| Course | PA 541 PA Professional Practice Seminar II |
|---|---|
| Week | 2 |
| Paper type | Clinical uncertainty statement |
| Length | About 720 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 541 Week 2
Uncertainty Statement for G.O. Before the Doorway Disclosure: "Likely Viral Gastroenteritis With Volume Depletion," the Findings Holding It Up and Open Items Split Into Not Asked and Not Yet Back
Student Name
Chamberlain University
PA 541: PA Professional Practice Seminar II
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Uncertainty Statement for G.O. Before the Doorway Disclosure: "Likely Viral Gastroenteritis With Volume Depletion," the Findings Holding It Up and Open Items Split Into Not Asked and Not Yet Back
Commit in the First Sentence
Impression at 3:10 p.m.: likely viral gastroenteritis with mild to moderate volume depletion, in a 61-year-old with four days of nausea, two days of vomiting and lightheadedness on standing.
The Findings Doing the Work
Supporting: nausea and vomiting with loose stools on day one; a coworker on the same crew was ill last week; temperature 37.4 °C; abdomen soft and diffusely mildly tender without guarding or rebound; mucous membranes dry.
Pulling the other way, and listed so they are not lost: blood pressure fell from 104/66 sitting to 86/58 standing, with the pulse rising from 98 to 118, which is more orthostasis than two days of vomiting usually produce in someone still drinking; G.O. reports losing 3 kg over two weeks, longer than the illness; and generalized aches in the knees, shoulders and back, which G.O. says are "worse than usual."
Why "Likely" and Not "Probable" or "Possible"
I chose "likely" because the main features fit a common illness with a plausible exposure. I did not choose a stronger word because the orthostatic drop and the weight loss are larger and older than the story explains. I did not choose "possible" because nothing yet points firmly to a different diagnosis. If the basic metabolic panel comes back abnormal in a way gastroenteritis does not explain, the word changes.
The word is also a promise about action. "Likely" commits me to the gastroenteritis plan for now, with fluids and an antiemetic, while the open items are chased. A weaker word would have left the plan undecided; a stronger one would have stopped me looking.
Two Columns, Not One List
Table 1
Open Items by Type and Owner
| Unknown because nobody asked yet | Owner | Unknown because the answer is not available yet | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Every product taken in the past year, including supplements and remedies bought outside a pharmacy | Me, before G.O. leaves | Sodium, potassium, glucose and creatinine | Lab; result expected about 4:00 p.m. |
| Whether G.O. has had steroid injections or pills for the joint pain | Me | Complete blood count | Lab; same draw |
| When the joint pain started to get worse | Me | Whether symptoms improve with fluids | Clinic nurse; recheck after 1 L |
| Alcohol in the past two weeks | Me | Response to the antiemetic | Clinic nurse |
Note. Note. Items in the left column could have been answered at the visit; items in the right column cannot be answered until a result or a response arrives.
Every Open Item Earns Its Line
Each item stays on the list only if its answer could change the plan. The left column's first row, products from outside a pharmacy, is there because unexplained orthostasis and weight loss in someone with chronic joint pain should prompt the question of hidden medicines; uncertainty that is written down can be acted on, while uncertainty that is ignored tends to get resolved by assumption (Simpkin & Schwartzstein, 2016). I did not list the patient's travel history, since G.O. has not left the county, or a stool culture, since it would not change today's plan.
What Would Change the Statement
Sodium below 130 mmol/L, glucose below 70 mg/dL or potassium above 5.0 mmol/L would each move this away from simple gastroenteritis and toward a cause of salt and water loss that is not in the gut. A clear improvement after fluids would move the confidence word up.
Equally, a single finding I had not looked for, such as darkening of the skin or a round, full face with bruising, would push the statement toward a hormonal cause, and I have flagged both for the preceptor to look at with me.
Readable Later
This statement is timed and signed so that a colleague reading it tonight can see what was known at 3:10 p.m. and what was not. It is not edited after the results return; a new statement is written instead.
