This guide is for NURS 505 Week 1 Comprehensive Health History and Genogram, start to submission. A formal paper presenting a full health history and review of systems on an adult volunteer, with a genogram as an appendix.
NURS 505 is Advanced Health / Physical Assessment, 3 credit hours, in Liberty University's MSN. Canvas and the course guide file print the code as NURS505; it is the same course.
| Course | NURS 505 Advanced Health / Physical Assessment |
|---|---|
| Module/Week | 1 |
| Points | 150 points |
| Length | Formal paper (no page count set in the guide) with a genogram appendix |
| Sources | Bickley and any sources you use, in current APA |
| Faith integration | Not required by the guide |
| Format | Formal paper in current APA; genogram in PowerPoint, Word or genogram software as an appendix |
What NURS 505 Week 1 Comprehensive Health History and Genogram asks for
Using the Health History Form as a guide, you interview an adult friend or family volunteer (18 or older, not a current clinical patient, able to consent) and compile a health history and review of systems. You may use the worksheet in the instructions to guide the interview, but the submission is a formal paper. You also design a genogram for the volunteer and place it as an appendix. All written parts follow current APA. It is due in Module/Week 1 and worth 150 points.
Where it fits in NURS 505
In the published schedule, Comprehensive Health History and Genogram is one of 6 graded written assignments in NURS 505. It is the first written assignment in the course; the next is Week 2 Genomics and Genetics Presentation.
How NURS 505 Week 1 Comprehensive Health History and Genogram is graded
Liberty grades Comprehensive Health History and Genogram with the rubric attached to the assignment in Canvas, worth 150 points in the published guide. That is about 15% of the course's 1,010 points. Open the rubric before you draft and read across each row: the top column describes what full credit looks like, and the gap between columns tells you what costs points.
Course grades in NURS 505 use Liberty's point scale: an A is 940 to 1010 points of the course total. Missing the length or source minimum usually costs points on several rows at once, which is why the checklist below starts with them.
Timing in the published guide: Each course module/week begins on Monday morning at 12:00 a.m. (ET) and ends on Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. (ET). The final module/week ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday. Check the due dates in your Canvas section, which govern.
The NURS 505 Week 1 method, step by step
Turn the instructions into an outline
Start from the assignment instructions in Canvas. Every element the Comprehensive Health History and Genogram instructions name becomes a heading in your outline, in the order given, and the rubric rows tell you how deep each one has to go.
Narrow the topic until it fits the length
Formal paper, no page count set in the guide with a genogram appendix is not much room. Choose a question narrow enough that you can answer it fully inside that length; a broad topic forces summary, and summary scores lower than analysis.
Collect sources before drafting
Find the sources first: Bickley and any sources you use, in current APA. Use the Jerry Falwell Library databases, filter to peer-reviewed, and keep a table of author, year, design and finding so the paper is built from evidence instead of padded with it later.
Write a thesis that the sections prove
Draft the thesis before the body. A NURS 505 paper reads as organized when each heading answers part of the thesis, and as a list of facts when it does not.
Draft section by section, analysis first
Fill the outline one heading at a time. In each section, say what the sources show, weigh them, and draw the implication. Graders reward the sentences that interpret, not the ones that report.
Format and check against the rubric
Finish with an APA pass and a rubric pass. Match every in-text citation to a reference, check the headings, and read each rubric row against the section that answers it.
A structure for NURS 505 Week 1 Comprehensive Health History and Genogram
Word targets are planning numbers for about 1,800 words of body text, set by the length in the guide; the rubric decides where to spend more.
| Section | What it must do | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Identifying data and reason for visit | Age, sex and source of history, without identifying details. | ~140 words |
| History of present illness or health status | Current concerns described with the OLDCARTS elements. | ~250 words |
| Past medical and surgical history, medications, allergies | Complete and specific. | ~290 words |
| Family history | Three generations, matching the genogram. | ~220 words |
| Personal and social history | Habits, work, relationships, health maintenance. | ~250 words |
| Review of systems | Every system, positives and pertinent negatives. | ~540 words |
| Summary | Key findings and risks the history reveals. | ~110 words |
A topic angle that works
Write the review of systems in the order Bickley uses and record pertinent negatives, not just positives: "denies chest pain, palpitations or orthopnea" tells the reader the system was asked about. Make sure every relative in the family history appears in the genogram with the same conditions.
Model paragraph with notes
An original paragraph written by our desk to show the register that earns full rubric credit. It is study material: learn the moves, then write your own.
Cardiovascular: denies chest pain, palpitations, orthopnea or leg swelling; reports blood pressure "a little high" at a pharmacy screening last spring, not rechecked.1 Respiratory: denies cough, wheeze or shortness of breath; former smoker, one pack a day for 12 years, quit 2016.2 Gastrointestinal: reports heartburn after evening meals two to three times a week, relieved by an over-the-counter antacid; denies dysphagia, weight loss or black stools.3
- Records pertinent negatives along with the positive finding.
- Quantifies the smoking history in pack-years terms.
- Describes a symptom with timing, frequency and relief, and screens for warning signs.
Mistakes that cost points on NURS 505 Week 1
- Using a current clinical patient. The guide requires a friend or family volunteer.
- Submitting the worksheet instead of a formal paper.
- A genogram that does not match the written family history.
Checklist before you submit
- Length: Formal paper (no page count set in the guide) with a genogram appendix
- Sources: Bickley and any sources you use, in current APA
- Title page and reference page in current APA format
- Headings follow the order of the instructions
- Each rubric row read against the section that answers it
Questions students ask
Does the NURS 505 health history need a genogram?
Yes. The genogram, made in PowerPoint, Word or genogram software, goes in the paper as an appendix.
How many points is NURS 505 Week 1 Comprehensive Health History and Genogram worth?
150 points in Liberty's published course guide for NURS 505, out of a course total of 1,010 points (about 15% of the grade). The rubric attached to the assignment in Canvas shows how those points are divided.
Is NURS 505 Week 1 the same in every section of NURS 505?
This guide follows Liberty's published course guide for NURS 505. Liberty notes that course content can change from term to term, so if your Canvas section shows different instructions, a different week or different points, follow Canvas and your instructor.
Want a tutor to look at your draft?
Send the instructions and what you have so far. A Liberty tutor replies with what to fix first, usually within the hour.