Critical Thinking: Reasoning Skills for Health Professionals
PostgraduateTAS-HPH5062025
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Enrol by
- 13 July 2025
- Entry requirements
- Part of a degree
- Duration
- 14 weeks
- Start dates
- 24 Feb 2025,
- 21 July 2025
- Price from
- $2,780
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Critical Thinking: Reasoning Skills for Health Professionals
About this subject
On successful completion of this subject, students will be able to:
- Explain the principles of critical thinking and their applications to the health-care sector.
- Analyse the structure of reasoning across both academic and health-care contexts.
- Critically evaluate the use of different types of reasoning and decision-making in health-care and other contexts.
- Defend your own positions and decisions using clear and effective writing.
- Module 1: Why Critical Thinking?
- Two Thinking Systems
- Cognitive Biases
- Module 2: Clear Thinking
- Identifying Arguments and their Components
- Some Complications
- Arguments within Arguments
- Counterarguments and Counter-considerations
- Unclear Language
- Persuasive Language
- Clarifying your reasoning
- Writing Clearly
- Module 3: Evaluative Thinking
- Fallacies of Vacuity
- Fallacies of Relevance
- Deduction and Validity
- Logical Form
- Using Form to Evaluate Validity
- Inductive Generalisation
- Statistical Syllogism
- Argument from Analogy
- Abduction: Inference to the Best Explanation
- Causal Reasoning
- Module 4: Practical Thinking
- Decisions with Certainty
- Decisions with Ignorance
- Decisions with Risk
- Intellectual Virtues
This subject teaches the fundamentals of critical thinking, with particular focus on applications in the health-care sector. You will learn how to construct, analyse, and critically evaluate arguments; how to reason logically and well; and how to communicate your thoughts clearly and effectively. You will learn practical techniques for the evaluation of reasoning, and apply these techniques with fellow students to explore topics and arguments from health-care, academia, and the popular media. The skills you acquire in this subject will be invaluable, not just across academic disciplines, but more broadly for leading a life enriched by critical thinking.
- Take-Home Exam (40%)
- Portfolio (40%)
- Written Argument (20%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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- 19
Entry requirements
Part of a degree
To enrol in this subject you must be accepted into one of the following degrees:
Core
- TAS-ADP-GCE-2025 - Graduate Certificate in Advanced Practice
- TAS-AQS-GDI-2025 - Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice ( Applied Quality and Safety)
- TAS-CDP-GDI-2025 - Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Communicable Disease Prevention)
- TAS-CUC-GDI-2025 - Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Community and Urgent Care)
- TAS-CCR-GDI-2025 - Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Critical Care and Retrieval)
- TAS-APD-GDI-2025 - Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Dementia)
- TAS-ADH-GDI-2025 - Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Digital Health)
- TAS-APG-GDI-2025 - Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Governance)
- TAS-AHE-GDI-2025 - Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Health Economics)
- TAS-HSI-GDI-2025 - Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Health Service Improvement)
- TAS-APH-GDI-2025 - Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Healthcare Education)
- TAS-AMS-GDI-2025 - Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Medication Safety)
- TAS-AOP-GDI-2025 - Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Organisational Performance)
- TAS-AOR-GDI-2025 - Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Organisational Resilience)
- TAS-ASC-GDI-2025 - Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Strategic Communication)
- TAS-SCL-GDI-2025 - Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Supply Chain and Logistics)
- TAS-AWP-GDI-2025 - Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Workplace Psychology)
- TAS-AQS-MAS-2025 - Master of Advanced Practice ( Applied Quality and Safety)
- TAS-CDP-MAS-2025 - Master of Advanced Practice (Communicable Disease Prevention)
- TAS-CUC-MAS-2025 - Master of Advanced Practice (Community and Urgent Care)
- TAS-CCR-MAS-2025 - Master of Advanced Practice (Critical Care and Retrieval)
- TAS-APD-MAS-2025 - Master of Advanced Practice (Dementia)
- TAS-ADH-MAS-2025 - Master of Advanced Practice (Digital Health)
- TAS-APG-MAS-2025 - Master of Advanced Practice (Governance)
- TAS-AHE-MAS-2025 - Master of Advanced Practice (Health Economics)
- TAS-HSI-MAS-2025 - Master of Advanced Practice (Health Service Improvement)
- TAS-APH-MAS-2025 - Master of Advanced Practice (Healthcare Education)
- TAS-AMS-MAS-2025 - Master of Advanced Practice (Medication Safety)
- TAS-AOP-MAS-2025 - Master of Advanced Practice (Organisational Performance)
- TAS-AOR-MAS-2025 - Master of Advanced Practice (Organisational Resilience)
- TAS-ASC-MAS-2025 - Master of Advanced Practice (Strategic Communication)
- TAS-SCL-MAS-2025 - Master of Advanced Practice (Supply Chain and Logistics)
- TAS-AWP-MAS-2025 - Master of Advanced Practice (Workplace Psychology)
Additional requirements
- Other requirements - Teaching Arrangement: Short recorded lectures totalling approximately 45 minutes per week, online discussion participation totalling approximately 1 hour per week, and self-directed exercises totalling approximately 1 hour per week.
