5 Malpractice Myths Nurses Need to Stop Repeating
Nursing has a fascinating oral tradition.
We pass knowledge from nurse to nurse, preceptor to orientee, charge nurse to staff nurse.
Some of it is incredibly useful clinical wisdom that you'll never find in a textbook.
And some of it is the senior nurse confidently telling the new grad that she should never buy malpractice insurance because plaintiff attorneys will find out she has a million-dollar policy and target her because she's a “deep pocket.” What I want to know is
How the hell do you know, Pam?
I've heard some version of these legal “rules” my entire nursing career.
They're repeated by professors, preceptors, veteran nurses, risk managers, and (of course) people on social media.
And they're usually delivered with absolute certainty.
- The hospital will throw you under the bus.
- You could get called into court 20 years from now.
- Patients will sue over anything.
- That outcome was terrible. Someone must have done something wrong.
- Never get your own malpractice insurance. It puts a target on your back.
The thing about nursing malpractice is that the truth is usually a lot less dramatic than the folklore.
So let's take on five of my favorites.
Not an exhaustive list.
Just some of the best (ahem, worst) I've come across.
