6 Socio-Emotional Learning
Indicator: 3.1.1.LI.1 - Explain common practices that could result in malpractice, liability and/or negligence in the field of biomedical science.
Suggested placement: Semester 1, Week 1 (Week 1 of the year)
Our suggestion, laid out in curriculum order across three terms of twelve weeks. NaCCA does not fix the week, so follow your school's scheme of learning.
Curriculum reference: NaCCA curriculum document, p. 82

Exemplars (from the NaCCA curriculum)

Initiating Talk for Learning: Discuss possible sources and causes of malpractice of professionals in the field of biomedical science, e.g., professional wrongdoing (being careless or breaking the law or the rules of their profession) that results in injury or damage. Discuss examples of malpractice including failure to diagnose a patient's medical condition (misdiagnosis), patient injury during treatment, often resulting in disability or death, failure to treat a patient's condition, medication errors, defective medical devices, inappropriate use of medical device and poor documentation.
Exploratory Learning: Brainstorm on the difference between malpractice and negligence, and the definition of medical liability. Watch videos or pictures or listen to hypothetical scenarios on different events involving medical malpractices and then identify the various cases of malpractice/negligence and the possible liabilities.
Activity-Based Learning: Create posters on different acts of malpractice or negligence in the field of biomedical science.
Teaching and Learning Resources:
- Videos, documentaries and pictures of the various acts of malpractice and negligence.
- Videos and documentaries on how informed consent is carried out.
- Sample consent forms
Assessment (3.1.1.AS.1). The document marks these depth-of-knowledge levels for this indicator: Level 2 Skills of conceptual understanding; Level 3 Strategic reasoning; Level 4 Extended critical thinking and reasoning.