| Course | PA 510 Comprehensive Clinical Module Dermatology |
|---|---|
| Week | 8 |
| Paper type | Teledermatology referral brief |
| Length | About 540 words, 4 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PA 510 Week 8
Teledermatology Referral Brief: An 8-Millimeter Three-Color Spot on the Left Sole, Requested for In-Person Dermoscopy and Biopsy Within Two Weeks
Student Name
Chamberlain University
PA 510: Comprehensive Clinical Module Dermatology
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Teledermatology Referral Brief: An 8-Millimeter Three-Color Spot on the Left Sole, Requested for In-Person Dermoscopy and Biopsy Within Two Weeks
Block 1: Request
To: Dermatology eConsult service, regional health system. From: rural health clinic, PA student for the supervising PA. Asking for: review of images and history, and an in-person appointment for dermoscopy and probable biopsy of a pigmented lesion on the left sole. Window: within two weeks.
Block 2: Disposition Argued For
In-person dermatology visit within 14 days. Reason: a sole lesion, flat, asymmetric and irregular, carrying three colors, unlike the patient's other acral spots, in a patient group in which the acral subtype is a large share of melanoma (Bradford et al., 2009). Store-and-forward review is requested first so the dermatologist can confirm the priority and the visit type. Store-and-forward teledermatology can triage referrals reliably, but a lesion like this one will most likely need examination with dermoscopy in person (Whited, 2015).
Block 3: Image Set, Itemized
Image 1: overview of both soles, standing, from 60 centimeters, diffuse daylight, no flash, phone camera, ruler in frame.
Image 2: close-up of the left sole lesion, 15 centimeters, ruler adjacent, diffuse light, no flash, in focus across the whole lesion.
Image 3: close-up at an angle with light from the side, to show that the lesion is flat.
Image 4: two of the patient's other acral spots, right sole and left palm, close-up with ruler, for comparison.
All images taken today following published technical guidance for skin images (Finnane et al., 2017). No dermoscopic images; dermoscopy is not available here.
Block 4: Description, With Sources
Examined by me in clinic today: 8 by 5 millimeters by ruler; asymmetric; border smooth on the inner side and notched on the outer, fading at one point; three colors, light brown inner half, dark brown central band and a 2-millimeter black area at the outer edge; flat on palpation; no ulceration or bleeding.
Reported by the patient: not aware of the spot; no itching, pain or bleeding there.
From the record: a podiatry visit two years ago, for a callus, recorded the left foot as unremarkable and did not describe pigmented spots; no photograph exists. Change is therefore unknown.
Block 5: History That Bears on the Skin
47-year-old with dark brown skin, forklift operator, on the feet for long shifts in steel-toe boots. No personal or family history of melanoma known. Six other uniform tan acral spots, 2 to 3 millimeters. Current separate problem: an itchy lichenoid eruption on wrists, shins and lower back, biopsied last week from the forearm, result pending; hydrochlorothiazide stopped. The eruption does not involve the soles.
Block 6: What Would Change the Answer
If the dermatologist judges from the images that the lesion is a benign pattern, a monitored photograph in three months might be enough. If the lesion bleeds, ulcerates or grows before the visit, the patient has been told to call the clinic, and the request should be treated as urgent within days.
References
Bradford, P. T., Goldstein, A. M., McMaster, M. L., & Tucker, M. A. (2009). Acral lentiginous melanoma: Incidence and survival patterns in the United States, 1986-2005. Archives of Dermatology, 145(4), 427-434. https://doi.org/10.1001/archdermatol.2008.609
Finnane, A., Curiel-Lewandrowski, C., Wimberley, G., Caffery, L., Katragadda, C., Halpern, A., Marghoob, A. A., Malvehy, J., Kittler, H., Hofmann-Wellenhof, R., Abraham, I., & Soyer, H. P. (2017). Proposed technical guidelines for the acquisition of clinical images of skin-related conditions. JAMA Dermatology, 153(5), 453-457. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamadermatol.2016.6214
Whited, J. D. (2015). Teledermatology. Medical Clinics of North America, 99(6), 1365-1379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcna.2015.07.005
The Chamberlain PA 510 Week 8 instructions
The final week asks for a referral brief to a teledermatology service, written in short blocks that can be read out of order rather than as a letter. Put the request first: who is being asked, for what and within what time. Argue for a disposition with a reason, such as an in-person visit within a set number of days. Itemize the images, giving for each the view, distance, lighting and scale. Give the description with the source of each observation, so a reader can tell a finding in clinic from a patient report or a record. Include only the history that bears on the skin question. State what would change the disposition in either direction. Cite sources where they support the urgency or the image standards. Do not ask the reader to make a diagnosis you have not framed.
