| Course | MSW 529 Medical Social Work II |
|---|---|
| Week | 1 |
| Paper type | Discussion post |
| Length | About 390 words |
| Format | Discussion post with APA 7 citations |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | Master of Social Work (MSW) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MSW 529 Week 1
Week 1 Discussion: Initial Post
The Closing Summary Written as a Last Word, and What It Becomes When a Dialysis Patient Comes Back to the Hospital Twice in One Winter: Rewriting One Routine as a Handoff to the Next Admission
The Routine
When a patient leaves the hospital, I write a closing summary: what happened, what was arranged, and a final line, "Discharged home with services in place." It reads like a last word. In acute care, that is what we were trained to write, because the patient's next stop is someone else's.
The Case That Comes Back Twice
L., 49, has end-stage kidney disease and goes to dialysis three mornings a week. L. was admitted in December with fluid overload, discharged, then readmitted nine days later after missing two dialysis sessions when the paratransit van did not come, then admitted again in February with a fistula clot. Each time, the social worker on the unit opened my last summary and found "services in place," followed by nothing that explained what had broken.
The second social worker told me later that the first thing she did was call me to ask what had broken, which a better summary would have answered.
A Rewrite Somebody Could Do
For a patient with a chronic illness who is likely to return, the summary should end as a handoff, not a conclusion. The last section would read: "If L. returns, check first: (1) paratransit eligibility and whether rides are confirmed for dialysis days; (2) whether the dialysis chair time has changed; (3) who now holds the transplant evaluation paperwork." That is three lines a colleague can act on in the first hour. Chronic illness moves through phases, some stable and some not, and the person managing it needs work that carries across them (Corbin & Strauss, 1991).
The Cost of the Change
It takes longer: about ten minutes per summary, because I must think about what will break rather than what I arranged. It also exposes uncertainty in the record, which some colleagues read as an admission that the discharge was incomplete. That cost is worth it for patients who return; for a one-time admission, the old form is fine.
A Question for Replies
What routine in your setting assumes the patient will not come back, and what would you change in it?
References
Corbin, J. M., & Strauss, A. (1991). A nursing model for chronic illness management based upon the trajectory framework. Scholarly Inquiry for Nursing Practice, 5(3), 155-174.
The Chamberlain MSW 529 Week 1 instructions
The first discussion is narrower than most opening posts. Name one routine from practice, such as the closing summary, the goal given a target date or the note that assumes one more visit, and nothing else. Then set beside it a case that returns, so the reader sees what the routine becomes when the same person comes back. Offer a rewrite specific enough that a colleague could adopt it tomorrow. Say what the change costs, in time or in how the record reads. Do not defend the old habit or write about chronic illness in general. A source should support the reason for the change. Replies should carry a claim, agreeing or disagreeing with the rewrite for a reason.
Inside the MSW 529 Week 1 example
The routine section describes a closing summary that ends on services in place. The case section follows L., 49, on dialysis, through a December admission, a readmission nine days later after two missed sessions and a February clot, with each unit worker finding the same uninformative last line. The rewrite section ends the summary with three checks: paratransit rides for dialysis days, any change in chair time and who holds the transplant paperwork, citing Corbin and Strauss (1991) on work that carries across phases. The cost section counts about ten minutes per summary and the discomfort of recording uncertainty. A closing question asks classmates which routine in their setting assumes the patient will not come back.
Where the points sit in the MSW 529 Week 1 rubric
A post about chronic illness in general, with no routine in it, collects participation points only. The next deduction is for a routine named and then defended. Faculty credit one routine named early, a case that returns more than once, a rewrite specific enough to use and an honest count of its cost. Support from a source explains why chronic illness needs a different routine. Replies are graded on whether they carry a claim rather than praise. Brevity matters, and the case should be described only as far as it exposes the routine. APA citations are expected for any source used.
MSW 529 Week 1 help: mistakes that cost points
The post that earns least writes about the burden of chronic illness without naming a single routine. Another frequent slip is explaining why the old habit made sense, which avoids the question. Some posts suggest a rewrite so general, be more thorough, that no one could adopt it. Others skip the cost, which makes the change look free. A routine from a clinic or home health setting works just as well: the intake form that repeats every visit, the goal written as if the illness will end. Name it, show it under a returning case and write the replacement lines exactly. Keep the case short so the routine stays at the center.
Get a MSW-529 Week 1 example written to your instructions
Send the Week 1 instructions with the discussion requirements your classroom publishes, and a custom post is written to them and returned inside 24 to 48 hours, the first one free. If your section wants replies drafted as well, say how many and they come with it, each one built to move a classmate's routine rather than to praise it.
More MSW 529 papers and MSW samples
- MSW 529 Week 2: Illness Trajectory Paper
- MSW 529 Week 3: Payer Coverage Comparison
- MSW 529 Week 4: Service Gap Map
- MSW 529 Week 5: Transplant Evaluation Write-up
- MSW 529 Week 6: Readmission Case Review
- MSW 529 Week 7: Care Management Plan
- MSW 529 Week 8: Case Closure Summary
- MSW 528 Week 1: Tow Lot Task Post
- MSW 526 Week 1: Mindfulness Practice and Promise Post
- MSW 525 Week 1: Component Mismatch Post
- MSW 524 Week 1: What Counts as Trauma Post
MSW 529 Week 1 questions, answered
Does the routine have to come from a hospital job?
No. The assignment wants a habit with a shape somebody can examine: a form always filled the same way, a call always made on the same day of the week, an ending always written to the same template. Field placements, volunteer shifts and a previous course all supply them, and several sections say so outright. Where a real workplace is the source, identifying facts stay out of the post.
Can the routine be one I have never actually used?
Yes, in most versions of this assignment. The habit can be one described in a reading or observed on a placement, provided the post says which it is. What does not work is a habit nobody performs, invented to make the argument tidy, because the second half of the post has to say what it costs to change and an imaginary routine costs nothing. Faculty read for that.
What counts as support in a first week post?
A course reading, usually, cited in whatever style the syllabus names. Two things separate a citation that earns from one that decorates: the source has to say something the post could not have said without it, and the sentence it supports has to be one a classmate might dispute. A reference bolted to an uncontested statement about chronic illness being long collects nothing.
Where can I find a free MSW 529 Week 1 sample paper?
You can read the complete MSW 529 Week 1 post rewriting a closing summary for a dialysis patient who keeps returning here, with margin notes.
What rewrite does the MSW 529 Week 1 sample propose?
Ending the summary with three checks a colleague can act on at readmission: rides for dialysis days, any change in chair time and who holds the transplant paperwork.