Nursing legacy in social change: a policy change
Read the source requirement before drafting: four sources, with at least one behind each of two arguments for and two against. That turns a reflection into a structured argument, and it is easy to miss.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 15, 2026
A change you can name, and a legacy you can defend
There are two halves here and they are graded differently. The first asks for a change needed in your community's health care policy and how you would begin to implement it as a nurse practitioner. Pick something local and bounded — scope-of-practice restrictions that keep a rural clinic from opening, a school district with no naloxone protocol, a county with no funded interpreter service, a state that has not extended postpartum coverage. 'Reduce health disparities' is not a change; it is a category. Then say how you would begin, concretely: which body has the authority, which professional association already has a position, who the affected constituency is, and what the first three steps look like. Beginning is the word the prompt uses, so an answer that names a first committee, a first meeting or a first data request is stronger than one that describes a finished campaign.
The source requirement is the part most posts fall foul of, and it is worth reading twice. Four sources in total, with at least one supporting each of two arguments for and two arguments against, from peer-reviewed journals, government reports or textbooks. That means you are expected to argue against your own proposal — cost, workforce capacity, unintended consequences, opposition from another professional group — and to cite somebody who makes that case, not to strawman it. Build the post around that structure rather than bolting the citations on afterwards. The legacy half is the shortest and most personal: what your nursing legacy for positive social change will be. Keep it tied to the change you just argued for, so the two halves are one post rather than two, and state it as something you will do rather than something you hope to be remembered for.
Likely learning objectives
Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.
- 01Scope a policy change narrowly enough to be actionable at community or state level.
- 02Identify the body with authority over the change and the first steps toward it.
- 03Construct a balanced argument that cites opposition rather than dismissing it.
- 04Connect a personal professional legacy to a specific policy commitment.
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
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 Discussion Nursing legacy in social change Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references) 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!
Turn the brief into deliverables
- 01A named, bounded policy change with the community it applies to.
- 02A concrete account of how you would begin implementing it.
- 03Two arguments for and two against, each with at least one qualifying source.
- 04A statement of your nursing legacy tied to that change.
- 05Four sources minimum, in APA format.
The change, the implementation, then the legacy
Name the change
State the policy change and the community it applies to, with the deficit that motivates it.
How you would begin
Identify the authority, the constituency and the first concrete steps.
Two arguments for
Make the case, each argument carrying at least one qualifying source.
Two arguments against
State the strongest opposition — cost, capacity, unintended effects — with sources.
Your nursing legacy
Say what you will do, tied to the change you argued for.
Finding two sources for and two against
Recommended databases
- PubMed Central
- CINAHL
- Government reports — state health department, CDC, HRSA
- American Nurses Association advocacy resources
- American Public Health Association policy statements
Search sequence
- 1.Start from a deficit you have actually seen in practicum, then find whether it is documented in a government report.
- 2.Search for the professional association's existing position — it usually names the opposition for you.
- 3.Deliberately search for the counter-argument, since two of your four sources must support it.
- 4.Check that each source is a peer-reviewed article, a government report or a textbook before counting it.
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.
- 01
Legislative and Political Advocacy for Nurses
American Nurses Association · 2024
Sets out the mechanisms through which nurses actually influence policy, which is what the implementation half needs.
- 02
The Barriers and Facilitators Influencing Nurses' Political Participation
Journal of Nursing Management · 2024
Peer-reviewed evidence on what actually enables or blocks nurses' political participation, one of the permitted source types.
- 03
Defining advocacy in public health: a scoping review to inform policy, training, and equity-oriented action
International Journal for Equity in Health · 2026
A scoping review defining advocacy in public health, useful for scoping the change rather than the category.
- 04
Policy Briefs and Advocacy
American Public Health Association · 2024
Existing policy statements, which often supply both the supporting case and the recorded opposition.
Review before submission
Common mistakes
- Choosing a change so broad that no body has authority over it.
- Supplying four sources that all support your position, which the prompt explicitly rules out.
- Describing a finished campaign when the prompt asks how you would begin.
- Writing the legacy half as a personal statement disconnected from the policy half.
- Using advocacy websites when peer-reviewed journals, government reports or textbooks are specified.
Submission checklist
- Is the change specific enough to name the body that would enact it?
- Have you described a first step rather than an outcome?
- Do you have two arguments against, each with a source?
- Does the legacy connect back to the change?
- Are all four sources of the permitted types?
Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read our academic-integrity policy.
Written by
Aaron Bishop
MA, Education
assignment interpretation and research-methods coaching across disciplines
Aaron leads the EssayCrackers editorial desk. He works on how assignment briefs are read — what a rubric is actually asking for, and where students most often answer a different question than the one set.
Reviewed by
Dr. Nathan Cole
PhD, Rhetoric & Composition
Argumentation and thesis development
Nathan teaches first-year composition and directs a university writing center. He reviews EssayCrackers guides for argumentative soundness and citation accuracy.