1. Getting Started

First Things First - Assignment Requirements

Before you begin your pathophysiology paper, examine the assignment closely for any requirements.

Q. How long is the paper?

Refer to your assignment. The care plan has a certain number of diagnosis, interventions, rationales, etc. that must be included (rather than a length), and the pathophysiology paper has a required minimum word count (i.e. 1,000 words).

Q. How many sources?

Though it's not specified for the care plan, the pathophysiology paper requires at least 3 outside sources (see below).

Q. What kind of sources?

For this assignment, your sources must be peer-reviewed professional journal articles published in the last 5 years. 1 should be a medical journal, and 2 should be nursing journals.

Q. How do you cite sources?

For this assignment, you will use APA format.

Q. What is due?

This assignment has multiple parts. Notice that you must turn in the care plan, the pathophysiology paper, and the articles (your sources).

Q. When is it due?

How long do you have to work on this paper or project? Is there one due date for everything or are there multiple due dates for different parts of the assignment? Plan out your time, so you don't get stuck doing all the work at the last minute. Plan extra time in case you have problems or get stuck.

Selecting a Pathophysiology

The first thing you need to do before you begin your paper is to select a pathophysiology that you're going to write about. Consider the following:

Q. Do you have a choice?

This assignment topic will center around a patient you interact with in clinicals. You may not choose a patient from a previous clinical (it must be current). The patient you choose will determine the content of your paper. The pathophysiology paper must contain information about your patient’s primary medical diagnosis (the reason the patient was admitted). The expectation is that you will write about the pathophysiology of the disease process and then discuss how it impacts your patient.