Citing Hospital Policies: The Apa Style Guide

how to apa cite a hospital policy

The American Psychological Association (APA) style is commonly used for academic writing and citations, particularly in the social and behavioral sciences. While the APA manual provides extensive guidelines on how to cite various sources, it may not cover all types of sources in detail, such as hospital policies. In such cases, it is recommended to refer to other resources, such as the APA Style Blog, which offers guidance on citing unusual material. Additionally, for legal citations, APA suggests consulting The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. This guide will provide an overview of the basics of APA citation style and how it can be adapted to cite hospital policies and similar sources.

Characteristics Values
Organisation that made the policy Organisation Name (Year)
Government author Government Author (Year)
Title of report Title of Report: Subtitle of Report (Report No. ###)
URL URL
Bills passed into law Cited as public laws
Title Title [if relevant], bill or resolution number, xxx Cong. (year)
Statute Name of Statute, Title number Source § Section number(s) (Year)
Government website Same as any other website
Entity Name Entity Name (Date)
Title of document [Format description (optional)]
URL URL
Author Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day)
Title of article Title of Article (Year)
Title of Newspaper Title of Newspaper
URL URL

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Citing a hospital policy as a public law

When citing a hospital policy as a public law in APA format, it is important to note that organisational policies are treated differently from laws or statutes. Hospital policies are usually internal or publicly available documents that are not published in legal codes. Here are some guidelines to follow:

Author: The author of a hospital policy is typically the organisation itself, such as the name of the hospital or healthcare institution. If the document is confidential or internal, you may need to anonymise the author's name.

Date: Use the publication date of the policy. If no specific date is provided, use "n.d." (no date).

Format: APA format for websites with organisational authors is as follows:

> Name of Organisation or Author. (Date). Title of document [Format description (optional)]. URL

For example:

> Johns Hopkins Hospital. (2023). Patient Safety Policy. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/patient_safety_policy.pdf

If the hospital policy is an unpublished, internal document that is not accessible to the public, it is considered a "non-recoverable" source by APA. In this case, you would treat it as a personal communication and mention it in the text, following the guidelines in the APA Manual, 7th Edition, for citing reports and grey literature.

When citing a hospital policy as a public law, it is also important to consult legal citation styles. APA does not specialise in legal citations, so you may need to refer to other style guides like the Bluebook for additional guidance on citing statutes and public laws. This is especially relevant if you are citing a bill that has been passed into law, in which case you would follow the format for citing public laws or statutes.

> Name of the Statute, Title number Source § Section number(s), Year

For example:

> Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2654 (2006)

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Citing a hospital policy as a government website

When citing a hospital policy as a government website using the APA style, it is crucial to follow specific guidelines to ensure accurate and consistent referencing. Here are detailed instructions on how to structure and format your citations:

Understanding the Basic Structure

The basic structure for citing a government website in APA style consists of the following elements:

  • Entity Name or Author: Start by mentioning the name of the government entity or organization responsible for the hospital policy. This could be a specific department, ministry, or agency.
  • Date: Provide the date when the hospital policy was published or last updated. Include the day, month, and year if available.
  • Title of Document: Clearly state the title of the hospital policy document. If there is a format description available, such as a document type (e.g., PDF, HTML), you can include it in brackets after the title.
  • URL: Include the web address where the hospital policy document can be accessed online.

Formatting the Citation

Now, let's format the citation using the information we have:

Basic Format:

Entity Name. (Date). Title of document [Format description (optional)]. URL

Example:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017, April 6). Health in all policies. https://www.cdc.gov/policy/hiap/index.html

In-Text Citations

When referring to the hospital policy within the text of your document, you can use a shortened version of the citation:

In-Text Citation Example:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017)

Additional Considerations

  • If the hospital policy is an unpublished or internal document that is not accessible to the public, APA considers it a "non-recoverable" source. In such cases, you might need to anonymize the organization's name or use "n.d." if the date is unknown.
  • When citing bills that have been passed into law, refer to them as public laws or statutes, following the specific guidelines for legal citations.
  • The APA Style Blog is a valuable resource for unusual citation scenarios. If you need further clarification or encounter complex sources, refer to the blog for additional guidance.

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Citing a hospital policy as a bill

When citing a hospital policy as a bill in APA format, it is important to note that APA does not specialize in legal citations. If your citation varies from the standard APA format, it is suggested that you consult the Bluebook, a uniform system of citation commonly used in legal writing.

For a bill that has been passed into law, it should be cited as a public law. Here is an example of how to cite a hospital policy as a bill that has been enacted into law:

For example, if you are citing a hospital policy on continuous bladder irrigation from 2020, the citation would look like this:

Continuous Bladder Irrigation Policy (2020). BD-00-12-40111.

