| Course | PA 610 Clinical Clerkship - Family Medicine |
|---|---|
| Week | 1 |
| Paper type | Discussion post with two replies |
| Length | About 490 words |
| Format | Discussion post with APA 7 citations |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PA 610 Week 1
Week 1 Discussion: Initial Post
The Patient Comes Back Next Month: One Difference Between Family Medicine and My Internal Medicine Rotation, Shown in Two Versions of the Same Plan Paragraph
The One Difference, Named Early
The difference I want to discuss is that in family medicine the same clinician will see the patient again, usually within weeks, so a plan can be written in steps across visits instead of all at once. On my inpatient internal medicine rotation, the plan had to be complete at discharge, because the next clinician would be a stranger.
Two Versions of One Passage
On my first family medicine day I saw T.B., 46, a school bus mechanic with blood pressure of 156/98 on what the chart listed as lisinopril 10 mg. My first plan paragraph, written in inpatient style:
"Increase lisinopril to 20 mg. Stop daily ibuprofen; use acetaminophen for knee pain. Start home blood pressure monitoring. Refer for colonoscopy given family history. Check basic metabolic panel in one week. Discuss diet, alcohol and exercise. Follow up in four weeks."
The version my preceptor and I sent:
"Today: confirm the lisinopril dose with the pharmacy before changing it; stop daily ibuprofen and explain why. Next visit in four weeks: review home readings; then decide on the dose. Colonoscopy: raise today, place the referral at the next visit once the family history is confirmed by T.B.'s sister."
The second version does less today and more over time. Because the pharmacy record showed T.B. had been filling 20 mg for months, the first version would have doubled a dose already doubled.
The first version is not careless; it is complete. That is exactly the problem in a setting where the next visit is four weeks away and the same clinician will be there. Completeness at the first visit forced a decision about the dose before the dose was known, and pushed a colonoscopy referral that rested on a family history nobody had confirmed. The second version spends the first visit on getting facts right and leaves decisions for the visit where those facts will be in hand.
The Concession
Continuity can also be an excuse. Spreading a plan across visits only works if the patient returns, and a missed follow-up turns "next visit" into "never." For T.B., a colonoscopy deferred one visit is reasonable; deferred three, it is a gap. The current hypertension guideline calls for monthly follow-up until blood pressure is controlled (Whelton et al., 2018), which gives a stepped plan a structure, but the structure still depends on the patient coming back.
Replies That Test Rather Than Agree
Reply to Grace: You say emergency medicine has "no continuity." Your patient with cellulitis was asked to return in 48 hours for a wound check. Is that not a two-visit plan?
Reply to Ravi: Your internal medicine attending wrote a complete plan at discharge. Who was responsible for each item after that day?
References
Whelton, P. K., Carey, R. M., Aronow, W. S., Casey, D. E., Jr., Collins, K. J., Dennison Himmelfarb, C., DePalma, S. M., Gidding, S., Jamerson, K. A., Jones, D. W., MacLaughlin, E. J., Muntner, P., Ovbiagele, B., Smith, S. C., Jr., Spencer, C. C., Stafford, R. S., Taler, S. J., Thomas, R. J., Williams, K. A., Sr., . . . Wright, J. T., Jr. (2018). 2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA guideline for the prevention, detection, evaluation, and management of high blood pressure in adults. Hypertension, 71(6), e13-e115. https://doi.org/10.1161/HYP.0000000000000065
Reading the PA 610 Week 1 instructions
The first post of the family medicine clerkship asks you to pick a single difference between this rotation and an earlier one and stay on it, rather than listing several. Name the difference in the first two sentences. Then show it, ideally in two versions of the same passage, such as a plan written the way the earlier rotation trained you and the way this setting calls for. Include a concession: when does the difference become a weakness? Keep within the length and deadline your section sets. Replies should test a classmate's claim with a detail from their own case rather than agree with it. A patient you have actually seen makes the strongest post, with identifying details removed. Cite any guideline that bears on the example.
