| Course | PA 520 Comprehensive Clinical Module Pulmonology |
|---|---|
| Week | 7 |
| Paper type | Walk test report |
| Length | About 730 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PA 520 Week 7
Walk Test Report: Eleven Laps of a 30-Meter Corridor Plus 18 Meters for a Total of 348 Meters, a Low of 86 Percent at Minute 4, One 25-Second Stand With the Clock Running and Borg Ratings Before and After
Student Name
Chamberlain University
PA 520: Comprehensive Clinical Module Pulmonology
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Walk Test Report: Eleven Laps of a 30-Meter Corridor Plus 18 Meters for a Total of 348 Meters, a Low of 86 Percent at Minute 4, One 25-Second Stand With the Clock Running and Borg Ratings Before and After
The Conditions Block
Test: 6-minute walk test, following the field walking test technical standard (Holland et al., 2014).
Course: a straight, flat hospital corridor, 30 meters long, measured with a wheel; turnaround points marked with orange cones; distance marks every 3 meters on the wall.
Surface: vinyl floor, dry.
Practice: a practice walk was done 40 minutes earlier, as recommended, and this is the second test of the morning. The practice walk covered 331 meters.
Encouragement: the standard phrases were spoken at the end of each minute, in an even tone, and nothing else was said.
Oxygen: none; L.B. walked on room air.
Monitoring: motion-tolerant oximeter on the right middle finger, warmed beforehand; the technician walked behind and read the display at each minute.
Footwear and aids: work boots replaced by sneakers; no cane.
Time of day: 09:05, after the arterial gas and before lung volume testing.
Laps, Then the Total
Completed laps: 11, each one 30-meter length of the corridor from cone to cone, so 11 laps equal 330 meters. Final partial lap: 18 meters, read from the wall marks. Total: 330 plus 18 equals 348 meters.
The practice walk distance was 331 meters, so the second test was 17 meters longer, a typical learning effect, and the longer of the two is reported.
Ratings on Both Sides of the Walk
Borg dyspnea rating, 0 to 10: 1 before, 6 after.
Borg fatigue rating, 0 to 10: 2 before, 3 after.
L.B. said at the end, "My legs were fine. It's the breathing."
Heart Rate and Saturation
Table 1
Saturation and Heart Rate at Rest, Each Minute and Recovery
| Point | SpO2 | Heart rate |
|---|---|---|
| Rest, seated, before the walk | 95% | 78 |
| Minute 1 | 93% | 96 |
| Minute 2 | 90% | 104 |
| Minute 3 | 88% | 110 |
| Minute 4, lowest | 86% | 114 |
| Minute 5 | 87% | 116 |
| Minute 6 | 87% | 118 |
| Recovery, 2 minutes seated | 93% | 92 |
Note. Note. All readings with a steady waveform; room air throughout.
The Lowest Reading Needs Its Minute
The lowest saturation was 86 percent at minute 4, a fall of 9 points from rest. Readings stayed between 86 and 88 percent for the rest of the walk. A fall of 4 points or more, or to below 88 percent, is the usual threshold for calling the drop clinically meaningful, and both are met. The minute matters because a fall in the first minute may be artifact from the start, while a sustained fall over several minutes reflects gas exchange.
Rests, With the Clock Running
L.B. stopped once, at 4 minutes 10 seconds, and stood leaning on the wall for 25 seconds before continuing. The timer was not paused, as the standard requires, so the 348 meters include the time spent standing. L.B. did not sit down. The stop record notes the reason given: "I just need to catch it."
What the Result Shows and Does Not Show
The distance of 348 meters is well below what is expected for a healthy person of L.B.'s age and height, and the drop in saturation with effort fits the widened alveolar to arterial gradient found on the arterial gas. The test shows a functional limitation with exercise-induced oxygen drop. It does not show the cause. Heart rate rose appropriately and did not limit the walk, and leg fatigue was low, which points toward the lungs rather than the legs or heart as the limiting system. An older ATS statement on the 6-minute walk explains that the distance is a measure of overall function and should be interpreted with the other tests (ATS Committee on Proficiency Standards for Clinical Pulmonary Function Laboratories, 2002).
Recommendation Recorded
An ambulatory oxygen assessment is recommended, along with lung volumes and diffusing capacity. Repeat the walk test after any treatment, using the same corridor, the same phrases and the same oximeter.
