NursingCase studyPsychiatric assessment

Focused SOAP note and case presentation: anxiety

Two dependent deliverables — a signed practicum SOAP note and a recorded case presentation built from it — where the administrative requirements are pass-or-fail and depend on somebody else's calendar.

Aug 8, 2026Updated Aug 10, 2026

Editorial process

Last reviewed · August 8, 2026

Written by

Aaron Bishop

MA, Education

assignment interpretation and research-methods coaching across disciplines

Reviewed by

Dr. Nathan Cole

PhD, Rhetoric & Composition

Argumentation and thesis development

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Interpret the task
Assignment instructions
Deliverables
Proposed outline
Research plan
Reference shortlist
Final review

How do the SOAP note and the video presentation depend on each other?

This is two deliverables that must agree with each other, and the dependency runs one way. You write a Focused SOAP Note on a real patient you examined in the last three weeks, and *then*, **based on that note**, record a video case presentation. Students who prepare the presentation separately end up presenting details the note does not contain, which is immediately visible to a marker holding both. Build the note first and completely, then treat the recording as a spoken walk through the same reasoning. The patient must also be one you actually saw — this is practicum documentation, not a constructed case, and the signature requirements below exist precisely to enforce that. Writing the note first also means the presentation has a script already, which is what makes rehearsal quick rather than another drafting job.

The administrative requirements here are unusually strict and they are pass-or-fail rather than graduated. Every SOAP note must be **signed**, every page must be **initialled by your Preceptor**, and electronic signatures are explicitly not accepted — so this needs physical time with your preceptor and cannot be left to the last evening. Submission is two artefacts: the complete note as a Word document *and* PDFs or images of each initialled and signed page, through SafeAssign. The brief states plainly that if both files are not received by the due date, points are deducted under the grading policy. Handle this first, because it is the only part of the assignment that another person's diary controls. Book the signing session the moment you choose your patient, and work backwards from that date rather than from the submission deadline.

A *focused* SOAP note is not a comprehensive one, and the distinction is where content marks are lost in both directions. Focused means the history, review of systems and examination are driven by the presenting problem — for an anxiety presentation that means a properly elicited history of present illness, the psychiatric and substance history, medications, and a mental status examination — rather than a head-to-toe recital. But focused does not mean thin: the Assessment section still needs differential diagnoses ranked with reasoning, and that is the section that most distinguishes a graduate-level note from an undergraduate one. Keep subjective and objective strictly separated; what the patient reports is subjective even when it sounds clinical. A useful test for every line you write: could a colleague picking up this patient tomorrow act on it? If not, it is either missing or in the wrong section.

Anxiety presentations reward specificity in the assessment because the differential is genuinely crowded. DSM-5 recognises eight anxiety disorders, and generalized anxiety disorder requires excessive anxiety and worry for at least six months plus associated features — restlessness, fatigue, concentration difficulty, muscle tension, sleep disturbance. Name the criteria your patient meets and, just as importantly, the ones they do not, and say what you excluded and why: panic disorder, social anxiety, a substance-induced picture, or a medical cause. Using a validated instrument such as the GAD-7 gives you a number to anchor severity and to re-measure against, which strengthens the plan section considerably. Recording the instrument score in the plan also gives your follow-up something concrete to compare against at the next visit.

The presentation is graded on delivery as well as content, and the brief says so — dress professionally with a lab coat, present professionally, and practise before recording. Treat that as a real instruction rather than etiquette, and rehearse at least once against the clock. Five scholarly resources are required to support assessment, diagnosis and treatment planning, so the presentation needs to name evidence aloud rather than gesturing at it. For treatment, current guidance puts cognitive behavioural therapy and SSRIs or SNRIs first-line, with the honest caveat that response rates run roughly 30-50% — quoting that figure is better than implying certainty and shows you read the evidence rather than the summary. Watching your own recording once before submitting catches the pacing problems that no amount of preparation predicts.