References
Simpkin, A. L., & Schwartzstein, R. M. (2016). Tolerating uncertainty: The next medical revolution? New England Journal of Medicine, 375(18), 1713-1715. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp1606402
Reading the PA 541 Week 2 instructions
Week two asks for a short statement of clinical uncertainty about one patient, usually a page or less. Open with an impression in a confidence word you can defend, then set out the few findings that support it. The heart of the assignment is the honest part: what remains unknown, split into two kinds. Some things are unknown because nobody has asked yet, and some because the answer is not available yet, such as a pending result. Each open item needs an owner, so a reader can see who will close it. Items that could not change anything should be left off. The confidence word must match the evidence under it; calling something likely while the findings point elsewhere is penalized. Write it so a colleague reading it hours later can tell what was known at the time it was written.
How the PA 541 Week 2 example is put together
The statement commits at 3:10 p.m. to likely viral gastroenteritis with volume depletion. Supporting findings follow: vomiting, a sick coworker, a temperature of 37.4 °C and a soft abdomen. A second list keeps the findings that do not fit: an orthostatic fall with the pulse rising to 118, 3 kg lost over two weeks and joint aches worse than usual. A section explains why "likely" was chosen over "probable" or "possible." A table splits the open items: products bought outside a pharmacy, steroid exposure, the timing of joint pain and alcohol on the not-asked side, owned by the student; electrolytes, blood count and responses to fluids and an antiemetic on the not-yet side, owned by the lab and nurse. A section justifies each row, citing Simpkin and Schwartzstein (2016). The statement names the thresholds that would change it and is timed and signed.
PA 541 Week 2 rubric: what full points look like
The costliest version of this statement is an undifferentiated pile of unknowns. Writing "more information is needed" without separating what the student could have asked from what nobody has yet hides the exact distinction the week tests, and it loses the most. Next, graders deduct when the confidence word outruns the findings beneath it. Open items that could not alter the plan are marked down as padding, and items without an owner lose credit because nobody would close them. Faculty reward a first sentence that commits, a findings list that includes what does not fit and a stated reason for the confidence word. Saying what would change the impression earns a further share. Readability for a later colleague, with a time attached, is checked last, along with any citation used.
PA 541 Week 2 help: mistakes that cost points
Statements tend to fail by listing every possible diagnosis instead of committing to one, or by naming one with no word on how sure the writer is. Another common slip is putting "labs pending" and "never asked about supplements" in the same list, which hides the second as if it were out of the writer's hands. If your section supplies a different encounter or asks you to rank two impressions, send the case and the instructions; a statement drafted for you would commit in the first line, list the findings for and against, defend the confidence word, split every unknown by type with an owner and say what would move it. Mention whether your classroom wants a table or plain lines, and the statement will be laid out that way.
Get a PA-541 Week 2 example written to your instructions
Send your classroom's assignment and any supplied case material, and a custom PA-541 Week 2 uncertainty statement written to that rubric comes back inside 24-48h, the first one free. Where your section wants it folded into a larger note rather than submitted alone, say so and the example is built in that form.
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PA 541 Week 2 questions, answered
Does the statement have to name one impression, or can it rank two?
Ranking two is fine and sometimes stronger, as long as the ranking is explicit and the reason for the order is given. What loses points is a pair presented as equals with nothing to separate them. If your assignment asks for a single working impression, the example gives one and puts the near alternative into the open items instead.
What if the case material still has results pending?
That is the assignment working as intended. Pending results belong in the unanswerable column with the date or interval noted where the material supplies one, and the example says what each returning result would do to the impression. A statement that treats a pending result as though it were already unhelpful is the commonest way to waste that material.
Is this the same as a differential diagnosis list?
No, and confusing them costs points. A differential ranks conditions against each other. An uncertainty statement is about the state of the evidence: what has been established, what nobody asked, and what cannot be settled today. Some classrooms attach a short differential underneath, but the marked object is the account of the gaps, not the list of candidates.
Where can I find a free PA 541 Week 2 sample paper?
A complete PA 541 Week 2 uncertainty statement for a patient with apparent gastroenteritis, with open items split by type and owner, is on this page.
Why does the PA 541 Week 2 sample use the word likely?
The main findings fit a common viral illness, but the orthostatic drop and two weeks of weight loss are too large to support a stronger word.