must be composed in a 2-page Word document, 12 pt font, double-spaced, and applying APA guidelines.  You must use a minimum of 3 resources and show them on the last, separate, page of your submission listing that page as  “References”.  One of the resources/references can be your textbook for this course, then you can have another printed reference source if you prefer and an Internet source, or two Internet resources. Remember you must have a cover page and you must have a separate References page, and you must list your references in the correct APA format and you must supply the URL/Links to each reference, so that when the reader gets to a line you quoted in your paper from one of your resources, they can click that link on your e-reference page and it will take them online to your resource(s).

Your document must address each of the following criteria as outlined in the course textbook:

Professional Liability: Discuss the aspects of criminal and civil liability as they apply to the case study.

Standard of Care: Discuss acceptable standards of care as they relate to ordinary and reasonable skills commonly used by medical practitioners.

Medical Negligence: Review the Four Ds of medical negligence, and discuss their application to the case study.

Intentional and Unintentional Tort: Explain how tort law and its identification of negligence and medical malpractice apply to the case study.

Alternative Methods to Litigation: Describe how alternative litigation methods such as arbitration and mediation may apply to the case study.

Medical Office Administration Program Outcome addressed:

1.2  Learners will demonstrate how to apply legal and ethical concepts to health care procedures.

Case Study: Medical Malpractice and Liability

A surgeon performs elective surgery on John Smith.  Smith later complains to his surgeon about pain resulting from the surgery.  His surgeon dismisses his complaints as not credible and eventually withdraws from the case.  Smith is then treated by another surgeon, who determines that Smith developed complications from surgery and that the delay in treatment has made the complications worse.  Smith sees an attorney about a possible lawsuit against the first surgeon.

Task:      Write a research paper using evidence to support a thesis that addresses your research question examining a current issue or event in the news from the perspective of your field of study. The audience is people who are generally educated but do not have extensive knowledge of your field or topic.

Length:  At least 2000 words

Sources: Minimum of 6. At least 3 of these must be from scholarly journals, and all sources should be selected based on reliability, currency, and level of information/analysis. The UMUC library will be very useful in helping you find appropriate sources. You can, but do not have to, include all of the sources from your annotated bibliography.

Due date and revision: The first draft of the research paper is due by the end of Week 5. Submit your draft as an attachment (Microsoft Word is preferred) to this assignment folder. This should be as complete a draft as possible, in order to receive the most helpful feedback. In working on your draft, you may want to look at the rubric that will ultimately be used to grade your final paper. You can see it when viewing these instructions through the Assignments area of the classroom.

During Week 6, you will receive feedback on your draft.

You will then revise your paper and submit it by the end of Week 7 to the folder “Assignment 3: Research Paper, revised draft.” This version will be graded using the rubric and will count for 30% of your course grade.

Your instructor may or may not complete the rubric for your first draft, but only the grade on your revised paper will count toward your course grade.

Outcomes you should achieve by completing this assignment

The outcomes for this assignment are listed below, with the associated course outcomes in parentheses:

Use research to write a paper that will inform or persuade an audience (Course outcome 1)
Form unified, coherent, and well-supported paragraphs in support of the thesis statement (Course outcome 2)
Select sources, use them to inform and support your writing, and document them in APA style (Course outcome 4)
Demonstrate accurate grammar and mechanics in writing (Course outcome 3)
Participate in the process of receiving feedback and revising your writing (Course outcome 1)
Topic

This paper is the culmination of your research project, in which you are examining a current issue or event in the news from the perspective of your field of study. Before drafting your paper, you will have chosen a topic, developed a research question, and identified several potential sources in an annotated bibliography. You should write on the same topic for this paper, unless your professor has asked you to make changes to your topic.

Organizing and supporting your paper

As you write your paper, be sure to include the following:

an engaging introductory paragraph that includes an effective and clear thesis statement
any definition of terms or background information that your reader is likely to need to understand your paper
focused body paragraphs that begin with topic sentences and use effective transitions. This is where you will support the thesis using arguments and evidence.
a concluding paragraph that reiterates the thesis, summarizes key points of the paper, and leaves the reader with the “So what?”
Research is a key element of this paper. Take care to support your claims with research throughout the paper. Include APA in-text citations whenever you use sources, whether through quote, paraphrase, or summary. An APA reference list at the end of the paper should list all of the sources cited in the text of the paper.

Point of view

This paper will be written in an academic style. Use third person point of view. Do not use “I” or “you.”

Formatting your assignment

Incorporate these elements of APA style:

Use one-inch margins.
Double space.
Use an easy-to-read font between 10-point and 12-point.
Include a title page with the title of your paper, your name, and the name of your school.