An out-of-state daughter acting as agent reads this NU585 Unit 7 letter, which explains a deprescribing plan plainly and names what stays the same and what would reverse it. Searches like "nu 585 unit 7 assignment example", "nu585 unit 7 sample" and "nu585 unit 7 example" land here.
A Letter to a Daughter Six Hundred Miles Away: Explaining Why the Team Proposes Stopping Two Medicines and Fewer Fingersticks
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
NU585: AGNP II Clinical - Frail Elderly Focus
Unit 7 Family Communication Letter
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The resident and family are composites; the facility, dates and doses are bracketed, and the signature block is left for the clinician of record.
The Letter
[Facility letterhead] [Date]
Dear Ms. [Alvarez],
Why I am writing Thank you for joining our care conference by phone on [date]. I promised to write down what we discussed, so you have it in front of you. As your mother's health care agent, you share in these decisions, and nothing will change until we talk again.
What we are proposing
1. Slowly stopping her memory medicine, [donepezil], over four weeks.
2. Stopping her cholesterol medicine, [simvastatin].
3. Checking her blood sugar with a finger stick once a day instead of four times, with a slightly higher safe range.
Why Her memory medicine: her memory has changed a great deal over the past year, and the medicine is unlikely to be helping much now. It may be adding to her poor appetite and loose stools. Slowing it down step by step lets us watch for any change.
Her cholesterol medicine: this medicine protects the heart over many years. At this stage, it is unlikely to add to her comfort or her time, and it is one less pill to swallow.
Her blood sugar checks: four finger sticks a day are uncomfortable, and she pulls her hand away. Once a day is enough to keep her safe. A slightly higher range protects her from low blood sugar, which can cause falls and confusion.
What is not changing Her pain medicine. Her hearing aids, checked every morning. Her Tuesday hair appointment. Her place at the window during afternoon music. The same attention from the staff who know her.
We know that stopping a memory medicine can feel like giving up. It is not. If she seems less alert or less herself while we slow it down, we can start it again.
What we will watch for Changes in her mood, sleep, appetite or alertness. Her blood sugar each morning. Anything the aides notice that is not like her.
How to reach us Call [name], her nurse, at [phone], or me at [phone]. I would like to talk with you on [date] before we begin anything. If you prefer to wait or have other ideas, we will listen.
With respect, [Signature block left for the clinician of record]
Cover Note for Faculty
Reading level: Flesch-Kincaid grade [6.0]. Every medical term is replaced or explained on first use.
Sources, kept out of the letter itself: the memory medicine taper follows an evidence-based guideline on deprescribing cholinesterase inhibitors, which recommends considering a taper when there is no meaningful benefit or when the dementia has progressed to a severe stage, with monitoring and a plan to restart if symptoms worsen (Reeve et al., 2019). In a randomized trial among people with advanced, life-limiting illness, those who stopped their statin did not die sooner over the following two months and reported better quality of life (Kutner et al., 2015). The looser glucose target follows the ADA Standards for older adults with very complex or poor health, which emphasize avoiding hypoglycemia (American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee, 2025).
Tone: each reason is tied to what matters to her mother, comfort, calm afternoons and fewer needle sticks. The letter proposes and invites; it does not announce.
References
American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee. (2025). Standards of care in diabetes 2025. Diabetes Care, 48(Suppl. 1), S1-S352. https://diabetesjournals.org/care
Kutner, J. S., Blatchford, P. J., Taylor, D. H., Ritchie, C. S., Bull, J. H., Fairclough, D. L., Hanson, L. C., LeBlanc, T. W., Samsa, G. P., Wolf, S., Aziz, N. M., Currow, D. C., Ferrell, B., Wagner-Johnston, N., Zafar, S. Y., Cleary, J. F., Dev, S., Goode, P. S., Kamal, A. H., ... Abernethy, A. P. (2015). Safety and benefit of discontinuing statin therapy in the setting of advanced, life-limiting illness: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Internal Medicine, 175(5), 691-700. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.0289
Reeve, E., Farrell, B., Thompson, W., Herrmann, N., Sketris, I., Magin, P. J., Chenoweth, L., Gorman, M., Quirke, L., Bethune, G., & Hilmer, S. N. (2019). Deprescribing cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine in dementia: Guideline summary. Medical Journal of Australia, 210(4), 174-179. https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.50015
How this NU585 Unit 7 example is structured
Every sentence is tested against one reader: an adult child who is worried, not medically trained and reading at a kitchen table. Plain language governs, so each medical term is either replaced or explained the first time it appears, and the finished letter scores at a sixth-grade level by Flesch-Kincaid. A cover note to faculty carries that score and the citations, including Reeve and colleagues' 2018 deprescribing guideline behind the donepezil taper, so the letter itself stays free of references. The why section gives one reason per change, tied to what matters to her mother: comfort, calm afternoons and fewer needle sticks. Reversibility is stated early: if alertness or routine worsens during the taper, the medicine can restart. The letter closes by proposing a phone call on a bracketed date before any change begins, so it informs a decision the agent still shares rather than announcing one.
Get an NU585 Unit 7 example written to your instructions
Family letters depend on who may receive them, so say who holds decision-making authority, plus the plan change your Unit 7 scenario calls for and any reading-level requirement in the rubric. The letter we return speaks plainly to that one reader, says what stays the same, and keeps citations in a separate note for faculty. Ready within 24-48h; a first request is free. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
NU585 Unit 7 questions, answered
Is there a target reading level for a family letter?
Health literacy guidance commonly places written materials for patients and families at or below an eighth-grade level, with sixth grade often preferred. Run the finished letter through a readability measure, Flesch-Kincaid being the usual one, and include the score if your rubric rewards it. Short sentences, common words and defined terms matter more than the number itself, since formulas cannot tell whether a sentence makes sense to a worried reader.
Should the letter include research citations?
Usually not in the letter itself, which would read like a journal article to a family member. Put citations in a brief cover note to faculty explaining the evidence behind each change, and keep the letter in plain words. The sample works that way: the letter mentions that experts recommend a gradual taper, and the cover note names the guideline.
Who is allowed to receive the letter?
The resident, if able, and the person with legal authority for health decisions, such as a health care agent or court-appointed guardian, plus anyone the resident has authorized. Confirm that authority from the record before writing. In a composite case, state the assumption in the cover note, as the sample does, instead of addressing the letter to the family generally.