Reflection Journal: Influencing Health Law & Policy

For your final journal assignment, describe the aspect of health law and policy covered in this course that was the most surprising to you and why. Explain how you will apply what you learned about health law and policy.

As you grapple with this issue and draft your journal assignment, consider the following competing ideas and stakeholder views:

• Working professionals—particularly licensed professionals—often have practical insight into matters of health law and policy that policy makers and regulators may lack
• The more time working professionals spend attempting to impact policy, the less time they have to serve clients
• Policy makers and professionals don’t know what’s it like to be a “real” person trying to get healthcare and health services
• Students can contribute two perspectives: that of a patient and of a future working professional
• Policy is made by those who show up
• People who have time to contribute their perspective to government policy makers do not represent working professionals, caregivers, or patients
• Paid lobbyists and industry representatives have the most influence on policy

Consider whether you share any of these views. Do any of them resonate with you as accurate or inaccurate? 

How will your understanding of the policy-making process impact the way you approach policy issues? In your opinion, what obligation, if any, do students and working professionals have to impact health law and policy? Make three brief recommendations to your professional peers about how they may influence health law and policy in the future. 

Guidelines for Submission: When writing this journal, please include evidence-based sources as well as your own reflections on the topic. Use APA formatting for all references and in-text citations. Your journal should be 3–4 paragraphs in length. Submit assignment as a Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins.