NSG 6330 Week 1 DQ 1: screening a healthy 21-year-old
Using the latest evidence-based guidelines, discuss the recommended screening tests for Janice, a healthy 21-year-old presenting for her yearly check-up, and the education and counselling that should be included in her care.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 14, 2026
What starts at 21, and what should be left undone
A well visit for a healthy 21-year-old is graded on discipline as much as on recall, because the tempting answer is a long panel and the correct answer is a short, defensible one. Twenty-one is a genuine threshold: cervical cancer screening begins at 21 with cytology every three years, and human papillomavirus co-testing is not recommended before 30. Say that, and say what you would not do — no routine pelvic examination in an asymptomatic woman, no screening mammography, no ovarian cancer screening, no routine urinalysis or blood count without indication. Then the screens that do apply at this age are mostly behavioural and infectious rather than oncological: chlamydia and gonorrhoea in sexually active women aged 24 and under, HIV at least once, hepatitis C once in adulthood, syphilis if at increased risk, blood pressure, depression and anxiety with a validated instrument, unhealthy alcohol use and tobacco use, intimate partner violence, and lipids or glucose only where risk factors exist.
For each screen, give the grade or source rather than asserting it, since the prompt asks for the latest evidence-based guidelines and the assessor is checking that you consulted them. Then treat the education and counselling half as its own section with equal weight, because it is where the visit actually changes anything. It should cover contraception and the reproductive life plan, sexually transmitted infection prevention, the HPV vaccine if the series is incomplete and the meningococcal and influenza vaccines, alcohol and substance use, tobacco and vaping, diet, physical activity and sleep, driving and firearm safety, mental health and where to seek help, and folic acid if pregnancy is possible. Confidentiality is worth naming explicitly: a 21-year-old may be on a parent's insurance, and explanation-of-benefit statements are the practical reason a young adult will decline a test she actually needs, so raise it before she has to.
Likely learning objectives
Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.
- 01Select age-appropriate screening from current recommendations.
- 02Justify omitting screens that are commonly but wrongly performed.
- 03Cite recommendation grades rather than asserting practice.
- 04Build a counselling agenda proportionate to actual risk at this age.
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 6330 Week 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
- 01The recommended screening tests for a healthy 21-year-old, with guideline support.
- 02Which screens do not apply at this age, and why.
- 03The infectious disease screening indicated for this age group.
- 04Behavioural and mental health screening with named instruments.
- 05The education and counselling that should be included in Janice's care.
- 06Immunisations due or outstanding.
Screening, then counselling
What a well visit at 21 is for
Risk assessment and counselling more than testing.
Cervical screening begins
Cytology every three years; no HPV co-testing until 30.
Infectious disease screening
Chlamydia and gonorrhoea under 25, HIV, hepatitis C, syphilis if at risk.
Behavioural and mental health
Blood pressure, depression, anxiety, alcohol, tobacco, partner violence.
What not to do
Pelvic exam, mammography, ovarian screening, routine bloods.
Education and counselling
Contraception, immunisation, substance use, safety, folic acid, confidentiality.
The recommendation grades that decide it
Recommended databases
- US Preventive Services Task Force
- CDC immunisation schedules
- StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf
- South University Online Library
Search sequence
- 1.Check the current cervical cancer screening recommendation and its age bands.
- 2.List the A and B graded recommendations that apply at age 21.
- 3.Confirm the sexually transmitted infection screening age cut-offs.
- 4.Check the adult immunisation schedule for outstanding HPV doses.
- 5.Note which common tests are explicitly not recommended, and why.
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
U.S. Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use, 2024
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · 2024
The contraception counselling half of the visit.
- 02
Recommendation: Cervical Cancer: Screening
US Preventive Services Task Force · 2024
The graded recommendation and the age bands that make 21 the starting point.
- 03
Access to Primary Care
Healthy People 2030, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion · 2024
Why the well visit matters as the point of contact for a healthy young adult.
- 04
Vaccination - Healthy People 2030
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services · 2024
The immunisation targets that shape the counselling agenda.
Review before submission
Common mistakes
- Adding HPV co-testing, which is not recommended before 30.
- Including a routine pelvic examination in an asymptomatic woman.
- Ordering routine bloodwork with no risk factor or indication.
- Naming screens without a guideline or grade behind them.
- Treating counselling as an afterthought to the screening list.
- Overlooking confidentiality for a young adult on a parent's plan.
Submission checklist
- Cervical screening is started at 21 with cytology alone.
- At least three screens are correctly excluded, with reasons.
- Sexually transmitted infection screening for under-25s is included.
- Depression and alcohol screening use named instruments.
- Counselling covers contraception, immunisation, substance use and safety.
- Recommendations are cited with their source and grade.
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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.