| Course | PA 531 Emergency Medicine |
|---|---|
| Week | 6 |
| Paper type | Time-bounded workup plan |
| Length | About 580 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 531 Week 6
Time-Bounded Workup Plan for Transfer at 03:00: Tests Sent Now Against a 04:15 Departure, Tests Deliberately Not Sent, Tests Handed to the Neurosurgical Center by Name, and What Happens if a Result Is Late
Student Name
Chamberlain University
PA 531: Emergency Medicine
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Time-Bounded Workup Plan for Transfer at 03:00: Tests Sent Now Against a 04:15 Departure, Tests Deliberately Not Sent, Tests Handed to the Neurosurgical Center by Name, and What Happens if a Result Is Late
The Decision the Workup Serves
A.N. has a subarachnoid hemorrhage on CT and will be transferred to the regional neurosurgical center. The ambulance crew can be at the door by 04:15. The workup exists to make that transfer safe and to hand the receiving team what it needs on arrival. Nothing on this list is ordered to make a diagnosis this hospital will act on.
Sent Now, With the Hour Each Result Is Expected
CT angiography of the head and neck: done at 02:58 in the same scanner visit; images sent electronically at 03:15.
Blood count and clotting tests: drawn 02:55; results by 03:30. Needed because any aneurysm treatment or drain requires knowing platelets and clotting.
Basic chemistry including sodium and glucose: results by 03:30. Sodium matters because low sodium is common after this kind of bleed.
Type and screen: by 03:45, in case blood is needed in transit or on arrival.
Troponin and 12-lead ECG: ECG at 02:56, troponin by 03:40. Heart changes and troponin rises are common after subarachnoid hemorrhage and the receiving team needs a baseline.
Pregnancy test: not applicable.
Deliberately Not Sent
Lumbar puncture: not done. The CT already shows blood; a puncture adds nothing and risks changing pressure across an aneurysm.
MRI: not available overnight and not needed for the transfer decision.
Toxicology screen: no history suggesting drug use; it would not change transfer and would delay nothing if added later.
Each refusal is written down with its reason so that the receiving team does not wonder whether it was forgotten.
Handed On, With a Name
Aneurysm treatment and drainage of spinal fluid: handed to the on-call neurosurgeon, Dr. Haddad, accepted at 03:05.
Nimodipine: handed to the receiving neurocritical care team, since it needs a reliable enteral route; the guideline recommends oral nimodipine for patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (Hoh et al., 2023).
Repeat CT for hydrocephalus: handed on, since the transfer is shorter than the time to arrange it here.
If It Does Not Come Back
If the clotting results are not back by 04:15, A.N. leaves on time and the results are phoned to the receiving center; transfer is not delayed for a test that will not change it. If the angiogram images fail to transmit, a disc goes with the crew. If the troponin is high, it is reported but does not delay transfer, because the bleed is the priority.
What the Plan Achieved
All results except the troponin were back before departure; the troponin, 22 ng/L, was phoned through at 04:30. A.N. left at 04:18. A CT within six hours of onset had already done the diagnostic work that might otherwise have required a lumbar puncture (Perry et al., 2011).
Lessons for the Next Transfer
The CT angiogram, requested at the same time as the first CT, saved a second trip to the scanner and about 30 minutes. The type and screen arrived last; it should be drawn at the same time as the first bloods.
