Advanced Health Assessment closes the three-course shared APN core — the diagnostic reasoning skill that turns assessment data into an actual differential diagnosis.
What D117 covers
The course prepares graduate students for the advanced practice nurse role with competencies necessary to provide primary healthcare to diverse populations, developing skills for systematically collecting and analyzing subjective and objective patient data.
Through simulation and clinical experiences, students use data to determine health status, predict health risks, and identify health-promoting activities, developing critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and advanced diagnostic skills to synthesize data for differential diagnosis and clearly describe findings and rationale to patients and providers.
The D117 performance assessment
Expect a performance assessment requiring a full advanced health assessment for a patient case, synthesizing subjective and objective data into a differential diagnosis with clearly explained rationale.
Key topics in D117
- Systematic subjective/objective data collection
- Predicting health risks
- Differential diagnosis synthesis
- Communicating assessment rationale
Writing tips for D117
Follow the task instructions and rubric line by line
WGU performance assessments for D117 are graded against a fixed rubric — every rubric line has to be visibly addressed, usually with a labeled heading that mirrors the rubric language. Skipping a rubric point because it seems minor is the single most common reason a competent submission comes back "Not Yet Competent" for revision.
Ground clinical reasoning in a specific patient case, not general practice guidelines
WGU evaluators are trained to distinguish genuine advanced-practice clinical reasoning from a paraphrased textbook summary. Anchor your submission in the specific patient case the task provides, and show diagnostic reasoning connecting assessment findings to your clinical decisions.
Because WGU is self-paced, don't let "no deadline pressure" become no submission
There's no weekly due date forcing progress, which means procrastination costs more at WGU than at a traditional term-based school — a stalled task can quietly eat weeks of a term. Treat your own target date for each D117 assessment as a real deadline.
Stuck on your D117 task?
Our writers know WGU's competency-based format and this course's performance assessment. Get an original, properly cited paper matched to your task instructions.
Why students seek help with D117
Students sometimes list assessment findings without synthesizing them into an actual differential diagnosis — the course's core skill is that synthesis, not just data collection.
How GradeEssays helps with D117
Share your patient case and rubric, and your writer will build the assessment through to a properly synthesized differential diagnosis with clear supporting rationale.
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Place Your Order View All ServicesPrerequisites and program context
D117 has no listed additional prerequisites and is shared between the FNP and PMHNP tracks.
- Master of Science, Nursing - Family Nurse Practitioner (BSN to MSN)
- Master of Science, Nursing - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
- Post-Master's Certificate, Nursing - Family Nurse Practitioner (Post-MSN)
- Post-Master's Certificate, Nursing - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (Post-MSN)