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
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.
- 01Identify the herbal products commonly used for a specific patient complaint.
- 02Distinguish primary research from narrative review when selecting an article.
- 03Report a study's design, sample, comparator and outcome accurately.
- 04Separate statistical significance from clinical importance.
- 05Translate an appraisal into specific advanced practice actions and cautions.
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
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.
Turn the brief into deliverables
- 01One patient complaint, selected.
- 02The major herbs recommended for that complaint.
- 03One peer-reviewed research article on one of those substances.
- 04A description of the study design, sample and results.
- 05A statement of how the finding influences your practice, including cautions.
- 06APA citations and responses to at least two classmates.
Complaint, herbs, the study, then your practice
The complaint and why patients self-treat it
Set out the complaint and the appeal of non-prescription options.
The herbs in play
Review the major substances recommended for this complaint.
The study
Report design, sample, dose, comparator and outcome measure.
What the results actually support
Interpret effect size and confidence rather than significance alone.
What you would do differently
State recommendation, dose, duration, screening and interaction cautions.
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.Choose the complaint and list the herbs recommended for it.
- 2.Search for randomised trials of one substance rather than reviews of all.
- 3.Record design, sample, dose, comparator and outcome before reading the discussion.
- 4.Check the substance's known interactions and safety signals.
- 5.Write the practice implications section before summarising the study.
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.
- 01
Melatonin
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2024
Clinical reference for the best-studied non-prescription option for insomnia.
- 02
Herbal Medicine
MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine · 2024
Authoritative consumer-facing account of regulation, variability and interaction risk.
- 03
About Cochrane Reviews
Cochrane Library · 2024
Route to synthesised trial evidence and a model for how effects are reported.
- 04
Nursing Professional Development Evidence-Based Practice
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2024
Frames the move from appraisal to changed practice, which the final clause requires.
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.

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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.