| Course | INHE 3004 Legal and Ethical Issues in Integrative Health Care |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 10 |
| Paper type | Peer rebuttal |
| Length | About 480 words, 3 pages |
| Format | Discussion reply, APA 7 citations |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | BS in Integrative Health |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for INHE 3004 Week 10
Week 10 Discussion: Rebutting a Classmate's Legal Conclusion
The Statute the Conclusion Skipped: A Peer Rebuttal on Whether an Unlicensed Health Coach May Write a Meal Plan for a Client With Diabetes in California
Where the Argument Went Wrong
Jordan, your post concluded that a health coach in California may lawfully write a meal plan for a client with type 2 diabetes because "health coaching is not a licensed profession, so there is nothing to violate." The premise is right: California does not license health coaches. But the conclusion skips the statute that actually decides the question.
California's Business and Professions Code section 2068 says that the medical practice chapter does not prohibit anyone from providing nutritional advice, defined as information about the use and role of food and food ingredients, including dietary supplements. The same section then says this permission confers no authority to undertake the prevention, treatment or cure of disease, and it requires anyone giving nutritional advice commercially to post a notice saying so (California Legislative Information, 2026a). So the law protects general nutrition advice by anyone, and it expressly withholds protection from nutrition used to treat a disease.
Diabetes is a disease, and a meal plan written for a particular client to manage her blood sugar is aimed at treating it. On the text of section 2068, that falls outside the protection, which returns the coach to the general prohibition on practicing medicine without a license unless some other route applies.
Why the Answer Shifts
The answer turns on what the coach actually provides. If the coach shares general information, such as how fiber slows the rise in blood sugar after a meal or how to read carbohydrate counts on labels, section 2068 protects it. If the coach writes an individualized plan with portions and timing designed to control the client's diabetes, the coach has moved into treatment.
California does give that work a lawful home. Registered dietitians may provide nutritional and dietary counseling and develop therapeutic diets upon referral from a health care provider authorized to prescribe dietary treatments, with a written prescription detailing the diagnosis (California Legislative Information, 2026b). The legislature has set out who does medical nutrition therapy and on what referral, which makes it harder to argue that an unlicensed coach may do the same thing simply because coaching itself is unlicensed.
What the Coach Can Do
The coach can still help a great deal: supporting the client's goals, helping her follow a plan her dietitian or physician wrote, and sharing general nutrition information. The ethical case for staying in that lane is as strong as the legal one, since a mistaken plan can cause dangerous lows for a client on certain diabetes drugs, and avoiding harm requires that a practitioner not take on risks they are not trained to manage (Beauchamp & Childress, 2019).
Would you agree that your conclusion holds for general advice but not for an individualized treatment plan?
References
Beauchamp, T. L., & Childress, J. F. (2019). Principles of biomedical ethics (8th ed.). Oxford University Press.
California Legislative Information. (2026a). Business and Professions Code section 2068. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=2068
California Legislative Information. (2026b). Business and Professions Code section 2586. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=2586
What the INHE 3004 Week 10 instructions ask for
Near the end of the term, rebuttal assignments have students respond to a classmate's legal or ethical conclusion with which they disagree. Prompts usually require the rebuttal to identify the specific flaw in the classmate's reasoning and to support the correction with law or recognized ethical sources. Instructors look for disagreement grounded in a cited source, respectful tone and a constructive alternative. Rebuttals that restate a different opinion without engaging the classmate's reasoning, or that cite no source, usually score below rebuttals that pinpoint the missing step and show how it changes the answer. Some instructors want each rebuttal to close by asking the classmate something answerable.
How the INHE 3004 Week 10 example is put together
The rebuttal quotes the classmate's conclusion and grants its premise. It then summarizes section 2068's permission for nutritional advice and its express limit on treating disease, including the required notice. A paragraph applies the limit to an individualized diabetes meal plan. A section shows how the answer shifts between general information and treatment, and cites the separate statute giving registered dietitians a role in medical nutrition therapy on referral. A section describes what the coach can still do and adds an ethical reason, citing the principles text. A closing question invites the classmate to narrow the conclusion. The rebuttal runs about five hundred words and quotes the classmate's conclusion before answering it. Section numbers appear with every statutory point so the classmate can check them. It grants the classmate's premise before correcting the conclusion.
Where the marks sit in the INHE 3004 Week 10 rubric
Instructors generally reward rebuttals that pinpoint the missing step, and identifying section 2068 as the statute the classmate skipped secures the main share. Quoting the statute's limit, rather than asserting one, earns credit for rigor. Showing how the answer depends on what the coach actually provides demonstrates nuanced application. Pointing to the dietitian statute shows the student understands the legislature's design. Describing what the coach may still do keeps the rebuttal constructive. Tone stays collegial throughout, and each statute and the ethics text is cited in APA style. Giving section numbers with every point lets the classmate verify the rebuttal for themselves.
Common INHE 3004 Week 10 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Read your classmate's argument and find the exact step you disagree with. Locate the statute or source that bears on that step and quote it. Show how it changes the conclusion, and under what facts it would not. Grant whatever is right in the classmate's premise. Offer a narrower conclusion they could accept. Keep the tone collegial. If you are not sure which statute governs your classmate's question, a sample rebuttal for the case can show where to look. Include the section number with every statutory point. Close by asking your classmate something they can actually answer. Thank the classmate for the premise they got right.
Get a INHE 3004 Week 10 example written to your instructions
Forward the post you are answering, your section's reply rules, the prompt and the rubric, and a rebuttal aimed at that post arrives within 24-48h, free as a first sample. Names are removed before drafting begins. Its legal argument is confined to the state in your prompt and addresses a thread, not any working coach.
More INHE 3004 papers and BS in Integrative Health samples
- INHE 3004 Week 1: Law Versus Ethics Post
- INHE 3004 Week 2: Autonomy Ethics Memo
- INHE 3004 Week 3: Scope Brief
- INHE 3004 Week 4: Statute Summary
- INHE 3004 Week 5: Case Analysis
- INHE 3004 Week 6: Continue Care Post
- INHE 3004 Week 7: Consent Form Review
- INHE 3004 Week 8: Advertising Audit
- INHE 3004 Week 9: Privacy Policy Critique
- INHE 3004 Week 11: Closing Reflection
- INHE 3003 Week 10: Peer Response Replies
- INHE 4001 Week 10: Decision Case
- INHE 3002 Week 10: Source Appraisal
- INHE 4009 Week 10: Position Paper
INHE 3004 Week 10 questions, answered
Where can I find a free INHE 3004 Week 10 sample paper?
The rebuttal on the health coach and the diabetes meal plan is reproduced on this page.
Is health coaching licensed in California?
No, which is the true premise of the classmate's argument.
What does section 2068 allow?
Anyone may give nutritional advice about food and supplements, but not treat disease.
Why is a diabetes meal plan different?
An individualized plan to control blood sugar is aimed at treating a disease.
Who may provide medical nutrition therapy in California?
Registered dietitians, on referral from a provider with a written prescription.