| Course | NSG 122 Nursing Fundamental Concepts |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 5 |
| Paper type | Patient needs prioritization brief |
| Length | About 780 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | BSN |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NSG 122 Unit 5
Nine Needs, One Morning: Ordering the Competing Needs of an 84-Year-Old Man on His Second Hospital Day, With the Framework Stated First
Student Name
Department of Nursing, Herzing University
NSG 122: Nursing Fundamental Concepts
Instructor Name
February 11, 2026
Nine Needs, One Morning: Ordering the Competing Needs of an 84-Year-Old Man on His Second Hospital Day, With the Framework Stated First
The Framework and What It Treats as Urgent
The ordering uses two frameworks together, as the course text recommends for early prioritization (Potter et al., 2023). The first is Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which places physiological needs, such as fluid, oxygen, and elimination, below safety needs, which sit below the needs for belonging, esteem, and self-actualization; lower needs are generally met first because higher needs cannot be attended to while they are unmet (Maslow, 1943). The second is the airway, breathing, and circulation sequence, used within the physiological level to separate what threatens life soonest. One further rule is applied: an actual problem with evidence today ranks above a risk of the same level, unless the risk is high and immediate.
The Patient and His Needs, Unranked
The composite 84-year-old man from the earlier units is on his second morning. His vomiting has stopped, he had one loose stool overnight, and intravenous fluids continue. The needs pulled from the morning report and his own comments, listed flat and in no order:
He wants a shower; he has not washed properly for four days. He is worried about his cat, alone in his apartment since admission. Standing blood pressure still falls 16 mm Hg with mild dizziness. Output overnight averaged 28 mL an hour. He is lonely and his daughter cannot visit until the weekend. His perianal skin is red and stings. He slept poorly because of night-time checks. He has eaten little and asks for toast. He needed help to reach the toilet twice overnight and once got up alone.
The Ordered List
1. Fluid balance (output 28 mL an hour, orthostatic drop). Framework: physiological level, circulation. Case finding: output still below his 30 mL an hour goal and blood pressure still falling on standing. Nothing else on the list can improve safely while circulating volume is low.
2. Falls risk (got up alone once, dizzy on standing). Framework: safety level, but treated as immediate because it is high and happening now. Case finding: an unassisted attempt to stand overnight, with a known drop in blood pressure. This is a risk statement, but a fall could cause a hip fracture before any other need is met.
3. Elimination (loose stools, toilet urgency). Framework: physiological, elimination. Case finding: one loose stool overnight and two trips needing help. Urgency also drives item 2.
4. Perianal skin (red, stinging). Framework: physiological, protection of tissue; a risk statement. Case finding: redness without breaks.
5. Nutrition (little eaten, asks for toast). Framework: physiological, but less urgent than fluid; three days of low intake is not yet a threat. Case finding: poor appetite, now asking for food, which is a good sign.
6. Sleep (woken for checks). Framework: physiological, but checks are needed while item 1 is unresolved.
7. Hygiene (wants a shower). Framework: physiological comfort and esteem. Case finding: four days without washing properly.
8. His cat. Framework: belonging and responsibility; also a safety issue for the cat, not for him. Case finding: he raised it three times.
9. Loneliness. Framework: belonging. Case finding: daughter unable to visit until the weekend.
Close Calls
Falls and fluid: the falls risk could arguably come first, since a fall could be catastrophic. It sits second because treating the fluid deficit also treats the main cause of the falls risk, the drop in blood pressure. Both are addressed in the same morning, but the fluid need drives the plan.
Hygiene and the cat: the hierarchy puts a shower, a physical comfort, above a worry about a pet. In practice, his worry about the cat is affecting his sleep and mood, and a phone call to his neighbor takes five minutes. The ranking stays as written, but the call is made early because it is quick, which shows that a priority list orders attention, not the clock.
The shower itself: he wants one, but standing in a shower while his pressure still drops on standing is unsafe. A seated bed-side wash meets the hygiene need now, and the shower moves up once item 1 resolves.
What Would Move a Need Upward
New confusion, or a fall, would move falls and safety above fluid. Broken perianal skin would turn item 4 into an actual problem and move it above elimination. A return of vomiting would push nutrition down and fluid further up. A score on the Morse Fall Scale rising after a fall would change the whole safety plan (Morse et al., 1989). The patient is a composite; the frameworks are those taught in the course.
References
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370-396. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054346
Morse, J. M., Morse, R. M., & Tylko, S. J. (1989). Development of a scale to identify the fall-prone patient. Canadian Journal on Aging, 8(4), 366-377. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0714980800008576
Potter, P. A., Perry, A. G., Stockert, P. A., & Hall, A. M. (2023). Fundamentals of nursing (11th ed.). Elsevier.