How this PA 510 Week 8 example is built
The brief opens with a block naming the regional dermatology eConsult service, the clinic, the request for image review and an in-person visit for dermoscopy and probable biopsy, and a two-week window. The second block argues for an in-person visit within 14 days, citing the share of acral melanoma among Black patients and evidence that store-and-forward review triages reliably. The image block lists four views: both soles from 60 centimeters, a close-up with ruler, a side-lit view showing the lesion is flat and two of the patient's other acral spots, all taken to published guidance. The description block separates what was examined in clinic, what the patient reported and what the podiatry record shows. A history block keeps work in steel-toe boots, the absence of known melanoma and the separate lichenoid eruption. The last block states what would shorten or relax the timeline.
Reading the PA 510 Week 8 grading rubric
A brief that describes in full and requests nothing loses more than any other, since requesting is the document's purpose. Observations with no source come next, leaving the reader unable to tell a photograph from a report and unable to weigh either. A history pasted in whole is marked as a failure to select, and a disposition with no time attached is treated as no disposition at all. Further deductions follow for images listed without view, distance or scale, for asking the reader for a diagnosis without framing the question and for no statement of what would change the plan. Strong briefs put the request and window first, argue for a timed disposition with a reason, itemize images with how they were taken, label every observation by source, keep history to what bears on the skin and state what would move the answer in either direction.
Common PA 510 Week 8 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Referral briefs reward brevity and structure, and the usual problem is too much description and too little request. Using the case your class has followed all term, we can help you write a first block that states the request and window, argue for a disposition with a reason and itemize the images with the details a remote reader needs. We can also help you label every observation by its source and trim the history to what bears on the skin. The block on what would change the answer is the one drafts skip most, so it gets particular attention. The disposition you argue for is yours to choose. Where your program's eConsult platform imposes its own fields, the custom sample is laid out field by field to match it.
Get a PA-510 Week 8 example written to your instructions
Send the Week 8 instructions, the image set and any platform template your section requires, and a custom brief written into those exact blocks comes back inside 24-48h with the first one free. Where your classroom uses a service form with fixed fields, the sample is written into the fields rather than around them.
More PA 510 papers and MPAS samples
- PA 510 Week 1: Scale Versus Crust Post
- PA 510 Week 2: Lesion Morphology Description
- PA 510 Week 3: Distribution Pattern Analysis
- PA 510 Week 4: Clinical Photograph Critique
- PA 510 Week 5: Skin Tone Description Audit
- PA 510 Week 6: Pigmented Lesion Evaluation
- PA 510 Week 7: Biopsy Site Justification
- PA 505 Week 8: Capacity Determination Note
- PA 504 Week 8: Consultant Letter
- PA 503 Week 8: Diagnostic Error Analysis
- PA 502 Week 8: Journal Club Brief
PA 510 Week 8 questions, answered
Is this the same as a referral letter?
Related but shaped differently. A letter is read from the top as prose; this document is built in blocks for somebody working through a list, and most sections mark the block structure itself. Content overlaps heavily with earlier weeks, so what is new here is the request, the sourcing of each observation, and the time frame attached.
Our section supplies a platform template. Do we write prose at all?
Inside the fields, yes. A template fixes where things go and still leaves the description, the request and the reasoning to be written, and those fields are where the rubric rows sit. Fill every one, including any that has to record an absence, and keep the wording as tight as the box allows rather than spilling into an attachment.
How much of the earlier weeks' description belongs here?
The part a reader needs in order to act, which is usually less than a full morphology write-up. Carry the features bearing on the request and on the short list, drop the rest, and let the image inventory cover what the pictures show for themselves. Sections marking concision penalize a brief that reproduces a whole descriptive paragraph.
Where can I find a free PA 510 Week 8 sample paper?
You can read a complete PA 510 Week 8 teledermatology brief for a spot on the sole, requesting dermoscopy and biopsy within two weeks, on this page.
Why does the PA 510 Week 8 sample label each observation by source?
So the dermatologist can tell what was examined in clinic from what the patient reported and what an old record showed, and weigh each accordingly.