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NursingDiscussion postHealth policy

DNP 840 Topic 4 DQ 1: bills and laws affecting the DNP

Each law has to be shown working at two levels — on doctorally prepared nurses specifically and on nursing generally. That doubling is what stops this being a policy summary.

Editorial process

Last reviewed · August 15, 2026

01

Two, and each needs a specific mechanism of effect

Pick two that genuinely bite, and pick at least one from the level where most nursing regulation actually lives. Federal law matters — the Affordable Care Act's coverage expansion and its quality and payment provisions, the Medicare rules governing who may bill and who may certify, the Veterans Health Administration's own practice authority — but state nurse practice acts are where scope, prescriptive authority and supervision requirements are set, and those determine more of a DNP's day than most federal statutes do. A post that names two federal bills and never touches state law has described the smaller half of the picture. Name your own state's act if it is relevant to you. Note also that a bill and a law are different objects and the prompt permits either. A bill in committee is a live advocacy target; an enacted law is settled and measurable. Say which you have chosen, because the analysis differs.

Then do the doubling the prompt asks for, because it is the part that is easy to miss. For each law, say how it affects doctorally prepared nurses specifically and how it affects nursing practice generally, and make those two different statements rather than one restated. A scope-of-practice statute affects the profession broadly by defining what nurses may do, and affects DNPs specifically because the doctorate's leadership and systems remit is the part that runs into supervision requirements first. Payment rules affect the profession through staffing budgets and affect DNPs specifically through whether their own services generate revenue attributable to them. Where the two levels genuinely coincide, say so — but check first, because they usually do not, and the difference is where the prompt's marks sit. Prefer a provision you can quote over one you can summarise, since the quoted text is what a reader can check and what a disagreement in the discussion thread will turn on.

Likely learning objectives

Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.

  • 01
    Distinguish federal from state sources of nursing regulation.
  • 02
    Trace a statute's effect at two different levels.
  • 03
    Identify why a law affects doctoral-level roles differently.
  • 04
    Read primary legislative sources rather than advocacy summaries.
Assignment instructionsQuoted verbatim

Read the full question

Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.

DNP 840 Topic 4 DQ 1 What are two bills or laws that influence the doctorally prepared nurse DNP 840 Topic 4 DQ 1 What are two bills or laws that influence the doctorally prepared nurse? What are two bills or laws that influence the doctorally prepared nurse? How do these bills or laws influence doctorally prepared nurses specifically and on nursing practice in general?
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation Hi Class, Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts. Contact me if you have any questions. Important information on Writing a Discussion Question Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references) There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article. Include in-text citations in your response Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information Follow APA-7th edition Points will be deducted if the above is not followed Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week. Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references) Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count. Follow APA 7th edition Points will be deducted if the above is not followed Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points. Here are some helpful links Student paper example Citing Sources The Writing Center is a great resource Welcome to class Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to. I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you. Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted. If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations. Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements. Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week. I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course! Name: Discussion Rubric DNP 840 Topic 4 DQ 1 What are two bills or laws that influence the doctorally prepared nurse Grid View List View Excellent 90–100 Good 80–89 Fair 70–79 Poor 0–69 Main Posting: Response to the Discussion question is reflective with critical analysis and synthesis representative of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module and current credible sources. 40 (40%) – 44 (44%) Thoroughly responds to the Discussion question(s). Is reflective with critical analysis and synthesis representative of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module and current credible sources. No less than 75% of post has exceptional depth and breadth. Supported by at least three current credible sources. 35 (35%) – 39 (39%) Responds to most of the Discussion question(s). Is somewhat reflective with critical analysis and synthesis representative of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. 50% of the post has exceptional depth and breadth. Supported by at least three credible references. 31 (31%) – 34 (34%) Responds to some of the Discussion question(s). One to two criteria are not addressed or are superficially addressed. Is somewhat lacking reflection and critical analysis and synthesis. Somewhat represents knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. Cited with fewer than two credible references. 0 (0%) – 30 (30%) Does not respond to the Discussion question(s). Lacks depth or superficially addresses criteria. Lacks reflection and critical analysis and synthesis. Does not represent knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. Contains only one or no credible references. Main Posting: Writing 6 (6%) – 6 (6%) Written clearly and concisely. Contains no grammatical or spelling errors. Adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style. 5 (5%) – 5 (5%) Written concisely. May contain one to two grammatical or spelling errors. Adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style. 4 (4%) – 4 (4%) Written somewhat concisely. May contain more than two spelling or grammatical errors. Contains some APA formatting errors. 0 (0%) – 3 (3%) Not written clearly or concisely. Contains more than two spelling or grammatical errors. Does not adhere to current APA manual writing rules and style. Main Posting: Timely and full participation 9 (9%) – 10 (10%) Meets requirements for timely, full, and active participation. Posts main Discussion by due date. 8 (8%) – 8 (8%) Meets requirements for full participation. Posts main Discussion by due date. 7 (7%) – 7 (7%) Posts main Discussion by due date. 0 (0%) – 6 (6%) Does not meet requirements for full participation. Does not post main Discussion by due date. First Response: Post to colleague’s main post that is reflective and justified with credible sources. 9 (9%) – 9 (9%) Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings. Responds to questions posed by faculty. The use of scholarly sources to support ideas demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives. 8 (8%) – 8 (8%) Response has some depth and may exhibit critical thinking or application to practice setting. 7 (7%) – 7 (7%) Response is on topic and may have some depth. 0 (0%) – 6 (6%) Response may not be on topic and lacks depth. First Response: Writing 6 (6%) – 6 (6%) Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Response to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English. 5 (5%) – 5 (5%) Communication is mostly professional and respectful to colleagues. Response to faculty questions are mostly answered, if posed. Provides opinions and ideas that are supported by few credible sources. Response is written in standard, edited English. 4 (4%) – 4 (4%) Response posed in the Discussion may lack effective professional communication. Response to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed. Few or no credible sources are cited. 0 (0%) – 3 (3%) Responses posted in the Discussion lack effective communication. Response to faculty questions are missing. No credible sources are cited. First Response: Timely and full participation 5 (5%) – 5 (5%) Meets requirements for timely, full, and active participation. Posts by due date. 4 (4%) – 4 (4%) Meets requirements for full participation. Posts by due date. 3 (3%) – 3 (3%) Posts by due date. 0 (0%) – 2 (2%) Does not meet requirements for full participation. Does not post by due date. Second Response: Post to colleague’s main post that is reflective and justified with credible sources. 9 (9%) – 9 (9%) Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings. Responds to questions posed by faculty. The use of scholarly sources to support ideas demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives. 8 (8%) – 8 (8%) Response has some depth and may exhibit critical thinking or application to practice setting. 7 (7%) – 7 (7%) Response is on topic and may have some depth. 0 (0%) – 6 (6%) Response may not be on topic and lacks depth. Second Response: Writing 6 (6%) – 6 (6%) Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Response to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English. 5 (5%) – 5 (5%) Communication is mostly professional and respectful to colleagues. Response to faculty questions are mostly answered, if posed. Provides opinions and ideas that are supported by few credible sources. Response is written in standard, edited English. 4 (4%) – 4 (4%) Response posed in the Discussion may lack effective professional communication. Response to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed. Few or no credible sources are cited. 0 (0%) – 3 (3%) Responses posted in the Discussion lack effective communication. Response to faculty questions are missing. No credible sources are cited. Second Response: Timely and full participation 5 (5%) – 5 (5%) Meets requirements for timely, full, and active participation. Posts by due date. 4 (4%) – 4 (4%) Meets requirements for full participation. Posts by due date. 3 (3%) – 3 (3%) Posts by due date. 0 (0%) – 2 (2%) Does not meet requirements for full participation. Does not post by due date. Total Points: 100 Name: Discussion Rubric

