Every order is original, expert-done, and screened for AI — full report on request.See how it works

Assignment questions
NursingDiscussion postComplementary medicine

NSG 6005 Week 2 herbal remedy study appraisal guide

Select one patient complaint such as insomnia, review the major herbs recommended for it, find a peer-reviewed research article studying one of those substances, describe the study and its results, and explain how it would influence your action as an advanced practice nurse.

Editorial process

Last reviewed · August 14, 2026

01

One complaint, one herb, one study, one decision

The chain here is narrow and each link constrains the next. Choose one complaint — insomnia is the prompt's own example and it is the easiest to research, though anxiety, low mood, pain and memory all have literatures. Then review the major herbs actually recommended for it: for insomnia that means valerian, melatonin, chamomile, passionflower and kava, with melatonin the best studied and kava the one carrying the clearest safety signal. Then find a peer-reviewed research article that studies one of them. The word research is doing work: a narrative review summarising other people's trials will not let you describe a design, a sample or a result, and the next task requires all three. Look for a randomised controlled trial or a systematic review with meta-analysis, and note the sample size, the dose, the comparator and the outcome measure before you start writing. Note the funding source too, since supplement trials are frequently industry supported.

Describing the study and results means reporting what was actually found, including effect size and confidence, rather than reporting that the herb helped. Small trials of supplements frequently show statistically significant effects that are clinically trivial, and saying so is stronger than repeating an abstract line. Then the final clause is the real assignment. As an advanced practice nurse the finding has to change something you do: whether you would recommend it, at what dose and for how long, what you would screen for first, and what you would tell the patient about product variability and interactions. Supplements are not regulated as drugs, so content varies between products, and several common herbs interact with anticoagulants, sedatives or antidepressants. An answer that ends at describing the study has stopped one clause short of the question. Say explicitly what you would ask the patient at the next visit to know whether it helped.

Likely learning objectives

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

  • 01
    Identify the herbal products commonly used for a specific patient complaint.
  • 02
    Distinguish primary research from narrative review when selecting an article.
  • 03
    Report a study's design, sample, comparator and outcome accurately.
  • 04
    Separate statistical significance from clinical importance.
  • 05
    Translate an appraisal into specific advanced practice actions and cautions.
Assignment instructionsQuoted verbatim

Read the full question

Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.

NSG 6005 Week 2 Assignment 1 DQ 1 Many patients ask for nonprescription medications to use for various health problems, such as insomnia, depression, pain, memory, and anxiety .Select one patient complaint (for example, insomnia) and review the major herbs that have been recommended for treatment .Go to the South University Online Library and locate at least one peer-reviewed research article designed to study the effects of one of these substances .Describe the study and results and explain how this would influence your action as an APN . Select one of the two questions from the discussion questions listed below .By Week 2, Day 3, respond to the selected discussion question and submit your response to this Discussion Area . Be sure to respond to the question using the lessons and vocabulary found in the reading .Justify your answers using examples and reasoning .Support your answers with examples and research and cite your research using APA format . Start reviewing and responding to the postings of your classmates as early in the week as possible .Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts .Participate in the discussion by asking a question, providing a statement of clarification, providing a point of view with a rationale, challenging an aspect of the discussion, or indicating a relationship between two or more lines of reasoning in the discussion .
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS Discussion Questions (DQ) Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words. Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source. NSG 6005 Week 2 Assignment 1 DQ 1 One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words. I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses. Weekly Participation Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately. In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies. Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work). Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week. APA Format and Writing Quality Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required). Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation. I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition. Use of Direct Quotes I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly. As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content. It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source. LopesWrite Policy For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me. Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes. Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own? Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score. Late Policy The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies. Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances. If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect. I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension. As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading. Communication Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class. Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.

02

Turn the brief into deliverables

  1. 01
    One patient complaint, selected.
  2. 02
    The major herbs recommended for that complaint.
  3. 03
    One peer-reviewed research article on one of those substances.
  4. 04
    A description of the study design, sample and results.
  5. 05
    A statement of how the finding influences your practice, including cautions.
  6. 06
    APA citations and responses to at least two classmates.
03

Complaint, herbs, the study, then your practice

01

The complaint and why patients self-treat it

Set out the complaint and the appeal of non-prescription options.

02

The herbs in play

Review the major substances recommended for this complaint.

03

The study

Report design, sample, dose, comparator and outcome measure.

04

What the results actually support

Interpret effect size and confidence rather than significance alone.

05

What you would do differently

State recommendation, dose, duration, screening and interaction cautions.

04

Finding a real trial rather than a review

Recommended databases

  • StatPearls via NCBI Bookshelf
  • MedlinePlus
  • PubMed
  • Cochrane Library
  • Your university's online library

Search sequence

  1. 1.
    Choose the complaint and list the herbs recommended for it.
  2. 2.
    Search for randomised trials of one substance rather than reviews of all.
  3. 3.
    Record design, sample, dose, comparator and outcome before reading the discussion.
  4. 4.
    Check the substance's known interactions and safety signals.
  5. 5.
    Write the practice implications section before summarising the study.
05

Reference shortlist

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.

  1. 01

    Melatonin

    StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2024

    Clinical reference for the best-studied non-prescription option for insomnia.

  2. 02

    Herbal Medicine

    MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine · 2024

    Authoritative consumer-facing account of regulation, variability and interaction risk.

  3. 03

    About Cochrane Reviews

    Cochrane Library · 2024

    Route to synthesised trial evidence and a model for how effects are reported.

  4. 04

    Nursing Professional Development Evidence-Based Practice

    StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2024

    Frames the move from appraisal to changed practice, which the final clause requires.

06

Review before submission

Common mistakes

  • Choosing a narrative review, which leaves nothing to describe as a study.
  • Reporting that the herb worked without dose, comparator or effect size.
  • Treating a statistically significant result as clinically meaningful.
  • Ignoring product variability, which follows from supplements not being regulated as drugs.
  • Omitting interactions, which is the most likely harm in practice.
  • Ending the post at the appraisal without saying what you would do.

Submission checklist

  • One complaint and one herb are the focus throughout.
  • The article selected reports original research or a meta-analysis.
  • Design, sample size, dose, comparator and outcome are all stated.
  • Clinical importance is judged separately from statistical significance.
  • Practice implications include screening, dose and duration.
  • Interactions and product variability are addressed.

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

Written by

Aaron Bishop

MA, Education

assignment interpretation and research-methods coaching across disciplines

Aaron leads the EssayCrackers editorial desk. He works on how assignment briefs are read — what a rubric is actually asking for, and where students most often answer a different question than the one set.

Reviewed by

Dr. Nathan Cole

PhD, Rhetoric & Composition

Argumentation and thesis development

Nathan teaches first-year composition and directs a university writing center. He reviews EssayCrackers guides for argumentative soundness and citation accuracy.

Want feedback on your plan before you draft?

Get help interpreting the brief, checking your evidence strategy, and strengthening your outline while keeping the work your own.

Get assignment guidance
Start your order