| Course | PA 531 Emergency Medicine |
|---|---|
| Week | 8 |
| Paper type | Return precautions sheet |
| Length | About 540 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 8
Return Precautions Sheet for T.J., the 34-Year-Old Whose Headache Matched Past Migraines: What Was Found Tonight, Signs Anyone Can Notice, a Time on the Urgent Ones and a Phone Number
Student Name
Chamberlain University
PA 531: Emergency Medicine
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Return Precautions Sheet for T.J., the 34-Year-Old Whose Headache Matched Past Migraines: What Was Found Tonight, Signs Anyone Can Notice, a Time on the Urgent Ones and a Phone Number
Your Visit Tonight
You came in with a headache that built up over a day and felt like your usual migraines. Your examination was normal. Your headache got better with the medicine we gave you. We did not find a dangerous cause. We did not do a scan because your headache did not come on suddenly and matched the migraines you have had for years.
The Thing Still Open
We do not know why this migraine was harder to stop than your usual ones. Your regular doctor can help you look at triggers and whether a daily preventive medicine would help.
Come Back Right Away, Day or Night, If
Your headache comes on suddenly and is the worst you have ever had, reaching full strength within one minute.
You cannot move or feel one side of your face, an arm or a leg.
Your speech becomes slurred or you cannot find words.
You have a seizure or pass out.
You have a fever with a stiff neck that hurts when you bend your head forward.
You cannot see out of part of one or both eyes.
Call 911 if any of these happen. Do not drive yourself.
Come Back Within 24 Hours If
The headache does not improve after two doses of your usual migraine medicine.
You are still being sick and cannot hold down water half a day later.
The headache is different in any way from your usual migraines.
Why These Signs
Each sign above is something you or a family member can see or feel without any equipment. We chose them because they are the signs that would suggest something other than a migraine. Research shows many patients leave the emergency department without understanding their instructions and often do not realize it, so please ask us to explain any line you are unsure of before you go (Engel et al., 2009).
Medicines
Take your usual migraine medicine at the first sign of a headache. Do not take pain medicine more than 10 days a month, because taking it too often can cause more headaches.
Before You Leave
Please read this sheet with the nurse and tell us in your own words when you would come back right away. If anyone at home will help you, show them the list of urgent signs. Keep this sheet by your phone tonight.
Where and Who
Emergency Department, Mercy Valley Hospital, 401 Ridge Road. Phone (555) 014-2200, open all day and night.
Your regular doctor: please call within one week to arrange a follow-up visit.
For the Clinician Reading This Sheet
This sheet followed a workup in which T.J. did not meet criteria for investigation for subarachnoid hemorrhage, since the headache did not peak within an hour (Perry et al., 2013).
References
Engel, K. G., Heisler, M., Smith, D. M., Robinson, C. H., Forman, J. H., & Ubel, P. A. (2009). Patient comprehension of emergency department care and instructions: Are patients aware of when they do not understand? Annals of Emergency Medicine, 53(4), 454-461.e15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annemergmed.2008.05.016
Perry, J. J., Stiell, I. G., Sivilotti, M. L. A., Bullard, M. J., Hohl, C. M., Sutherland, J., Emond, M., Worster, A., Lee, J. S., Mackey, D., Pauls, M., Lesiuk, H., Symington, C., & Wells, G. A. (2013). Clinical decision rules to rule out subarachnoid hemorrhage for acute headache. JAMA, 310(12), 1248-1255. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2013.278018
The Chamberlain PA 531 Week 8 instructions
The final week asks for a one-page return precautions sheet written to the patient. Open with what was and was not found during the visit, in a sentence the person could repeat to someone else, and say plainly if no cause was identified. State anything still open. Then list the signs that should bring the person back, each written as something noticeable without equipment, grouped by urgency with a time attached: right away, or within a set number of hours. Include practical medicine advice if relevant. Give the place, a phone number and follow-up instructions. Use large type and almost no clinical vocabulary. A short note for the clinician may follow. Cite evidence about patient understanding of discharge instructions.
How the PA 531 Week 8 example is put together
The sheet tells T.J. that the headache built over a day like usual migraines, the examination was normal, the medicine worked and no scan was needed, explaining why. An open-question section points to triggers and prevention with the regular doctor. Six signs call for 911 at any hour, from a sudden worst-ever headache to vision loss, with an instruction not to drive. Three signs call for return within 24 hours. A section explains why each sign can be noticed without equipment and cites Engel and colleagues on patients who misunderstand instructions without realizing it. Medicine advice warns about overuse headache. The hospital address, phone and follow-up are given. A before-you-leave section asks T.J. to repeat the urgent signs, and a clinician note cites the Ottawa rule.
Where the points sit in the PA 531 Week 8 rubric
Faculty grade this sheet from the patient's side. Clinical vocabulary, small print or a list of diagnoses loses the most, because the person cannot use it. The opening must say what was found and not found in plain words. Credit goes to signs that can be noticed without equipment, grouped by urgency with a time on each; vague advice to return if worse is marked down. Stating what remains open earns marks for honesty. A place, phone number and follow-up instruction are expected. Checking understanding, such as asking for a teach-back, adds credit. Evidence on comprehension should be cited in the clinician section rather than the patient text. The sheet must fit on one page.
PA 531 Week 8 help: mistakes that cost points
Return precautions sheets often fail by copying a clinical template full of medical terms. Send the visit summary and the patient's reading needs, and your sheet would open with what was found in plain words, list signs anyone can notice grouped by how fast to act, and give the place and number. Anything still open is stated honestly, and a teach-back step is included. If your patient was seen for abdominal pain, chest pain or a fall, the signs change but the structure holds. The sheet stays to one page in plain language. Tailor every sign and phone number to your own patient and hospital.
Get a PA-531 Week 8 example written to your instructions
Send the discharge scenario your classroom supplies, with the complaint and whatever was or was not excluded in it, and a custom PA-531 Week 8 sheet comes back inside 24 to 48 hours, written at the reading level your section asks for. The first one is free. Reading-level tools differ, so name yours.
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PA 531 Week 8 questions, answered
Does the sheet need references?
The patient-facing page almost never carries them, but many sections want a short clinician-facing note attached that does. The split is worth keeping: sources and reasoning in the note, plain instructions on the sheet, with nothing from the first leaking into the second. Check what your classroom asks for, and send both requirements so the sample arrives in the right two pieces.
How plain does the wording have to be?
Plain enough that somebody reading it in a corridor at midnight can act on it. Most sections name a target reading level and some supply a checker; where none is named, short sentences, ordinary words for body parts, and no abbreviations is the safe setting. A sheet that keeps one technical term because it is precise usually loses more than it gains.
Can this be written as a chart note instead?
Not without losing the assignment. The week exists because the audience changes, and a note addressed to the record answers a different question from the one being asked. Anything belonging in the chart can go in a separate block if your section wants both, but the sheet itself stays in the second person and stays on one page.
Where can I find a free PA 531 Week 8 sample paper?
The full PA 531 Week 8 return precautions sheet is on this page, written in plain words with urgent signs timed and a phone number.
Why does the PA 531 Week 8 sheet ask the patient to repeat the signs?
Research shows many patients misunderstand discharge instructions without realizing it, so saying the signs back checks understanding before leaving.