HLT 308 Week 2 Discussion Question One
Writing a policy is the easy half. The prompt asks how you would get one approved, which is a question about committees, evidence and who owns the risk.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 25, 2026
Approved is the word that makes this an organisational question
Two different legal regimes are named and they are worth keeping apart, because students routinely merge them. The Americans with Disabilities Act governs discrimination and reasonable accommodation, and its risk exposure is about hiring, job descriptions, accommodation requests and physical access. Workers' compensation is a no-fault insurance scheme for occupational injury, and its risk exposure is about timely reporting, return to work and premium experience. They intersect in one place worth naming: an employee injured at work who acquires a lasting impairment moves from one regime into both, and an organisation that treats a return-to-work conversation purely as a compensation matter can create an accommodation failure while doing it. Naming that intersection is also the fastest way to show you have read both regimes rather than treating them as one compliance topic with two names attached to it. The regimes also sit with different owners inside most organisations.
The interesting half of the prompt is the conditional. Detailing how you would get a policy developed and approved is a question about organisational process, and the useful answer names the route rather than the content: identify who owns the risk, usually risk management or human resources with legal counsel; establish which committee approves policy and what it requires in a submission; assemble the evidence that makes the case, which for a gap like this is incident data, near misses, comparable organisations' policies and the regulatory exposure; draft with the people who will have to operate it, since a policy written without the front line produces a process nobody follows; and plan the implementation, because approval is not adoption. Say what you would measure afterwards, since a reporting policy with no measure of reporting rates cannot tell you whether it worked or whether people simply stopped reporting.
Likely learning objectives
- Keep ADA and workers' compensation obligations distinct.
- Identify where the two regimes intersect in practice.
- Describe a policy approval route rather than policy content.
- Propose a measure that would show the policy is working.
Assignment instructions
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
Review your organization’s risk management policies as they relate to the Americans With Disabilities Act and workers’ compensation. What is the process for reporting an incident? If there is not a policy, detail how you would go about getting a policy developed and approved within your organization or any health care organization. Provide one peer-reviewed reference to support your response.
What Week 2 DQ 1 asks for
- 01A review of your organisation's risk management policies as they relate to the Americans with Disabilities Act and workers' compensation.
- 02The process for reporting an incident.
- 03If no policy exists, how you would go about getting a policy developed and approved.
- 04One peer-reviewed reference supporting your response.
The two laws, the reporting process, the approval route
What the ADA requires
Cover accommodation, non-discrimination and where risk arises.
What the assessor is likely looking for
Obligations stated accurately.
What workers' compensation requires
Cover reporting timelines, no-fault cover and return to work.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A distinct regime with distinct duties.
Where they intersect
Describe the injured employee with a lasting impairment.
What the assessor is likely looking for
An intersection with a practical consequence.
The incident reporting process
Set out who reports what, to whom, and within what time.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A process someone could follow.
Getting a policy approved
Name the owner, the committee, the evidence and the drafting group.
What the assessor is likely looking for
An organisational route rather than a document.
Implementation and measurement
Say how it would be rolled out and what you would measure.
What the assessor is likely looking for
Approval distinguished from adoption.
Where the ADA and risk sources sit
Recommended databases
- ADA National Network
- AHRQ
- PubMed Central
- ASHRM
Search sequence
- 1.Read the ADA overview for the accommodation obligations.
- 2.Look up incident reporting and near-miss literature for the measurement section.
- 3.Find risk management guidance on policy development.
- 4.Check patient and staff safety reporting evidence for what changes reporting rates.
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.
What is the Americans with Disabilities Act?
ADA National Network · 2024
The ADA overview, for the accommodation and non-discrimination obligations.
Advancing Health Care Risk Management
American Society for Health Care Risk Management · 2025
Health care risk management, for the ownership and process side.
Culture of Safety
AHRQ Patient Safety Network · 2024
Safety culture, for why reporting rates rise or fall independently of policy.
Patient Safety and Quality
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, NCBI Bookshelf · 2008
Patient safety and quality, for incident reporting evidence.
Sentinel Event Policy
The Joint Commission · 2025
Sentinel event policy, for the reporting obligations an organisation already carries.
Before you post
Common mistakes
- Merging ADA obligations with workers' compensation.
- Answering the approval question by describing the policy's content.
- Omitting who owns the risk and who signs the policy.
- Drafting without the staff who would operate the process.
- Proposing a policy with no measure of whether reporting improved.
Submission checklist
- Are the two legal regimes distinguished?
- Is their intersection identified?
- Does the approval answer name a route, an owner and a committee?
- Is front-line involvement in drafting addressed?
- Is a measure of effect proposed?
Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read Brinevia's academic-integrity policy.
Written by
Maren Caldwell
MSN, RN, CNE
Medical-surgical nursing, pharmacology and NCLEX preparation
Maren is a registered nurse with over 15 years of clinical and educational experience in medical-surgical nursing. She writes on NCLEX preparation, patient care fundamentals, pharmacology and evidence-based practice.
Reviewed by
Dr. Tessa Redmond
DNP, RN, CNE
Evidence-based practice and clinical education
Tessa is a doctorally-prepared nurse educator. She reviews Brinevia content for clinical accuracy and alignment with current evidence-based guidelines.