| Course | NUR-7070 Primary Care Diagnosis, Management and Health Promotion |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 1 |
| Paper type | Health promotion and screening plan |
| Length | About 1,070 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | M.S. in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NUR 7070 Module 1
Thirty Pack-Years and a Clean Colonoscopy: A Screening and Prevention Plan for a 57-Year-Old Retired Long-Haul Trucker
Student Name
M.S. in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner, Thomas Edison State University
NUR-7070: Primary Care Diagnosis, Management and Health Promotion
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Thirty Pack-Years and a Clean Colonoscopy: A Screening and Prevention Plan for a 57-Year-Old Retired Long-Haul Trucker
Introduction
Mr. E. is an invented patient, a 57-year-old who drove freight across the Midwest for 31 years before retiring to Paterson last spring. He has seen a clinician only for commercial driver physicals since his forties. He smoked a pack a day from 19 until 49, then quit when his first grandchild was born. He had a colonoscopy at 50 that was normal. He has no symptoms and came in because his daughter insisted. His blood pressure today is 138/84, his body mass index is 31 and his total cholesterol is 228 with an HDL of 41. He does not have diabetes. This paper builds his preventive plan visit by visit, starting with the services whose evidence is strongest.
Sorting the Plan by Evidence
The United States Preventive Services Task Force grades services by the certainty and size of their net benefit. A and B recommendations, which insurers must cover without cost sharing, form the core of a plan. Services graded C are offered selectively, and those graded D are not offered. Starting with the strongest recommendations keeps the first visit focused on what will most change his health, rather than on a long list he will not complete.
Lung Cancer Screening
His smoking history makes this the first item. In 2021 the Task Force lowered the starting age to 50 and the smoking threshold to 20 pack-years, keeping the upper age at 80 and the 15-year window since quitting (US Preventive Services Task Force, 2021). Mr. E. smoked a pack daily for three decades, which comes to 30 pack-years, and his last cigarette was eight years back, so he fits inside a B-grade recommendation. Screening would stop once he has been smoke free for 15 years, at age 64, or if a health problem made curative surgery impossible.
Before ordering the scan, a shared decision-making conversation covers the benefits, a lower chance of dying from lung cancer, and the harms: false positives that lead to further scans and sometimes biopsies, incidental findings and radiation exposure. Medicare requires this conversation to be documented for coverage. Mr. E. agrees, and the first scan is ordered.
Smoking history also shapes how the result will be read. Former heavy smokers often have scarring, small nodules or emphysema on their first scan, and most small nodules are benign. The report will use a standardized category system that tells the clinician whether to repeat the scan in a year, sooner, or move to further testing, so Mr. E. is warned in advance that a finding on the first scan is common and does not mean cancer. Preparing him this way reduces the anxiety that false positives cause and makes him more likely to return for the next annual scan, which is where most of the benefit lies.
Cardiovascular Risk and a Statin
His second priority is his heart. Using the pooled cohort equations with his age, sex, race, cholesterol values, untreated systolic pressure of 138 and nonsmoking status, his estimated 10-year risk of a heart attack or stroke is about 13 percent. Under the 2022 statement (US Preventive Services Task Force, 2022), a statin earns a B grade for people between 40 and 75 who carry a risk factor such as raised cholesterol or high blood pressure and whose ten-year risk reaches 10 percent; Mr. E. clears all three bars. He meets each part.
The order is atorvastatin 20 milligrams by mouth once daily, a moderate-intensity dose, with a lipid panel and liver enzymes rechecked in six to twelve weeks. His blood pressure of 138/84 is above goal but needs confirmation with home readings before a diagnosis of hypertension is made; he is given a validated home cuff and a two-week log. Weight loss and walking, which would lower both his blood pressure and cholesterol, are discussed in practical terms.
| Service | Basis | Plan for Mr. E. |
|---|---|---|
| Low-dose CT for lung cancer | Age 57, 30 pack-years, quit 8 years ago | Annual scan after shared decision |
| Statin | 10-year risk about 13 percent with risk factors | Atorvastatin 20 mg daily |
| Hepatitis C test | Adults 18 to 79, once | Antibody test today |
| Colonoscopy | Normal at 50 | Repeat at 60 |
| Blood pressure | 138/84 in clinic | Home readings for 2 weeks |
Hepatitis C and Other Screening
The Task Force recommends one-time hepatitis C antibody testing for all adults aged 18 to 79, a B recommendation (US Preventive Services Task Force, 2020), and Mr. E. has never been tested. Because a positive antibody test needs RNA testing to confirm current infection, the order is for antibody testing with reflex RNA. His colonoscopy at 50 was normal, so his next is due at 60. His age and sex do not call for other cancer screening beyond a discussion of prostate-specific antigen testing, which the Task Force leaves to individual choice for men aged 55 to 69.
