Letter to legislator
Select a current health problem that is being debated at the national and/or state level (e.g., the proliferation of & ‘pill mills’ pain clinics, etc) and state why it is of interest. Be sure to research your problem.
Identify a legislator (state or federal) and state why that person is the appropriate one to contact, you will show why this is right person to contact based on the supporting data you provided in your letter.
Draft a letter to the legislator in business block format including the proper salutation.
Introduce yourself and your reason for writing. Include the following in the body of your letter:
Introduce yourself and your reason for writing.
State concisely what you understand to be the current socioeconomic, political, and ethical issues surrounding the problem. You must have supporting data (include citations).
Discuss the implications of the problem for your community, nursing or nursing practice.
Make a clear request for action. You must have supporting data (include citations).
Request a response.
Include a reference page beginning on the page following the end of the letter, also include citations in the body of your letter. At least three references are required.
Sample Paper
Problem
Workplace violence is one of the major issues debated at the national and state level. Evidence shows that this issue affects the healthcare industry more than other sectors, affecting nurses. 2018 data shows that workplace violence contributes to about 12.2 per cent of injuries sustained by nurses (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). Also, the number of nurses affected by the issue has increased significantly. In 2011, 6.4 per 10000 healthcare workers encountered various forms of the workplace. They then increased to 12.7 per 10000 full-time nurses (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). Besides, several nurses suffer from mental and physical injuries associated with workplace violence. This affects their productivity negatively. Therefore, it is imperative to address this issue.
Legislator
The letter will be sent to Eddie Bernice Johnson. She is a nurse serving as a US representative. She represents the 30th District of Texas. Therefore, she understands the selected problem better.
Letter
(Student’s address)
Dallas District Office
1825 Market Center Blvd.
Suite 440
Dallas, TX 75207
Phone: (214) 922-8885
Fax: (214) 922-7028
Dear Representative Eddie .B. Johnson
I am a resident of XXX, and I am a nurse by profession. My mission is to provide high-quality care to promote the overall wellness of the communities I serve. However, the workplace violence issue has been a significant issue in nursing practice. Therefore, I am writing to inform you about the impact of this issue on nursing practice and the socio-economic, political and ethical issues surrounding the problem and request for your support the proposed bill addressing the issue.
Various political factors affect this issue. For instance, the lack of legislation controlling workplace violence in healthcare has contributed to increased cases of injured nurses (Sharma, et al., 2019). Besides, ethical and legal factors such as the lack of effective hospital reporting systems have hindered injured nurses from pursuing justice in the court system for the damages incurred (Gaston, 2020).
Workplace violence affects nursing practice and the community significantly. A significant number of nurses suffer from mental and physical injuries associated with workplace violence. In 2018, injured nurses represented about 12.2 per cent of workplace-related injuries (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). Severe injuries undermine their performance leading to the delivery of low-quality care to the community. Besides, this issue leads to the nursing shortage in healthcare to high turnover among nurses, limiting the community members from accessing care (Antão et al., 2020).
Yours Sincerely
(Student Name)
References
Antão, H. S., Sacadura-Leite, E., Manzano, M. J., Pinote, S., Relvas, R., Serranheira, F., & Sousa-Uva, A. (2020). Workplace Violence in Healthcare: A Single-Center Study on Causes, Consequences and Prevention Strategies. Acta Médica Portuguesa, 33(1), 31-37. https://run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/94981/1/Antao_Acta_Med_Port_2020_33_1_31.pdf
Gaston, K. (2020). Barriers to Reporting Workplace Violence in Emergency Departments: A Systematic Review. https://search.proquest.com/openview/d97bad08aba3ffa9509a40e144d4431c/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
Sharma, S., Gautam, P. L., Sharma, S., Kaur, A., Bhatia, N., Singh, G., … & Kumar, A. (2019). Questionnaire-based evaluation of factors leading to patient-physician distrust and violence against healthcare workers. Indian journal of critical care medicine: peer-reviewed, official publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine, 23(7), 302. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6686582/
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). (2018). Occupational injuries and illnesses among registered nurses. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2018/article/occupational-injuries-and-illnesses-among-registered-nurses.htm