If you are citing an unenacted bill, you should gather the following information: the title of the bill, the bill or resolution number, and the congressional number and year. Here is an example of how to cite an unenacted bill:

For example, if you are citing a bill on mental health parity from 2018 that has not been enacted, the citation would look like this:

Mental Health Parity Bill, H.R. 1234, 115th Cong. (2018).

Remember to include as much information as possible in your citation to ensure that your reader can easily find the reference.

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Citing a hospital policy as a court case

The APA referencing style is commonly used when citing sources in academic writing. While APA does not specialize in legal citations, this answer will outline how to cite a hospital policy as a court case in APA format, based on the guidance and examples provided by the APA Style Blog, the APA Publication Manual, and other academic sources.

Citing a Hospital Policy as an Organizational Policy

Hospital policies are typically considered organizational policies and can be cited as such in APA format. Organizational policies are treated differently from laws or statutes and usually aren't published in legal codes. Instead, they are internal or publicly available documents. The author of an organizational policy is usually the organization itself, such as a hospital or healthcare institution.

In-Text Citations

In-text citations for organizational policies follow the typical APA in-text citation format. For example, if citing the Mayo Clinic's policy, the in-text citation would be "(Mayo Clinic, 2022)" if the policy was published in 2022. If the date is unknown, use "n.d."

Reference List Entry

For the reference list entry, APA format dictates specific guidelines for listing authors, publication dates, and titles. The author of a hospital policy is typically the hospital or healthcare institution, which serves as the organizational author. The publication year goes within parentheses, followed by a period. Here is an example of how a hospital policy reference might look:

Mayo Clinic. (2022). *Title of Hospital Policy in Sentence Case*.

Note that the title of the policy is italicized and in sentence case, meaning only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.

Now, let's turn to the specific request of citing a hospital policy as a court case. While APA style may not specifically address this scenario, we can draw on the principles of legal citation within APA to construct a possible format.

In-Text Citation

Following the structure of legal citations in APA, an in-text citation for a hospital policy as a court case might appear as follows:

*Hospital Name* v. *Plaintiff Name*, Year)

For example: (St. Mary's Hospital v. Johnson, 2022)

Reference List Entry

For the reference list entry, we can adapt the structure of a court case citation. Here is a suggested format:

Hospital Name v. Plaintiff Name, Volume Number, Page Number (Court Abbreviation Year).

Using our previous example, the reference list entry could be structured as:

St. Mary's Hospital v. Johnson, 541 N.E.2d 325 (Mass. 2022).

In this example, "Mass." is the abbreviation for the Massachusetts court, and "2022" indicates the year the case was decided.

It is important to consult the APA Publication Manual, the Bluebook, and other comprehensive guides for legal citations in APA to ensure accuracy and consistency in your references.

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Citing a hospital policy as a statute

The APA Style does not specialize in legal citations. However, it does provide some guidance on citing statutes, which are bills that have been enacted into law (P.L.).

If you are citing a hospital policy as a statute, you can follow the general format for citing statutes in APA Style. This format includes the following elements:

Name of the Statute, Title number Source § Section number(s), Year

For example: Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2654 (2006).

Alternatively, you can use the following abbreviated format:

For example: Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (2006) or (Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 2006).

If the hospital policy you are citing is a public law, you should follow the instructions for citing statutes. This involves including the following elements:

Organization that made the policy (year), Title of the policy (Policy No. if applicable), URL

For example: American Heart Association (2019).

It's important to note that if the hospital policy is an internal document that is not publicly available, APA refers to it as a 'non-recoverable' source. In this case, you can anonymize the author or organization's name, for example, "Hospital A." If the date is unknown, you can use "n.d." in place of the date.

Additionally, if the hospital policy is available on a website, you can cite it as you would any other website in APA format:

Name of Organization or Author. (Date). Title. URL

For example: NSW Ministry of Health. (2022). Protecting people and property: NSW Health policy and standards for security risk management in NSW Health agencies. https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/policies/manuals/Pages/protecting-people-property.aspx

Frequently asked questions

If the hospital policy you are citing is a public law, follow the instructions for citing statutes. The basic template is: Name of Statute, Title number Source § Section number(s) (Year). For example: Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2654 (2006).

Bills that have been passed into law need to be cited as public laws. The basic template is: Title [if relevant], bill or resolution number, xxx Cong. (year). For example: Presidential Funding Act of 2010, S. 3681, 111th Cong. (2010).

The basic template for citing a state statute in APA format is: Name of Act, State abbreviation Gen. Laws ch. Chapter Number, § Section Number (Year). URL. For example: Nurse Anesthetist and Nurse Practitioner Services, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 176A, § 8S (2019). https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXII/Chapter176A/Section8S.

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