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
Related degrees
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
Graduate Certificate in Advanced Practice
PostgraduateTAS-ADP-GCE
Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice ( Applied Quality and Safety)
PostgraduateTAS-AQS-GDI
Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Communicable Disease Prevention)
PostgraduateTAS-CDP-GDI
Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Community and Urgent Care)
PostgraduateTAS-CUC-GDI
Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Critical Care and Retrieval)
PostgraduateTAS-CCR-GDI
Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Dementia)
PostgraduateTAS-APD-GDI
Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Digital Health)
PostgraduateTAS-ADH-GDI
Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Governance)
PostgraduateTAS-APG-GDI
Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Health Economics)
PostgraduateTAS-AHE-GDI
Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Health Service Improvement)
PostgraduateTAS-HSI-GDI
Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Healthcare Education)
PostgraduateTAS-APH-GDI
Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Medication Safety)
PostgraduateTAS-AMS-GDI
Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Organisational Performance)
PostgraduateTAS-AOP-GDI
Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Organisational Resilience)
PostgraduateTAS-AOR-GDI
Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Strategic Communication)
PostgraduateTAS-ASC-GDI
Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Supply Chain and Logistics)
PostgraduateTAS-SCL-GDI
Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice (Workplace Psychology)
PostgraduateTAS-AWP-GDI
Master of Advanced Practice ( Applied Quality and Safety)
PostgraduateTAS-AQS-MAS
Master of Advanced Practice (Communicable Disease Prevention)
PostgraduateTAS-CDP-MAS
Master of Advanced Practice (Community and Urgent Care)
PostgraduateTAS-CUC-MAS
Master of Advanced Practice (Critical Care and Retrieval)
PostgraduateTAS-CCR-MAS
Master of Advanced Practice (Dementia)
PostgraduateTAS-APD-MAS
Master of Advanced Practice (Digital Health)
PostgraduateTAS-ADH-MAS
Master of Advanced Practice (Governance)
PostgraduateTAS-APG-MAS
Master of Advanced Practice (Health Economics)
PostgraduateTAS-AHE-MAS
Master of Advanced Practice (Health Service Improvement)
PostgraduateTAS-HSI-MAS
Master of Advanced Practice (Healthcare Education)
PostgraduateTAS-APH-MAS
Master of Advanced Practice (Medication Safety)
PostgraduateTAS-AMS-MAS
Master of Advanced Practice (Organisational Performance)
PostgraduateTAS-AOP-MAS
Master of Advanced Practice (Organisational Resilience)
PostgraduateTAS-AOR-MAS
Master of Advanced Practice (Strategic Communication)
PostgraduateTAS-ASC-MAS
Master of Advanced Practice (Supply Chain and Logistics)
PostgraduateTAS-SCL-MAS
Master of Advanced Practice (Workplace Psychology)
PostgraduateTAS-AWP-MAS