Fitting the Plan to His Life
Thirty years on the road left Mr. E. with habits that a plan must respect. He ate at truck stops, slept irregularly and rarely saw the same clinician twice. A plan that relies on frequent visits or complicated diets will fail. Instead, the visit sets two goals he chooses: walking with his grandchild after school and cutting fried food to twice a week. His snoring and daytime sleepiness, which his daughter mentioned, are noted, and a sleep apnea questionnaire is completed, since untreated sleep apnea raises blood pressure and is common among drivers. Influenza, COVID-19 and shingles vaccines are offered. He is asked which part of the plan seems hardest, and the answer, remembering a daily pill, leads to pairing the statin with his morning coffee.
Follow-Up
He returns in six weeks with his home blood pressure log and lipid results. The low-dose CT result is reviewed by phone and at that visit. If his home readings average 130/80 or higher, hypertension is diagnosed and treated. If his sleep questionnaire is positive, a sleep study is ordered.
Conclusion
Mr. E.'s preventive plan comes from his history: a smoking record that qualifies him for lung cancer screening, a cardiovascular risk high enough for a statin, a hepatitis C test he never had and a colonoscopy already on schedule. Each service has a reason and a grade, and the plan is fitted to a man who spent most of his working life on the road.
References
US Preventive Services Task Force. (2020). Screening for hepatitis C virus infection in adolescents and adults: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. JAMA, 323(10), 970-975. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.1123
US Preventive Services Task Force. (2021). Screening for lung cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. JAMA, 325(10), 962-970. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.1117
US Preventive Services Task Force. (2022). Statin use for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in adults: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. JAMA, 328(8), 746-753. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.13044
Reading the NUR 7070 Module 1 assignment instructions
The NUR-7070 catalog description opens with health promotion and disease prevention for individuals, communities and populations, and TESU offers no public syllabus for the course, so this first module is set on a preventive visit. Primary care courses usually ask for a health promotion plan for an assigned adult: identify the screening, immunization and counseling services the person needs, explain the evidence and grade behind each, and write a plan with dates and follow-up. Some classrooms ask for a plan across the lifespan or for a family. Check the assigned case, the length and whether a table is expected. Use the current Task Force recommendation for each service, with its year, because several changed between 2020 and 2024.
How the NUR 7070 Module 1 example is put together
Opening the paper is a former long-haul driver back in a primary care office for the first time in a decade, with his cigarette history, one old colonoscopy and fresh labs. A short section explains the Task Force grades. Lung cancer screening comes first, with the 2021 criteria applied to his pack-years and quit date and a shared decision conversation. A cardiovascular section calculates his 10-year risk and starts atorvastatin under the 2022 recommendation. A five-row table lists every service with its basis. Hepatitis C testing and other screening follow, then a section that fits the plan to his habits, including a sleep apnea questionnaire. Follow-up dates and a conclusion complete it.
Where the marks sit in the NUR 7070 Module 1 rubric
Health promotion papers in an FNP course are marked on correct use of current recommendations, accurate application to the patient and a plan that is complete and realistic. Mentors check that each service matches the patient's age, sex and risk factors and that the eligibility criteria are applied, not just quoted. Calculations such as pack-years and cardiovascular risk should be shown. Shared decision making for screening with significant harms, such as lung CT, counts. A plan fitted to the patient's life, with follow-up dates, shows primary care thinking. Task Force grades quoted with their years, plus tidy APA, round out the marks, and a service table earns credit when each row carries its reason.
NUR 7070 Module 1 help: mistakes that cost marks
Many first drafts pile every screening test ever recommended into one undifferentiated list. Lead with the services whose grade and impact are highest for this patient. Students also apply outdated criteria, for example lung cancer screening from age 55 with 30 pack-years, which changed in 2021. Show calculations. Do not order a test without saying what happens if it is positive. Avoid recommending services the Task Force grades D. Remember counseling and immunizations as well as tests. Make the plan fit the patient's habits and access. If your NUR-7070 case is a woman, a child or an older adult, the same method applies with different recommendations, and the desk will write a first draft free from your directions.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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NUR 7070 Module 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free NUR 7070 Module 1 sample paper?
This page has it in full. It builds a preventive plan for a 57-year-old former smoker, with lung cancer screening, a statin, hepatitis C testing and colonoscopy timing.
Who qualifies for lung cancer screening under the 2021 USPSTF recommendation?
Mr. E.'s age of 57 and 30 pack-years both fall inside the 2021 limits (ages 50 through 80, 20 pack-years or more), and having stopped eight years ago keeps him within the 15-year window, so he gets a scan every twelve months.
When does the USPSTF recommend a statin for primary prevention?
A B-grade yes for people aged 40 through 75 who have a heart risk factor such as diabetes, smoking or high cholesterol and whose calculated ten-year risk is 10 percent or above.
How do you calculate pack-years?
Take the packs he smoked each day and multiply by how many years he smoked them. One pack a day for 30 years is 30 pack-years.
Should all adults be tested for hepatitis C?
The USPSTF recommends one-time testing for adults aged 18 to 79, with RNA testing to confirm a positive antibody result.