Inside the PA 610 Week 1 example
The post opens by naming continuity: in family medicine the same clinician sees the patient again within weeks, while the inpatient plan had to be complete at discharge. The example follows T.B., a 46-year-old school bus mechanic with blood pressure of 156/98. Version one doubles lisinopril, stops ibuprofen, orders labs, refers for colonoscopy and books follow-up in one paragraph. Version two confirms the dose with the pharmacy first, stops ibuprofen, reviews home readings in four weeks and places the colonoscopy referral once a sister confirms the family history. The pharmacy record of 20 mg shows why version one would have been wrong. The concession admits that missed visits turn "next visit" into "never" and cites Whelton et al. (2018) on monthly follow-up. Replies ask Grace about a 48-hour wound check and Ravi who owned each discharge item.
PA 610 Week 1 rubric: what full points look like
Points in this post depend first on staying with one difference. A post listing how family medicine differs in several ways loses the largest share, because no single claim is shown. Next, graders look for the difference demonstrated, not just described; two versions of one passage earn substantial credit. A concession that names when the difference becomes a weakness shows judgment and is weighted. Faculty reward a real patient described without identifiers. Each reply is marked on whether it puts a classmate's claim against a concrete detail from that classmate's case. Staying within length and deadline is checked. Citation of any guideline used in the example, in APA form, completes the rubric.
Common PA 610 Week 1 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Opening posts in this clerkship most often fall short by praising family medicine in general terms, with no patient and no contrast. Another common problem is a list of five differences, none of them shown. Some posts also skip the concession, so the claim sounds one-sided. If your clerkship is in a different setting, such as a rural health center or a community health center, send the case and the earlier rotation you are comparing it with; a post written for you would name one difference early, show it in two versions of the same passage, concede its weakness and cite any guideline used. Send the classmates' posts and each reply will press on the claim with a detail taken from that classmate's own patient.
Get a PA-610 Week 1 example written to your instructions
Upload the assignment wording and the rubric rows as your classroom prints them, plus anything you have already posted in PA-610, and a custom Week 1 discussion post comes back written to them inside 24-48h. The first sample is free, revisions are included, and the desk works from your section rather than a stored template.
More PA 610 papers and MPAS samples
- PA 610 Week 2: Family History Mapping
- PA 610 Week 3: Interval History Write-up
- PA 610 Week 4: Medication Reconciliation Memo
- PA 610 Week 5: Preventive Care Opportunity Brief
- PA 610 Week 6: Encounter Log Gap Review
- PA 610 Week 7: Take-home Instruction Sheet
- PA 610 Week 8: Continuity Case Report
- PA 608 Week 1: Score Report Figure Post
- PA 604 Week 1: Outside-Support Habit Post
- PA 603 Week 1: Credential Document Post
- PA 602 Week 1: Process Versus Outcome Post
PA 610 Week 1 questions, answered
Does the post have to be about a patient I have actually seen?
No. In most sections Week 1 lands before there is much to draw on, and the argument is about what the writing does, not about whose case it was. A sample makes its point with an invented person and says so. If your instructions ask you to ground it in your own first days, keep the detail general and the argument identical.
How many replies does a sample include?
Two, unless your classroom says otherwise, and each is written to be scored rather than to be pleasant. One engages a specific claim, adds something the original did not have, and ends with a citation. Reply counts and their own deadlines move between terms, so send what your section published and the sample is built to that count.
My section ties the post to a competency statement rather than to a difference.
That is common and it changes the frame, not the work. The competency becomes the heading and the same comparison sits underneath it as evidence, with the wording of the statement quoted once and then answered. Send the competency list your classroom publishes and the sample is organized around those exact lines instead of around a self-chosen point.
Where can I find a free PA 610 Week 1 sample paper?
This page carries a full PA 610 Week 1 post contrasting a stepped family medicine plan with a complete inpatient plan for the same patient.
Why is the first plan wrong in the PA 610 Week 1 sample?
The chart listed lisinopril 10 mg, while pharmacy fills showed 20 mg since September, so raising it would have meant 40 mg.