| Course | PA 610 Clinical Clerkship - Family Medicine |
|---|---|
| Week | 2 |
| Paper type | Pedigree with narrative |
| 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 610 Week 2
Family History Mapping for T.B.: A Three-Generation Pedigree in Standard Symbols, a Key That Earns Its Space, Ages at Diagnosis on Every Affected Relative and What the Record Now Carries for Colon Cancer Screening
Student Name
Chamberlain University
PA 610: Clinical Clerkship - Family Medicine
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Family History Mapping for T.B.: A Three-Generation Pedigree in Standard Symbols, a Key That Earns Its Space, Ages at Diagnosis on Every Affected Relative and What the Record Now Carries for Colon Cancer Screening
The Diagram, Three Deep
Described line by line, as drawn on the clinic's pedigree form using the standardized symbols of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (Bennett et al., 2022):
Generation I: paternal grandfather, square, deceased at 77, "stomach cancer" in his 70s, unconfirmed; paternal grandmother, circle, deceased at 84, no cancer known; maternal grandmother, circle, deceased at 80, stroke; maternal grandfather, square, deceased at 66, heart attack.
Generation II: father, square, deceased at 61, colorectal cancer diagnosed at 54; paternal uncle, square, alive at 70, colorectal cancer at 68; mother, circle, alive at 72, type 2 diabetes.
Generation III: T.B., index patient marked with an arrow, 46; sister, circle, 49, two adenomatous polyps removed at 47; brother, square, 44, never screened.
Generation IV: T.B.'s two children, 19 and 16, no conditions.
A Key That Earns Its Space
The key lists only the shadings used: one for colorectal cancer, one for adenomatous polyps, one for other cancers and one for a condition reported but not confirmed. A key listing every possible symbol would hide the four that matter.
Dates Attached to Conditions
Every affected relative has an age at diagnosis, not only an age at death. That is what screening guidance turns on: the age at which a first-degree relative was diagnosed. T.B.'s father was diagnosed at 54.
The paternal uncle's diagnosis at 68 is recorded too, although on its own it would not change T.B.'s screening; it adds weight to the pattern on the father's side.
What the Ages Change
When a parent, sibling or child had colorectal cancer found before 60, the U.S. Multi-Society Task Force advises a colonoscopy every five years, starting at 40 or a decade ahead of the earliest diagnosis in the family, whichever comes first (Rex et al., 2017). T.B.'s father was diagnosed at 54, so screening should have begun at 40. T.B. is 46 and has never been screened.
Household Against Bloodline
T.B. lives with a spouse and a 21-year-old stepchild. They appear on the household line of the form, not on the pedigree, because they share risks of environment but not of inheritance. The stepchild's own family history is unknown and is not inferred from T.B.'s.
What Was Not Known
The paternal grandfather's "stomach cancer" may have been colorectal; no records exist. The brother has never been screened and, as a first-degree relative of the father, should be. T.B. agreed to tell the brother and sister about the screening recommendation.
What the Record Now Carries
The problem list now includes "family history of colorectal cancer in first-degree relative diagnosed at 54; colonoscopy every 5 years from 40, overdue." The pedigree is scanned into the chart with the date drawn.
References
Bennett, R. L., French, K. S., Resta, R. G., & Austin, J. (2022). Standardized pedigree nomenclature update centered on sex and gender inclusivity: A practice resource of the National Society of Genetic Counselors. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 31(6), 1238-1248. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgc4.1621
Rex, D. K., Boland, C. R., Dominitz, J. A., Giardiello, F. M., Johnson, D. A., Kaltenbach, T., Levin, T. R., Lieberman, D., & Robertson, D. J. (2017). Colorectal cancer screening: Recommendations for physicians and patients from the U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer. Gastroenterology, 153(1), 307-323. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2017.05.013
What the PA 610 Week 2 assignment asks for
The second week asks for a family history map, usually a pedigree three generations deep with the index person marked, and a short narrative. Use standard symbols and keep the key to the symbols you actually use. Attach dates or ages to conditions, especially age at diagnosis, since screening rules depend on them. Separate the household, people who live with the patient, from the bloodline, people who share inheritance. Say what was not known and how it could be found out. Finish by stating what the record now carries because of the map: a problem list entry, a screening interval or a referral. The instructions accept a genogram where your program uses that term. Cite the nomenclature you follow and any guideline you apply.