NSG 122 Unit 5 instructions, in plain terms
Unit 5 asks you to prioritize one patient's competing needs with a stated framework. Expect to state the framework, list needs, order them with reasons, discuss close calls and explain what would change the order. Many versions ask which framework to use and how to handle needs that seem equal. Check whether your section names Maslow, ABC or both. Physiological threats usually come first, but safety risks can rise quickly. Close calls are where judgment shows, so explain them. Priorities change with new data, so name the triggers. Each reason should cite the patient's actual findings rather than general rules. Psychosocial needs belong on the list too, even if they rank lower this morning.
How this NSG 122 Unit 5 example is built
The brief opens with the frameworks and what each considers urgent. The unranked list shows all nine needs before ordering, which lets the grader see the choices. The ordered list gives each need its rank, its framework level and the finding behind it. The close calls section takes two pairs and explains the decision, such as fluid before falls because low output signals an active threat. The triggers section names findings that would reorder the list. Numbers from the chart, such as 28 mL an hour of output, sit beside each rank, so the order can be checked against the patient's data. Psychosocial needs, such as worry about his apartment, are ranked rather than dropped.
Reading the NSG 122 Unit 5 rubric
Herzing's rubric for a prioritization brief usually covers the framework, the ordered list, reasons tied to findings, handling of close calls and triggers for change. Graders look hardest at whether each rank is defended with the patient's own numbers. Framework points reward a clear explanation of what each model treats as urgent. List criteria look for a sensible order. Close call points go to honest discussion of hard choices rather than pretending the order is obvious. Trigger points reward findings that would reorder the list. Consistency with earlier units is expected. Psychosocial needs included at their proper rank are often credited. A numbered list helps. The prioritization approach follows Potter's chapter on clinical judgment.
NSG 122 Unit 5 help before you submit
Prioritization briefs in Unit 5 often slip by ranking needs by habit, such as always putting pain first, without findings. Another frequent problem is ignoring safety risks that can become urgent within minutes. Students often skip close calls. The framework is named but not applied to each need. Triggers for change are missing. Psychosocial needs are left out entirely. The list is too long to be useful. Needs are stated vaguely, such as comfort, without the finding behind them. Ranks change between paragraphs. Finally, defend each rank with a finding, because graders reward a brief where the order follows from the patient's numbers rather than from a general rule.
Get a NSG 122 Unit 5 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 5 instructions and the rubric from your NSG 122 classroom, and say which framework the assignment names. We write a custom example that states the model first, lists the needs flat before ordering them, gives every position a framework reason and a case finding, and shows what would move the list. First custom sample free, returned in 24 to 48 hours.
More NSG 122 papers and BSN samples
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- NSG 122 Unit 2: Patient problem statement set
- NSG 122 Unit 3: Measurable goal and outcome sheet
- NSG 122 Unit 4: Skill rationale write-up
- NSG 122 Unit 6: Safety and mobility plan
- NSG 122 Unit 7: Basic care procedure record
- NSG 122 Unit 8: Fundamentals skills file
- NSG 120 Unit 5: Laboratory value pattern study
- NSG 121 Unit 5: Head to toe rehearsal log
- NSG 123 Unit 5: Preoperative and postoperative record
- NSG 124 Unit 5: Monitoring and counseling brief
NSG 122 Unit 5 questions, answered
Which framework should the brief use?
Whichever your instructions name, and if two are named, say which one governs when they disagree. Sections differ here, and a brief that quietly swaps in a model the classroom did not teach reads as borrowed. Where the choice is genuinely yours, name the model in the opening paragraph and use the same one all the way down.
What if two needs really are equal?
Write that, and use the passage on close calls to say what would separate them. Declaring a tie with reasons on both sides shows more control than an order pretending every gap is obvious. Say what additional finding would settle it, since that is the sentence which tends to earn credit in this unit.
Does ordering needs mean deciding treatment?
No, and the brief should keep the line visible. Ranking is an academic exercise about which problem the reasoning addresses first, written on a constructed case. What actually happens for a patient is decided in a setting, by a licensed nurse, under standing arrangements the assignment does not model. Coursework stays on the reasoning side of that line.
Where can I find a free NSG 122 Unit 5 sample paper?
You can read the whole NSG 122 Unit 5 needs ordering brief here for free, nine needs ranked with close calls and triggers. Ask for a custom ranking if your patient differs.
How do nurses prioritize patient needs?
They use frameworks such as Maslow's hierarchy and airway, breathing and circulation, then check each need against the patient's findings. This sample ranks fluid balance first for an older man with low urine output and an orthostatic drop.