| Course | PA 614 Clinical Clerkship - Emergency Medicine |
|---|---|
| Week | 5 |
| Paper type | Interrupted encounter note |
| Length | About 450 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 614 Week 5
Interrupted Encounter Write-Up for a 70-Year-Old With Cough: History and Vital Signs Completed, the Examination Stopped at 02:14 by a Trauma Activation, What Was Not Done Named Item by Item and What the Patient Was Told
Student Name
Chamberlain University
PA 614: Clinical Clerkship - Emergency Medicine
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Interrupted Encounter Write-Up for a 70-Year-Old With Cough: History and Vital Signs Completed, the Examination Stopped at 02:14 by a Trauma Activation, What Was Not Done Named Item by Item and What the Patient Was Told
Completed: History
H.G., 70, five days of cough with yellow sputum, fevers to 38.4 °C at home, mild shortness of breath on stairs. No chest pain. Former smoker, 40 pack-years. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on tiotropium; no home oxygen. No hospitalizations this year. Vaccinations: influenza this season, pneumococcal unknown.
Completed: Vital Signs, 02:02
Temperature 38.1 °C, pulse 102, respiratory rate 22, blood pressure 138/80, oxygen saturation 91 percent on room air.
The Stop Point, Timed
02:14: called away by a trauma activation (motor vehicle collision, two patients). Examination begun: general appearance recorded (alert, speaking full sentences, mild accessory muscle use). Lung examination not started.
Named, Not Summarized
Not done at the stop point:
1. Lung, heart and extremity examination.
2. Chest X-ray, not yet ordered.
3. Blood tests, not yet ordered.
4. Bronchodilator, not yet given.
5. CURB-65 or other severity score, not yet calculated.
6. Discussion of plan with H.G.
Listing these separately means the attending, arriving at 02:40, knew within a minute that H.G. had been triaged and treated but not examined or worked up, and could start at item 1.
What the Patient Was Told
"I've been called to an emergency. I'll be back, or another clinician will see you. Your oxygen is a bit low; the nurse will start oxygen and a breathing treatment now. Press the call button if you feel worse."
Actions Taken at the Stop
Before leaving: verbal order to the nurse for oxygen by nasal cannula to keep saturation between 88 and 92 percent, since in a randomized prehospital trial titrated oxygen to that range lowered mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease compared with high-flow oxygen (Austin et al., 2010), and for an albuterol and ipratropium nebulizer. Chest X-ray and basic labs ordered at 02:15. Handed to the attending at 02:16, who saw H.G. at 02:40.
When I returned at 03:30, the attending had examined H.G., found crackles at the right base and ordered antibiotics; my note was left as written, and the attending's note picked up from the stop point.
The Reason, in a Clause
Interrupted because of a trauma activation; the encounter was transferred, not abandoned.
References
Austin, M. A., Wills, K. E., Blizzard, L., Walters, E. H., & Wood-Baker, R. (2010). Effect of high flow oxygen on mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients in prehospital setting: Randomised controlled trial. BMJ, 341, Article c5462. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.c5462
What the PA 614 Week 5 assignment asks for
The fifth week asks for an encounter note that reads like an ordinary note until it stops, and then says so. Record what was completed in full and in the usual form, without softening how little there may be. Time the point of departure exactly. Then name each thing that was not done, item by item, rather than summarizing it as "exam incomplete." Write down what the patient was told before you left, so the next clinician does not contradict it. Record any actions taken at the moment of stopping. Give the reason for the interruption in a clause, without justification. If you finished the patient later, a separate note covers that. Cite evidence behind any interim treatment you ordered.
Inside the PA 614 Week 5 example
The completed history covers five days of cough with yellow sputum, fevers, exertional dyspnea, a 40-pack-year history, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on tiotropium and vaccinations. Vital signs at 02:02 give a temperature of 38.1, pulse 102, respiratory rate 22 and saturation 91 percent. The stop point is timed at 02:14, after general appearance was recorded. Six items not done follow: examination, chest X-ray, blood tests, bronchodilator, severity score and plan discussion. The patient's message is quoted. Actions at the stop include oxygen to 88 to 92 percent, citing Austin et al. (2010), a combined nebulizer and orders at 02:15, with handover to the attending at 02:16. The reason is a trauma activation, stated in a clause.
PA 614 Week 5 rubric: what full points look like
Interrupted notes lose the most when they blur the stop point, so the next clinician cannot tell what was done. Next comes "exam incomplete" in place of a named list of what was not done. Graders deduct when what the patient was told is missing. Faculty reward completed parts written normally, an exact stop time and actions taken before leaving. A reason given in a clause, without excuse, is expected. Accuracy of interim orders, with supporting evidence cited, earns credit. Concision and APA form complete the rubric. Faculty also look for whether the note was handed to a named clinician at the stop point, since an interrupted encounter with no new owner is the most dangerous kind.
Common PA 614 Week 5 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Interrupted encounter notes most often go wrong by either hiding the interruption or apologizing for it at length. Another common problem is leaving the patient without interim treatment or without being told what happens next. Some notes also summarize missing items so vaguely that the next clinician repeats completed work. If your interruption was different, send what you completed, when you left and why; a note prepared for you would record the completed parts normally, time the stop, name each missing item, quote what the patient was told and list any interim orders. If you returned to finish the encounter, the note would point to the later addendum.
Get a PA-614 Week 5 example written to your instructions
Send what the week hands out and the rubric, plus the note template your site uses and any detail the assignment fixes about where the encounter breaks off, and a custom PA-614 Week 5 write-up comes back inside 24-48h, the first one free. Requests that name the template come back closer to what a grader is looking for.
More PA 614 papers and MPAS samples
- PA 614 Week 1: Emergency Note Reader Post
- PA 614 Week 2: Shift Sign-Out Brief
- PA 614 Week 3: Pending Results Note
- PA 614 Week 4: Medical Decision Making Paragraph
- PA 614 Week 6: Patient Callback Note
- PA 614 Week 7: Shift Documentation Audit
- PA 614 Week 8: End of Shift Summary
- PA 612 Week 5: Problem List Expansion Memo
- PA 610 Week 5: Preventive Care Opportunity Brief
- PA 608 Week 5: Error Pattern Write-Up
- PA 604 Week 5: Productivity Expectation Review
PA 614 Week 5 questions, answered
Does the write-up have to say why I was pulled away?
Usually yes, and usually in one clause. Sections that ask for it are checking that the record explains its own shape, not collecting an account of the shift. A sample keeps the reason to a phrase and spends the space on the boundary instead, which is where the rubric rows actually sit.
What if I did finish the patient later?
Then the assignment usually wants two layers and says so: the note as it stood when you stopped, and a marked addition showing what was added afterward and when. Writing the later work into the original body reads as a record that was never interrupted, which most rubrics treat as the serious version of the error. Send your classroom's wording and the sample comes back in the layered form.
How much belongs in the instruction to whoever continues?
Enough to act, and no case for the plan. A grader is looking for the thing to be done, the person doing it and the condition that starts it, which is generally three lines. Explaining why the plan is reasonable belongs in the reasoning section of the same chart, and repeating it here reads as padding rather than as care.
Where can I find a free PA 614 Week 5 sample paper?
This page has a complete PA 614 Week 5 interrupted encounter write-up with a timed stop point and a named list of what was not done.
Why is oxygen limited to 88 to 92 percent in the PA 614 Week 5 sample?
The patient has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and a randomized trial found titrated oxygen to that range lowered mortality compared with high-flow oxygen.