| Course | PA 610 Clinical Clerkship - Family Medicine |
|---|---|
| Week | 8 |
| Paper type | Continuity case report |
| Length | About 620 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 8
Continuity Case Report: T.B. Over Four Visits From January to April 2026, Blood Pressure From 156/98 to 128/80, an Overdue Colonoscopy Completed and the Passages Between Visits That Made the Difference
Student Name
Chamberlain University
PA 610: Clinical Clerkship - Family Medicine
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Continuity Case Report: T.B. Over Four Visits From January to April 2026, Blood Pressure From 156/98 to 128/80, an Overdue Colonoscopy Completed and the Passages Between Visits That Made the Difference
The Judgment That Decides the Contents
This report follows T.B. because the case shows a plan built across visits rather than at one, and what happened in the gaps between them. Details that do not bear on that, such as T.B.'s knee examination, are left out.
January 13: First Visit
Blood pressure 156/98. Chart listed lisinopril 10 mg; the pharmacy record showed 20 mg filled since September 2025. T.B. took ibuprofen 400 mg twice daily for knee pain. Family history of a father with colorectal cancer at 54; T.B. never screened. Plan: correct the chart, stop ibuprofen, start home readings, confirm family history.
Between Visits 1 and 2
T.B. stopped ibuprofen the next day and logged 44 home readings, averaging 141/89. T.B.'s sister confirmed the family history by phone.
February 10: Second Visit
Office 146/92. Amlodipine 5 mg added. Colonoscopy referral placed under the family-history rule of starting at 40 and repeating every five years (Rex et al., 2017). Instruction sheet on home measurement given.
Office reading 146/92 after rest; home average still above target. Amlodipine chosen as the second drug because T.B.'s potassium and creatinine were normal on lisinopril and a calcium channel blocker adds effect without further strain on the kidneys.
Between Visits 2 and 3
T.B. reported mild ankle swelling in week 2 by portal message; the nurse advised raising the legs and continuing, and it settled. Gastroenterology scheduled the colonoscopy for March 24.
March 10: Third Visit
Office 134/84; home average 131/82. No change to medications. T.B. confirmed the colonoscopy date and said the brother had booked a primary care visit.
Ankle swelling had settled; T.B. preferred to continue amlodipine rather than switch. The colonoscopy preparation instructions were reviewed and T.B. arranged a day off work.
Between Visits 3 and 4
Colonoscopy on March 24: two tubular adenomas under 10 mm removed; repeat in five years, consistent with the family-history interval.
April 14: Fourth Visit
Office 128/80; home average 126/79. Below the guideline target of under 130/80 (Whelton et al., 2018). Plan: continue lisinopril 20 mg and amlodipine 5 mg; home readings twice weekly; follow up in three months.
A Discussion That Points Rather Than Repeats
Three things moved T.B.'s care: correcting the medication list before changing a dose, removing the daily NSAID, and confirming the family history so that the colonoscopy referral rested on facts. None required a new drug in the first visit. Discrepancies between recorded and actual medications are common in outpatient care (Bedell et al., 2000), and this case shows one such discrepancy changing a plan.
The case also shows the cost of continuity's weakness. The colonoscopy referral waited one visit for the family history to be confirmed; had T.B. missed the February visit, it would have waited longer. The plan worked because each visit was kept and each step had a date, not because deferring was safe in itself. A clinic relying on stepped plans needs a way to catch the patient who does not come back, such as a reminder that escalates to a call, which this clinic now uses for overdue referrals.
Identifiers and Citations
T.B. is a composite patient; initials and ages have been altered, and no dates of birth or record numbers appear.
References
Bedell, S. E., Jabbour, S., Goldberg, R., Glaser, H., Gobble, S., Young-Xu, Y., Graboys, T. B., & Ravid, S. (2000). Discrepancies in the use of medications: Their extent and predictors in an outpatient practice. Archives of Internal Medicine, 160(14), 2129-2134. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.160.14.2129
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
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
The Chamberlain PA 610 Week 8 instructions
The final week asks for a continuity case report that follows one person through three or four appointments, organized by date rather than by topic. Begin by saying why this patient was chosen, since that judgment decides what goes in and what stays out. Give each appointment a compact entry: what was found, what was decided and why. Record the passages between appointments as well, because much of continuity care happens there. The discussion should point to what made the difference rather than repeat the entries. Remove identifiers and say so. Cite the guidelines that shaped the decisions. The report can still be written if you saw the patient only once, but the format works best with several visits.
