Assessing Muscoskeletal Pain

Assessing Muscoskeletal Pain

Note: Rather than the traditional narrative Discussion posting format, your Discussion post should be in the SOAP Note format. For more information, see the Comprehensive SOAP Template in the attachments below.

PROBLEM: Knee Pain

Muscoskeletal Pain: A 15-year-old male complains of dull pain in both knees. When one or both knees click, the patient feels a catching sensation beneath the patella. What additional information do you require to determine the causes of knee pain? What categories can you use to classify knee pain? What specific differential diagnoses do you have for knee pain? What kind of physical examination will you conduct? What anatomic structures are you evaluating during the physical examination? What special moves are you planning?

To get ready:

Concerning the case study you were assigned:

Examine this week’s Learning Resources and think about the insights they provide about the case study.

Consider what information you would need to obtain from the patient in the case study you were assigned.

Consider what physical exams and diagnostic tests would be necessary to learn more about the patient’s condition. How would the findings be used to make a decision?

Identify at least five possible conditions that could be considered in the patient’s differential diagnosis.

Address all of these in the SOAP Note, not the Narrative Essay (use the SOAP Note Template attached):

1. A description of the health history you will need to obtain from the patient in the case study to which you have been assigned.

2. Describe the appropriate physical exams and diagnostic tests, as well as how the results will be used to make a diagnosis.

3. Explain why you chose each of the five possible conditions for the patient’s differential diagnosis.

4. Explain how the patient’s X-ray helped you narrow down the differential diagnosis.

PLEASE MAKE A SOAP NOTE FOR THIS CASE. Create your own patient data, applicable health history, system review, P.E., labs, differential diagnosis, final diagnosis, and so on. Incorporate the case data into the SOAP note that you will create… Okay, this isn’t a narrative essay…. I require a SOAP note (a SOAP note is created by a Nurse Practitioner/RN/MD)… Follow the SOAP Note in the templates/exemplar… Do not copy and paste. Create your own… Remember to include citations for the five different possible conditions (Differential diagnosis) as well as reference lists.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

Welcome to class

Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• The is a great resource