Requirement	What it actually demands	Where it goes wrong
Real patient, last 3 weeks	Practicum documentation, not a constructed case	A textbook case written up
Preceptor signature	Wet signature; every page initialled	Left too late; electronic signature rejected
Two submitted files	Word document AND signed PDF/images, via SafeAssign	One file submitted, points deducted
Focused, not comprehensive	History and exam driven by the presentation	A head-to-toe review of systems
Assessment section	Ranked differentials with reasoning and exclusions	A single diagnosis asserted
Video presentation	Based on the note, rehearsed, lab coat, 5 sources named	Prepared separately from the note

Likely learning objectives

Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.

01
Produce clinical documentation whose scope is set by the presenting problem.
02
Build and defend a ranked differential rather than asserting a diagnosis.
03
Derive a spoken case presentation from written documentation without divergence.
04
Anchor severity and treatment response in validated instruments and reported effect sizes.

Assignment instructionsQuoted verbatim

Read the full question

Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.

Psychiatric notes are a way to reflect on your practicum experiences and connect them to the didactic learning you gain from your NRNP courses. Focused SOAP notes, such as the ones required in this practicum course, are often used in clinical settings to document patient care For this Assignment, you will document information about a patient that you examined during the last three weeks, using the Focused SOAP Note Template provided. You will then use this note to develop and record a case presentation for this patient. To Prepare Review this week’s Learning Resources and consider the insights they provide. Also review the Kaltura Media Uploader resource in the left-hand navigation of the classroom for help creating your self-recorded Kaltura video. Select a patient of any age (either a child or an adult) that you examined during the last 3 weeks. Create a Focused SOAP Note on this patient using the template provided in the Learning Resources. There is also a completed Focused SOAP Note Exemplar provided to serve as a guide to assignment expectations. Please Note: All SOAP notes must be signed, and each page must be initialed by your Preceptor. Note: Electronic signatures are not accepted. When you submit your note, you should include the complete focused SOAP note as a Word document and PDF/images of each page that is initialed and signed by your Preceptor. You must submit your SOAP note using SafeAssign. Note: If both files are not received by the due date, faculty will deduct points per the Walden Grading Policy. Then, based on your SOAP note of this patient, develop a video case study presentation. Take time to practice your presentation before you record. Include at least five scholarly resources to support your assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning. Anxiety Disorder Discussion Assignment Ensure that you have the appropriate lighting and equipment to record the presentation. The Assignment Record yourself presenting the complex case study for your clinical patient. In your presentation: Dress professionally with a lab coat and present yourself in a professional manner. Display your photo ID at the start of the video when you introduce yourself. Ensure that you do not include any information that violates the principles of HIPAA (i.e., don’t use the patient’s name or any other identifying information). Present the full complex case study. Include chief complaint; history of present illness; any pertinent past psychiatric, substance use, medical, social, family history; most recent mental status exam; current psychiatric diagnosis including differentials that were ruled out; and plan for treatment and management. Report normal diagnostic results as the name of the test and “normal” (rather than specific value). Abnormal results should be reported as a specific value. Be succinct in your presentation, and do not exceed 8 minutes. Specifically address the following for the patient, using your SOAP note as a guide: Subjective: What details did the patient provide regarding their chief complaint and symptomology to derive your differential diagnosis? What is the duration and severity of their symptoms? How are their symptoms impacting their functioning in life? Objective: What observations did you make during the psychiatric assessment? Assessment: Discuss their mental status examination results. What were your differential diagnoses? Provide a minimum of three possible diagnoses and why you chose them. List them from highest priority to lowest priority. What was your primary diagnosis and why? Describe how your primary diagnosis aligns with DSM-5 diagnostic criteria and supported by the patient’s symptoms. Plan: What was your plan for psychotherapy? What was your plan for treatment and management, including alternative therapies? Include pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments, alternative therapies, and follow-up parameters, as well as a rationale for this treatment and management plan. Also be sure to include at least one health promotion activity and one patient education strategy. Reflection notes: What would you do differently with this patient if you could conduct the session again? If you are able to follow up with your patient, explain whether these interventions were successful and why or why not. If you were not able to conduct a follow up, discuss what your next intervention would be.

