Advocacy Project: DUE DATE 9/24/2018

Advocacy letter writing exercise

To provide an opportunity to advocate for health concerns, each student will complete one of the following activities:

• Write a letter to a legislator regarding a bill or issue that was considered or will be considered in upcoming legislature, or
• Write a letter to the editor of your local paper regarding an aspect of a legislative bill or a health-related issue, or
• Write a letter regarding a health issue of concern to a regulatory body.

Remember a few important points:

• Write this paper as if you intend for the person to read it.In fact, upon approval (once any edits are made), I encourage you to submit your letter via e-mail or mail to the intended party!Remember, however, you are representing yourself.
• The reader probably has little to no knowledge of the subject matter/language you are presenting (they are most likely not nurses, doctors, or even aware of the healthcare field as in-depth as you are).So, explain your viewpoints and arguments as such.
• Be persuasive, but not demanding (be professionals!).
• Personal stories (obviously without violating HIPAA) can be highly persuasive and people tend to remember the ‘personal touches’ during considerations.They have a greater impact.
• Remember to cite factual statements as you would in a scholarly paper.Include References as an “Enclosure” (see sample letters in Syllabus section).You don’t ever want it to appear as if you’re just making up facts/figures!Remember, legislators have staff people whose job is to check those fact and figures and you lose credibility if you make up statistical results.

Rubric for Advocacy Letter Writing Exercise

Criteria	Poor (0 – 79%s)	Adequate (80% – 89%)	Good (90% – 100%)	Points earned/possible
Relevant introduction that captures the interest of the reader	Omits or fails to introduce the policy and/or issue	Introduction is present, but does not fully capture the intended reader’s interest	Introduces the letter and captures the intended reader’s interest in an above satisfactory manner	___/15
Rationale – Why is this an important policy and/or issue?	Omits or fails to address the importance of the policy and/or issue	Provides a rationale, but does not fully address importance of policy and/or issue	Provides an above satisfactory rationale as to the importance of the policy and/or issue	___/25
Suggested action & clarifies what needs to happen	Omits or fails to address the action needing to happen	Provides suggested action, but does not adequately clarify what needs to happen	Suggests an above satisfactory action, fully clarifying what needs to happen	___/20
Closure, summarizes the key point and action, bringing the letter to conclusion	Omits or fails to close the letter Omits or fails to summarize key points	Closes the letter, but has difficulty summarizing key points	Provides above satisfactory closure to the letter, addressing key points and actions fully.	___/15
Grammar and syntax	Grammar and syntax with significant errors	Some errors in grammar and syntax are noted	Grammar and syntax without errors	___/20
Letter format – Appropriate salutation, body, signature	Omits or fails to follow letter format	Uses some elements of proper letter format, but lacks adequacy or omits a section	Uses appropriate salutation, body, and signature	___/5
				Total _____/100

Resource Websites- Policies and Legislative Activities

Florida Nurses Association (FNA): (Current Health Care Policies Page with Pre-formed Letters, Position Statements, etc.)

https://www.floridanurse.org/resources/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Outcomes of Florida Legislative Issues from 2016 – 2017:

http://capwiz.com/fln/issues/alert/?alertid=71682626 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

FNA Report about 2018 Advocacy Days :

https://www.nursingald.com/uploads/publication/pdf/1640/Florida_Nurse_3_18.pdf (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

U.S National Library of Medicine — Health Services Research Information Central — State and Federal Political Issues

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hsrinfo/legislationsites.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Links to an external site.

National Institute of Health (NIH) — Grants Policy Statement:

https://grants.nih.gov/policy/nihgps/index.htm (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.