References
Hoh, B. L., Ko, N. U., Amin-Hanjani, S., Chou, S. H.-Y., Cruz-Flores, S., Dangayach, N. S., Derdeyn, C. P., Du, R., Hanggi, D., Hetts, S. W., Ifejika, N. L., Johnson, R., Keigher, K. M., Leslie-Mazwi, T. M., Lucke-Wold, B., Rabinstein, A. A., Robicsek, S. A., Stapleton, C. J., Suarez, J. I., . . . Welch, B. G. (2023). 2023 guideline for the management of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: A guideline from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke, 54(7), e314-e370. https://doi.org/10.1161/STR.0000000000000436
Perry, J. J., Stiell, I. G., Sivilotti, M. L. A., Bullard, M. J., Emond, M., Symington, C., Sutherland, J., Worster, A., Hohl, C., Lee, J. S., Eisenhauer, M. A., Mortensen, M., Mackey, D., Pauls, M., Lesiuk, H., & Wells, G. A. (2011). Sensitivity of computed tomography performed within six hours of onset of headache for diagnosis of subarachnoid haemorrhage: Prospective cohort study. BMJ, 343, Article d4277. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d4277
What the PA 531 Week 6 assignment asks for
The sixth week asks for a workup plan with a deadline. Start with the case in a few lines and the decision the workup exists to serve, since a list of tests without a decision cannot be timed. Then sort items into three groups: sent now, deliberately not sent, and moved to another setting. Give every item in the first group the hour its result is expected. Argue each refusal briefly. Hand each moved item to a named person or team. Say what happens if a result does not come back in time, and whether the decision waits for it. After the event, review what the plan achieved and what you would change. Cite the guidance that supports key choices.
How this PA 531 Week 6 example is built
The plan opens with A.N.'s confirmed bleed and a 04:15 ambulance, stating that nothing is ordered for a diagnosis the hospital will act on. The sent-now group lists CT angiography, blood count and clotting, chemistry including sodium, type and screen, ECG and troponin, each with a time and a reason tied to transfer or the receiving team. The not-sent group argues against lumbar puncture, MRI and toxicology. Handed-on items go to Dr. Haddad for aneurysm treatment and drainage and to the neurocritical care team for nimodipine, citing the 2023 guideline. Late-result rules keep departure on time. A review reports departure at 04:18 and a troponin phoned through, cites Perry on CT timing and lists two lessons for the next transfer.
Where the points sit in the PA 531 Week 6 rubric
The marks on this plan go first to the decision at the top; a workup with no stated decision cannot be timed and loses the most. Faculty then check that every sent item carries an expected hour. The not-sent group is weighted: refusals must be argued, and silence is marked down. Credit goes to handing items on to a named person or team, since unnamed handoffs are a known source of error. Rules for late results earn marks, especially when they protect the deadline. A short review of how the plan worked adds credit. Tests ordered for their own sake, unrelated to the decision, are deducted. Guidance should be cited where it supports a choice.
Common PA 531 Week 6 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Workup plans often lose marks as long lists of tests with no deadline or decision attached. Give us your case and the decision it faces, and your plan would open with that decision, then sort tests into sent now with expected hours, not sent with reasons, and handed on to named people. Rules for late results protect the deadline. A short review section notes what the plan achieved. If your decision is admission or discharge rather than transfer, the deadline and groups change to match. Fill the expected hours from the turnaround times at your own site, not from the model.
Get a PA-531 Week 6 example written to your instructions
Send the case your classroom posts and any turnaround times your section publishes for the department in it, and a custom PA-531 Week 6 plan comes back inside 24 to 48 hours with all three groups filled and argued. The first one is free, and a template is matched field for field if you attach it.
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PA 531 Week 6 questions, answered
Our assignment gives no turnaround times.
Then the plan states its assumptions instead of inventing precision. Writing that a result is expected within the hour, within the shift or overnight, and saying that those are assumed rather than published, holds up better than exact figures nobody supplied. Sections mark whether the timing reasoning exists, not whether it matches a real department. Send the material your classroom does provide and the sample uses that.
Does every test need a reason for not sending it?
Only the ones a reader would expect to see. A plan does not have to justify every investigation in existence, but it does have to account for the obvious ones the case invites, because a marker looking for an omission will check those first. Three or four argued refusals usually cover it, and they are worth more per line than another item added to the sent group.
Can the plan defer something the case says the patient wants now?
It can, and how that is written matters more than the deferral itself. The stronger versions record the request, give the reason the destination does not change on the result, and say where and when it will be done instead. Sections carrying a shared decision row take it back when a wanted investigation simply disappears from the page without comment.
Where can I find a free PA 531 Week 6 sample paper?
The full PA 531 Week 6 workup plan is on this page, every test tied to a 04:15 transfer with refusals argued and handoffs named.
Why is no lumbar puncture done in the PA 531 Week 6 sample?
The CT already shows blood, so a puncture adds nothing and risks changing pressure across an untreated aneurysm.