Assignment 2: Course Project—Proposal for Legal Reform

This course project is a culmination all of the course competencies. This course has provided you the opportunity to identify situations that raise potential public health legal and ethical issues. It has also helped you understand how the law can be changed to promote public health, ethical principles, and policy goals.

In this assignment, you will demonstrate your achievement in the following professional competencies:

• Ethical decision making
• Professionalism
• Legal principles development, application, and assessment
• Information seeking
• Written communication
• Impact and influence of management and leadership
• Change leadership
• Innovative thinking

Directions

Using the South University’s online library resources, identify and analyze a case of your choice (no older than 8 years) that you believe presents a conflict between public health, healthcare ethics, and current legal statutes (i.e., required vaccinations, no smoking policies, food/restaurant labeling requirements, school nutrition policies, etc.).

Then, take the perspective of a healthcare executive or professional solving a public health or ethical dilemma that your organization, community, and/or the healthcare profession at large are facing.

Based on your research and analysis of the case, write an 8–10-page proposal to other healthcare executives soliciting their support for legal reform with the state legislature. Include the following items in your proposal:

• Describe how healthcare professionals and leaders can bring about changes in healthcare, legal, or ethical issues.
• Explain the current conflict between public health, healthcare ethics, and the current legal statute you have selected. Use cases and outside resources to explain your position.
• Present a new piece of legislature that will address the ethical conflict. While there are no wrong or right answers, make sure to link your new law to previous cases and/or healthcare ethical principles. Use existing laws but also be creative in writing a law.
• Identify the barriers to implementing the law, the stakeholders, and ways in which the barriers can be overcome.

Your proposal should be approximately 8–10 pages in length. Organize your proposal in the following manner:

• Title page
• Introduction
  • Summary of selected case
  • Reason for the selection and how it meets the criteria
  • The ethical dilemma
• Background research
• Proposal
• Description of proposal
• Conflict
• Proposed legislation
• Barriers
• Reference page that follows APA citation guidelines