Inside the PA 610 Week 2 example
The diagram is described generation by generation using the National Society of Genetic Counselors symbols (Bennett et al., 2022): grandparents with an unconfirmed stomach cancer, a stroke and a heart attack; a father with colorectal cancer at 54, an uncle with colorectal cancer at 68 and a mother with type 2 diabetes; T.B. at 46 marked as index, a sister with adenomas at 47 and an unscreened brother; and two children. A key lists four shadings. A dates section stresses age at diagnosis. The guideline section applies Rex et al. (2017), colonoscopy every five years from 40, and finds T.B. six years overdue. A section places a spouse and stepchild on the household line. An unknowns section covers the grandfather's cancer and the brother. The final section records the new problem list entry and the scanned pedigree.
PA 610 Week 2 rubric: what full points look like
The map loses the most when it lists relatives without ages at diagnosis, since that is the fact screening rules turn on. Next comes a pedigree that mixes household members into the bloodline. Nonstandard symbols, or a key crowded with unused symbols, cost a defined share. Faculty reward three generations with the index person marked and every affected relative dated. Applying a named guideline to the ages, and stating the resulting interval, earns substantial credit. Acknowledging what is unknown, with a way to find out, shows care. The final change to the record is graded as the purpose of the exercise. Citation of the nomenclature and guideline, in APA form, completes the rubric.
PA 610 Week 2 help: mistakes that cost points
Family history maps most often go wrong by drawing a neat diagram that never changes anything in the plan. Another frequent problem is recording that a relative "had cancer" without the age at diagnosis. Some maps also put stepchildren or spouses on the bloodline. If your patient's family history centers on a different condition, such as early heart disease, breast cancer or diabetes, send the relatives you know with ages and conditions; a map prepared for you would follow standard symbols, date every condition, separate household from bloodline, apply the relevant guideline and state what the record now carries. If your rubric calls for a genogram with relationships, those lines would be added.
Get a PA-610 Week 2 example written to your instructions
Send whatever your classroom shows for the week, the rubric rows and any template or symbol key it supplies, and a custom family history map with its written analysis is returned inside 24-48h, the first one free. Everyone on the sheet is invented, and the sample is drawn to your section's own conventions rather than to a house style.
More PA 610 papers and MPAS samples
- PA 610 Week 1: Family Medicine Difference Post
- 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 2: Blueprint Mapping Exercise
- PA 604 Week 2: Job Offer Comparison Memo
- PA 603 Week 2: Certification Requirement Brief
- PA 602 Week 2: Error Sequence Timeline
PA 610 Week 2 questions, answered
Does the map have to be about a real family?
No, and a sample never uses one. The people on the sheet are invented, the conditions are chosen to make the layout legible, and nothing on it belongs to anybody. If your section asks you to build the map from somebody you met on the rotation, use the sample for its layout and its key, then put your own content into that frame.
How much detail belongs on the drawing rather than in the paragraph?
The drawing carries facts and the paragraph carries argument. Ages, conditions and relationships go on the sheet; the reason any of it matters goes underneath. Writers who annotate heavily inside the diagram end up with something unreadable at printing size, and a grader who cannot read the sheet falls back on marking the paragraph alone.
My rubric names a genogram and my classmate's names a pedigree. Are they the same thing?
They overlap and they are not identical. A pedigree stays on descent and disease; a genogram usually adds household composition and the quality of the relationships between the people in it. Which one your section wants changes what the key has to define and what the paragraph is allowed to claim, so send the rubric row and the sample is built to that word.
Where can I find a free PA 610 Week 2 sample paper?
The complete PA 610 Week 2 family history map, a three-generation pedigree that finds an overdue colonoscopy, is on this page.
How overdue is screening in the PA 610 Week 2 sample?
Six years, because a father diagnosed at 54 means colonoscopy should have started at 40, and T.B. is 46 and has never been screened.