How this PA 610 Week 8 example is built
The opening explains choosing T.B. to show a plan built across visits and leaves out the knee examination. The January 13 entry gives 156/98, the 20 mg pharmacy record, daily ibuprofen and an unscreened family history. The gap that follows records ibuprofen stopped, 44 readings averaging 141/89 and the sister's confirmation. The February 10 entry adds amlodipine and a colonoscopy referral under Rex et al. (2017). The next gap records ankle swelling handled by the nurse and a March 24 booking. March 10 shows 134/84. The colonoscopy removes two tubular adenomas with a five-year repeat. April 14 shows 128/80, under the target in Whelton et al. (2018). The discussion names correcting the list, removing the NSAID and confirming the family history, citing Bedell et al. (2000). A final note covers composite identifiers.
Reading the PA 610 Week 8 grading rubric
The report loses the most when it is organized by topic, such as "hypertension" and "screening," instead of by date, which hides the sequence that continuity is about. Next comes leaving out what happened between visits. Graders deduct for a discussion that simply repeats the entries. Faculty reward a stated reason for choosing the patient, compact dated entries and a discussion that names what changed the course. Removing identifiers, and saying so, is checked. Guidelines that shaped each decision should be cited in APA form. A report covering three or four visits earns more than one stretched from a single encounter.
PA 610 Week 8 help: mistakes that cost points
Continuity reports most often go wrong by reading like a long single-visit note with "follow-up" sections added. Another common problem is missing the portal messages, calls and procedures between visits, where much of the care happened. Some reports also include every detail of every visit. If your continuity patient had a different course, such as diabetes management or depression treatment, send the visit dates and what happened at and between them; a report drafted for you would explain the choice, give dated entries, record the passages between visits, discuss what made the difference and cite the relevant guidelines. If you saw the patient only once, the report would say so and use the chart to reconstruct earlier visits.
Get a PA-610 Week 8 example written to your instructions
Send the assignment page and the rubric, together with any earlier PA-610 submissions about the same person, since the report is marked on how the pieces fit together. A custom continuity case report comes back inside 24-48h, the first one free, with every identifier invented and the citation style set to whatever your classroom requires.
More PA 610 papers and MPAS samples
- PA 610 Week 1: Family Medicine Difference Post
- PA 610 Week 2: Family History Pedigree Map
- 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 608 Week 8: Deficit Classification
- PA 604 Week 8: CME and Recertification Plan
- PA 603 Week 8: Privileging Packet Review
- PA 602 Week 8: Complaint Response Letter
PA 610 Week 8 questions, answered
How many appointments does a continuity report need?
Three is the usual floor and four is comfortable, but the number follows the argument rather than a rule. Two appointments can carry a report if something substantial moved between them, and six can fail if four of them add nothing. Send the rubric row naming a minimum, where your section sets one, and the sample is built to it.
What if I only saw the person once?
Then the report is written around a constructed sequence and says so, which most sections permit where the rotation did not supply one. The marked skill is handling time in writing, and that shows on an invented series. If your classroom requires appointments you attended, the sample supplies the architecture and the linking passages and you write your own material into it.
Does the discussion need outside sources?
Most rubrics ask for a few and weight them lightly. Their job is supporting the reasoning at the points where the sequence alone is not enough, not turning the report into a literature review. Two or three current references placed at the specific claims that need them usually score better than a long list attached at the end.
Where can I find a free PA 610 Week 8 sample paper?
The full PA 610 Week 8 continuity case report following one patient across four visits, organized by date, is on this page.
What made the difference in the PA 610 Week 8 sample?
Correcting the medication list before changing a dose, stopping a daily NSAID and confirming the family history so the colonoscopy referral rested on facts.