What must be submitted, and in what form

01
A Focused SOAP Note on a patient examined in the last three weeks, on the provided template.
02
Every page initialled and the note signed by the preceptor, in wet ink.
03
Two files submitted via SafeAssign: the Word document and signed PDFs or images.
04
A recorded video case presentation based on that note.
05
At least five scholarly resources supporting assessment, diagnosis and treatment planning.
06
Professional dress and presentation, including a lab coat.

Working through subjective, objective, assessment and plan

Subjective

Record the chief complaint and a structured history of present illness, plus psychiatric, substance, medication and social history.

Objective

Document observable findings, including a mental status examination and any measurements or results.

Assessment

Give a ranked differential with the reasoning for each, and state exclusions.

Plan

Set out treatment, follow-up, monitoring and patient education, supported by evidence.

The recorded presentation

Walk through the same reasoning aloud, naming the supporting evidence.

Finding criteria, instruments and treatment evidence

Recommended databases

The provided Focused SOAP Note Template and completed Exemplar
PubMed and NCBI Bookshelf
The Walden Library Course Readings for NRNP
Professional psychiatric practice guidelines

Search sequence

1.
Read the completed exemplar the brief provides before writing anything. It defines the expected depth for each section more reliably than any external source can.
2.
Confirm the diagnostic criteria for the conditions in your differential, so the assessment can state which criteria are met and which are not.
3.
Find a validated severity instrument for the presentation and note its scoring, since a number in the plan gives you something to re-measure against.
4.
Search treatment evidence for effect size, not just for recommendations. Reporting response rates honestly is what makes the plan section read as graduate-level.

Documentation and anxiety disorder sources

These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.

Nothing here is cleared for citation until you have read it.

01
SOAP Notes - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf
StatPearls Publishing, via NCBI Bookshelf · 2024
The structural reference for the note itself, including the OLDCARTS mnemonic for history of present illness and the rule that separates subjective report from objective finding. Its point that the Assessment section should list problems by importance with differentials and reasoning is exactly the standard this assignment is marked against.
02
Anxiety - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf
StatPearls Publishing, via NCBI Bookshelf · 2024
Covers the eight DSM-5 anxiety disorders together, which is what a differential needs — you cannot exclude panic disorder, social anxiety or agoraphobia without knowing what distinguishes them. Also gives the cognitive, physiological, behavioural and affective symptom domains, useful for structuring the subjective section.
03
Generalized Anxiety Disorder - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf
StatPearls Publishing, via NCBI Bookshelf · 2024
The specific criteria to match your patient against — excessive worry for at least six months plus restlessness, fatigue, concentration difficulty, muscle tension and sleep disturbance — the GAD-7 for severity, and the treatment evidence including the 30-50% response rate for SSRIs and SNRIs. That figure is worth quoting in the plan rather than implying certainty.

Before the note and recording are submitted

Common mistakes

Writing the presentation independently, so it contains detail the note does not.
Leaving preceptor signatures until the submission window.
Submitting an electronic signature, which the brief explicitly rejects.
Uploading only one of the two required files.
Producing a comprehensive head-to-toe note when a focused one was specified.
Treating 'focused' as licence for a thin assessment section.
Recording subjective patient report in the objective section.
Naming one diagnosis with no differential and no stated exclusions.

Submission checklist

The patient was examined within the last three weeks.
The provided template's structure is intact.
History and examination are scoped to the presentation.
The assessment ranks differentials and states what was excluded and why.
A validated instrument anchors severity.
Every page carries a preceptor initial and a wet signature.
Both files are uploaded to SafeAssign before the deadline.
The presentation is rehearsed, professionally presented, and cites five scholarly sources.

Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read our academic-integrity policy.