Purpose:

To develop a plan describing how nurses could advocate for a state or national health policy of the students choosing. The paper will focus on any one of the following health issues: health promotion, illness reduction, patient safety, or work place safety.

Directions:

Select a specific health policy in which you are interested and is of significance to the nursing profession. The policy should focus on one of the following health issues: health promotion, illness reduction, patient safety, or work place safety. The health policy is one at the state or national level or one that a health care organization has developed. Be careful, for the purposes of this assignment, a health policy is not legislation.

Write a minimum of six full pages to a maximum of eight pages of text regarding this health policy using the grading criteria below. Beyond the text, the paper should include a cover page, abstract with keywords, and reference list.

Approval for paper topic to be obtained before the end of Week #6.

Health Policy Defined:

A health policy is a statement of a decision regarding a goal in health care and a plan for achieving that goal. For example, to prevent an epidemic, a program for inoculating a population is developed and implemented. (Mosby, 2017).

Mosby. (2017). Mosbys Medical Dictionary (10th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

Some Examples of Websites to Explore for a Health Policy:

These are just some examples of websites to visit for ideas for health policies.

· Health Care Organizations (American Health Care Association, American Hospital Association, Centers for Disease Control, Kaiser Family Foundation, National Institutes of Health).

· Nursing Organizations (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, American Nurses Association, American Psychiatric Nurses Association, Emergency Nurses Association, National Council of State Boards of Nursing, National Organization of Nurse Practitioners.

Grading Rubric: Health Care Policy Advocacy Paper (35%)
Grading Criterion	Potential Points	Actual Points	Comments
Introduction to health policy and the reason for selection including significance to the nursing profession.· The policy should focus on one of the following health issues: health promotion, illness reduction, patient safety, or work place safety, etc. · The health policy is one at the state, national, international or global level. · Significance to the nursing profession. (Statistics can be very powerful in supporting the significance of the selected health policy.) · Be careful, for the purposes of this assignment, a health policy is not legislation.	20 Points
Health Policy Overview utilizing a minimum of 5 scholarly references. Include the following components:· Discuss how the health policy would eradicate the health issue. · Interventions proposed by the policy.	25 Points
Advocacy· Steps that can be taken to advocate for the health policy as a professional nurse. · Be as specific as possible to include steps specific to your chosen policy.	15 Points
Conclusion· Recap main ideas in a clear, summarizing manner. · Address opposing viewpoints and explain why readers should align with your position. Provide something to take away that will help readers see things differently or appreciate the topic in personally relevant ways. · Call for action or overview of future possibilities.	20 Points
Writing Style
Paper consists of introduction, body, and conclusion. (APA 3.6)	10 Points
Purpose of the assignment is clearly stated in the first or second paragraph (APA 2.05)
Logical development of stated purpose of the paper (Organization, flow & focus). (APA 3.01; 3.09; 8.03)
Each paragraph discusses/describes one main idea. (APA 3.08)
Paragraphs are at least 4 to 5 sentences. (APA 3.08)
Fewer than 2 misspelled words (APA 4.12-4.38)
Grammar Correct (APA 3.18-3.23)
Usage, Syntax, & Punctuation correct. (APA 3.05-3.17; 4.01-4.11; 4.46-4.49)
Assignment submitted according to required length.
APA Format
Paper typed, double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5″ x 11″) with 1″ margins and 12-font Times Roman. (APA 8.03)	10 Points
Paper includes four major sections: the Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, and References. (APA 2.01; 2.04)
Title page contains the title of the paper, the authors name, and the institutional affiliation. (APA 2.01; 8.03)
Running head flush left margin top of title page. Running head should look like this: Running head: TITLE OF YOUR PAPER (APA 8.03)
Page number on top, right side of page. (APA 8.03)
Level headings Proper use of headings and subheadings (level headings)(APA 3.03)
Abstract is flush with left margin and begins at top of page. Single paragraph double-spaced between 150 and 250 words. (APA 2.04)
Keywords: on same page as abstract, (italicized) and indented followed by 3 to 5 keywords. (APA 2.04)
In-text citations are in proper APA format. (APA 2.11; 6.03-6.21)
References are in proper APA format. (APA 2.11; 6.22-6.32; Examples of Refs: 7.01-A7.06))
Total Points	100