Research paperSubstance use policy

Herzing NU 625 Unit 7 Assignment Opioid Paper

Three pages, and the last question is the one that matters clinically. Alternatives to opioid prescribing is a literature with real answers, and it deserves more than a closing paragraph.

Editorial process

Last reviewed · August 25, 2026

Written by

Maren Caldwell

MSN, RN, CNE

Medical-surgical nursing, pharmacology and NCLEX preparation

Reviewed by

Dr. Tessa Redmond

DNP, RN, CNE

Evidence-based practice and clinical education

On this page

Interpret the task
Assignment instructions
Deliverables
Proposed outline
Research plan
Reference shortlist
Final review

The alternatives question is the clinical half of this paper

The problem definition is the easiest section to write and the easiest to overwrite, and at three pages it should be tight. Two things make it stronger than a recital of national totals. First, be precise about which epidemic you are describing, because prescription opioid deaths, heroin deaths and synthetic opioid deaths have followed different curves and conflating them produces a paper that is a decade out of date. Second, the state statistics the brief asks for are not decoration: state prescribing rates and overdose rates vary several-fold, and the gap between your state and the national figure is the most useful sentence in the section because it tells you whether local prescribing is part of your local problem. That comparison is also the sentence that makes the rest of the paper local rather than generic, which is why the brief asks for it. Local prescribing rates are the part of this problem a nurse practitioner can influence directly.

The nurse practitioner sections are where the paper earns its marks and both have real content. The role question is partly regulatory, since prescriptive authority, waiver requirements for buprenorphine and state-level restrictions differ, and there is evidence that scope-of-practice law is associated with prescribing patterns. It is also practical: prescription drug monitoring programme checks, tapering existing patients you inherited, and recognising opioid use disorder in a primary care panel. The alternatives question then has a genuine evidence base to draw on rather than a list of good intentions, covering non-opioid analgesia for many acute presentations, multimodal and non-pharmacological approaches for chronic pain, and the point most papers miss, that abrupt discontinuation of an existing prescription carries its own documented harms. Personal experience, which the brief invites, works best placed against one of these clinical points rather than as an opening anecdote. Placing the personal experience there gives it analytical work to do.

Likely learning objectives

Distinguish prescription, heroin and synthetic opioid trends.
Use state figures comparatively rather than decoratively.
Connect prescriptive authority regulation to the NP role.
Cover alternatives including the harms of abrupt discontinuation.

Assignment instructions

Read the full question

Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.

Opioid Paper Instructions “The United States is in the throes of an opioid epidemic, as more than 2 million Americans have become dependent on or abused prescription pain pills and street drugs” (CNN, 2018). This is a health crisis that APN’s are a part of. Research and write a 3-page paper (not counting the cover and reference page) on the use of Opioids in the US. Define the problem including statistics related to the national impact as well as statistics related to your particular state. Include any personal experience with this national crisis. How is the role of the Nurse Practitioner impacted by this issue? What alternatives does the literature suggest for providers in lieu of prescribing Opioids for pain management?

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. Herzing NU 625 Unit 7 Assignment Opioid Paper 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. 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.

What the NU 625 opioid paper requires

01A 3-page paper excluding cover and reference pages.
02A definition of the problem including national statistics.
03Statistics related to your particular state.
04Any personal experience with the crisis.
05How the role of the nurse practitioner is impacted by the issue.
06What alternatives the literature suggests for providers in lieu of prescribing opioids for pain management.