02

Turn the brief into deliverables

  1. 01
    Two named bills or laws, with at least one at state level if relevant.
  2. 02
    The specific effect on doctorally prepared nurses.
  3. 03
    The general effect on nursing practice.
  4. 04
    A source for each that is the statute or an authoritative summary of it.
03

Name them, then trace the effect twice

01

The first law and what it does

Name the law and the provision that reaches nursing practice.

02

Its two levels of effect

Distinguish the effect on DNPs from the effect on nursing generally.

03

The second law

Repeat the analysis for a law from a different level of government.

04

What follows for you

State what these laws permit or prevent in your own setting.

04

Reading the statute rather than the summary

Recommended databases

  • Your state board of nursing
  • Congress.gov
  • CMS rules
  • PubMed Central

Search sequence

  1. 1.
    Read your state's nurse practice act rather than a summary of it.
  2. 2.
    Identify the specific provision that reaches doctoral-level practice.
  3. 3.
    Check whether the law has been amended recently.
  4. 4.
    Look for evidence of the law's measured effect rather than its intent.
05

Reference shortlist

These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.

Nothing here is cleared for citation until you have read it.

  1. 01

    SCOPE OF PRACTICE

    Nursing Fundamentals, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023

    Sets out how scope of practice is legally constituted, which is where a statute's operative effect on nursing is found.

  2. 02

    Policy Advocacy and Nursing Organizations: A Scoping Review

    Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice · 2021

    On how nursing organisations engage with legislation, and which bills the profession has actually pursued.

  3. 03

    Value-Based Programs

    Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · 2025

    Federal programmes created by statute whose provisions reach staffing and practice directly.

  4. 04

    Provision of evaluation and management visits by nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the USA from 2013 to 2019: cross-sectional time series study

    BMJ · 2023

    Data on advanced practice provision that shows a regulatory change's measured effect rather than its intent.

06

Review before submission

Common mistakes

  • Naming only federal legislation and omitting state practice acts.
  • Giving one effect and restating it as though it were two.
  • Describing a law's intent rather than its operative effect on practice.
  • Relying on an advocacy summary rather than the statute.

Submission checklist

  • Are the two effects genuinely different statements?
  • Did you include state-level regulation where it applies?
  • Can you point to the provision that produces the effect?
  • Is your own state's position named if it is relevant?

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Aaron Bishop

MA, Education

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Argumentation and thesis development

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