Course Title: Risk Assessment
Part A: Course Overview
Course Title: Risk Assessment
Credit Points: 12.00
Terms
Course Code |
Campus |
Career |
School |
Learning Mode |
Teaching Period(s) |
PUBH1121 |
Bundoora Campus |
Postgraduate |
160H Medical Sciences |
Internet |
Sem 2 2006, Sem 2 2008, Sem 2 2009 |
Course Coordinator: Diana Donohue
Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 7085
Course Coordinator Email: d.donohue@rmit.edu.au
Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities
Students would be expected to have completed (or be concurrently completing) ONPS2310 “Advanced Toxicology” and PUBH1356 “Introduction to Biostatistics and Risk Assessment”.
Course Description
This is a fully online web-based course. “Risk assessment” builds upon competencies acquired in “Advanced Toxicology” and “Introduction to Biostatistics and Risk Assessment”. This course examines concepts and principles underlying chemical risk assessment, and introduces the role of risk perception, risk communication and risk management in the protection of public and environmental health.
Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development
At the conclusion of the course the student would be expected to understand the process of risk assessment and its limitations; be able to conduct a simple risk assessment; be familiar with and able to access relevant sources of material for risk assessment; and have an awareness of risk perception and the role of risk assessment in risk communication and risk management.
This flexible distance-learning course has modules that are specifically designed to equip students with essential skills to work in the fields of:
· Chemical and drug evaluation, both in private industry and government;
· Risk assessment of chemicals in the workplace and environment;
· Environmental issues of toxic contamination; and
· Toxicity of food contamination.
Overview of Learning Activities
Online material is provided in modules, allowing students to learn independently and access content at their discretion. Revision of concepts is through an online quiz bank, based on questions drawn from modules. Students are expected to participate actively in online collaborative discussions and jointly-written assignments. Students perform a written evaluation of a risk assessment scenario from the literature. Further analysis and interpretation of data are approached through problem-based learning.
Overview of Learning Resources
This course is accessed and studied online via the RMIT Learning Hub (http://www.rmit.edu.au/learninghub). The course content is provided through online modules and the prescribed textbook. Further learning resources, such as journal papers and links to relevant papers or web sites, are provided as appropriate. Students have online access to RMIT’s library and database facilities to gain individual experience in sourcing reliable scientific literature. If you experience difficulty accessing a particular site please report this to the Online Program Administrator as soon as possible.
Overview of Assessment
Assessment tasks include: online topic quizzes to aid understanding of concepts; online discussion to discuss issues, articulate ideas and practise collaborative skills; a written critique of a risk assessment paper; and an open book exam in which the student conducts a simple risk assessment and provides a written report.