Short Paper III: Policy Proposal/Brief (15% or 15 points)
NUR 613
Purpose: Students will propose a health policy based on the issue they presented in Short
Papers I and II. This proposal/brief will be aimed toward a lawmaking body at the local (county),
state or national level. When writing the brief students should see themselves as stakeholders in
resolving the problem. Students will use critical thinking skills as they lay out the problem in a
concise manner in an effort to get this policy on the agenda. This is the last of three Short Papers
that will be written in the course on the same issue/policy. Much of the information will be
gained from the Position Paper and reformatted into the Brief. C/O 5
Guidelines: The paper will be no more than two pages long plus title & reference pages.
I. Executive summary of the issue to be addressed (approx. 2 paragraphs)
a. Clear statement of the issue.
b. Briefly explain the issue.
This section is meant to capture your lawmaker’s attention.
II. Scope of Issue & Context (approximately 2 paragraphs)
a. Who is most affected (scope), how far spread is the issue etc.?
b. Effects of the problem this issue on health, healthcare delivery, safety & quality
of care (whatever the context is). Each issue will have a different context and
scope. Present epidemiological statistics (morbidity, mortality etc.) demographics,
trends etc.
c. Who are the key stakeholders?
This section is meant to present the enormity of the issue and the urgency to
address. It should not be dramatic or biased however.
III. Key Regulatory & Legislative History (approximately 2 paragraphs)
a. Present any existing policy that is addressing this issue. (If no legislation exists,
explain what is being done to address issue other than policy).
b. Explain how existing legislation is not working (use policy language). Present at
what phase of the policy cycle has it failed? If not legislation – how are other
efforts failing?
IV. Recommendation: Proposed policy option (approx. 2 paragraphs)
a. Clear concise policy statement with rationale
b. Three or four bulleted points of key areas of your proposed policy
V. Summary – One or two sentences pulling the brief together.
Resources: Cite as appropriate for the section. Some areas will be your own ideas, such as the
proposed policy and will not require a citation. Use scholarly references. This is not a
reflective paper however, therefore do not write with personal pronouns.
VI. APA (the issue or proposed policy title should be the title of the paper on title
page and brought to the first page of the paper’s text. APA citations, references
page, level I headings, grammar and spelling required. No quotes. Use only level I
headings.