References
ATS Committee on Proficiency Standards for Clinical Pulmonary Function Laboratories. (2002). ATS statement: Guidelines for the six-minute walk test. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 166(1), 111-117. https://doi.org/10.1164/ajrccm.166.1.at1102
Holland, A. E., Spruit, M. A., Troosters, T., Puhan, M. A., Pepin, V., Saey, D., McCormack, M. C., Carlin, B. W., Sciurba, F. C., Pitta, F., Wanger, J., MacIntyre, N., Kaminsky, D. A., Culver, B. H., Revill, S. M., Hernandes, N. A., Andrianopoulos, V., Camillo, C. A., Mitchell, K. E., . . . Singh, S. J. (2014). An official European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society technical standard: Field walking tests in chronic respiratory disease. European Respiratory Journal, 44(6), 1428-1446. https://doi.org/10.1183/09031936.00150314
The Chamberlain PA 520 Week 7 instructions
For week seven you write a report of a 6-minute walk test. Open with a conditions block covering the course length and how it was measured, the surface, what marked the turns, whether a practice walk was done, the encouragement phrases and their timing, any oxygen with its flow and device, the monitoring method and the time of day. Report the result as completed laps plus the final partial lap, converted to a total distance. Give symptom ratings on a named scale before and after. Record heart rate and saturation at rest, at their lowest with the minute it occurred, and during recovery. Document any stops with their timing and duration, noting that the clock kept running. Interpret what the result shows and what it does not, and recommend how a repeat test should be done.
How this PA 520 Week 7 example is built
The conditions block lists a 30-meter corridor measured with a wheel, cones at the turns, a practice walk of 331 meters, standard phrases each minute, room air and a warmed motion-tolerant probe, citing the field walking test standard. Laps are converted as 11 lengths of 30 meters plus 18 meters for 348 meters, and the gain over the practice walk is explained. Borg dyspnea rose from 1 to 6 while fatigue went from 2 to 3. Table 1 gives saturation and heart rate at rest, each minute and after two minutes of recovery. The lowest reading, 86 percent at minute 4, is shown to be sustained. A single 25-second stand at 4 minutes 10 seconds is recorded with the clock running. The interpretation cites the ATS walk test statement and recommends oxygen assessment and an identical repeat.
Where the points sit in the PA 520 Week 7 rubric
The walk test report is graded heavily on its conditions block, since a distance cannot be compared or trusted without course length, encouragement and oxygen details. Reporting a bare total without laps and the partial lap loses marks because the arithmetic cannot be checked. Faculty expect saturation at rest, at its lowest with the minute and at recovery; a lowest value without its minute is a common deduction. Stops must be recorded with the clock running; pausing the timer is treated as a protocol error. Ratings before and after on a named scale earn a share. The interpretation is marked for staying within what the test shows, a functional limit, rather than naming a diagnosis. A repeat plan that keeps every condition the same earns the final marks, with the standard cited.
PA 520 Week 7 help: mistakes that cost points
Many students lose points on this report by giving only the distance and the lowest saturation. Pass along your test data and setting, and the report written for you would set out a full conditions block, convert laps to a total, tabulate saturation and heart rate minute by minute and place the lowest reading at its minute. Stops are recorded with the clock running, as the standard requires. Ratings before and after are reported on the scale your course uses. The interpretation keeps to what the walk can show and recommends a repeat under the same conditions. If your patient walked with oxygen, the flow and device are carried through every line. Confirm every number against your own test record before using the layout in your submission.
Get a PA-520 Week 7 example written to your instructions
Send the assignment, the data table your section supplied and whichever symptom scale it named, and a written report returns inside 24-48h, free on a first request. Readings taken off a real patient, and any form a clinical site puts its name to, stay with you: what the desk writes is built from the case material your classroom hands out.
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PA 520 Week 7 questions, answered
Do laps need reporting when the total distance is already given?
Report both wherever the data allows. Laps plus a final partial lap show how the total was arrived at, and a marker checking that total against the stated course length can only do so when the count is there. Where only a total was supplied, say the lap count was not provided rather than reconstructing one.
The supplied data has no continuous saturation trace. What goes in that part?
A statement that continuous monitoring was not recorded, followed by whatever discrete readings exist with their times. The report then says what the absence costs: a lowest point cannot be identified, so any claim about change during exertion rests on the start and end figures alone. Naming the limit earns the row that guessing forfeits.
Is the practice effect worth a sentence?
In the limits paragraph, yes. A second test on the same person often covers more ground for reasons that have nothing to do with the lungs, so a report that may be compared with a later one says so in advance. It takes one sentence and protects every comparison made afterward.
Where can I find a free PA 520 Week 7 sample paper?
This page carries the complete PA 520 Week 7 walk test report, 348 meters with a saturation low of 86 percent at minute 4 and a rest recorded with the clock running.
Why does the PA 520 Week 7 sample record the minute of the lowest saturation?
A drop in the first minute can be artifact, while a low that holds from minute 4 to the end reflects a real fall in gas exchange during effort.