The Governance of Science, Essay Example

Health care providers have the responsibilities of setting some policy agenda at individual, systems, institutional as well as the public level. Policy making is therefore acrucial duty for professionals in health care in the clinical settings, academia, the community as well as the entire health care systems. Development, formulation of effective policies in health care would certainly require an understanding of government structures to gin an insight of division of roles and duties and their effective implementation. It is therefore crucial to understand how the four levels of government operate namely the Executive Branch, Legislative Branch and its role in policy, the formation of a law and the Judicial Court System

The function of the Executive Branch

The Executive Branch of the government is headed by the president whose role includes the head of state as well as Commander-in-Chief of defense. The vice president is an equally important position assisting the president and may take over the role when necessary (Steve, 2000). The executive is accountable to policy and regulations implementation as guided by the constitution.

The Legislative Branch and its role in policy

The Legislative Branch is an arm of government that works hand in hand with the judiciary and the executive. The most important role of Legislative Branch in policy is formulation of laws. The powers conferred to the legislative branch by the constitution empower it to make new laws and amend the existing ones. The executive can only sign a bill in to law once it has been acted upon in the legislative arm (Steve, 2000).

Formation of a law

A bill is introduced in the house for the committee to hear after which the chairman of the committee recommends a report with a description of the intention of a particular legislation, its impact and the views of the majority in the house. The bill is subjected to the floor of the house for debate and subsequent voting. The bill is referred to the other house to follow the same procedure, which may recommend minor changes and then it is taken back to the house of origin to concur voting. After passing the bill, it is taken to the president for ascent to become a law (Steve, 2000).

Judicial Court System

The Judicial Court System comprises of the District Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Every system in this regard has its distinctive legal functions for the criminal as well as civil cases.

Reference

Steve F., (2000).  The Governance of Science: Ideology and the Future of the Open Society Buckingham: Open University Press.