[elk007]

What is the best way to go about getting insurance? How much coverage should a graduate nurse carry?

[JRD2002]

I don't carry any and depending on what facility you work at you might not need any. The hospital I work at pays for all legal fees for its nurses and will stand by them even if it is only the nurse getting sued and not the hospital. Granted my hospital has a low incidence of lawsuits and it continues to decrease. I would contact the administration department of the facility you are going to work at and ask them if they recommend that you get liability insurance.

[november551]

Originally Posted by JRD2002

I don't carry any and depending on what facility you work at you might not need any. The hospital I work at pays for all legal fees for its nurses and will stand by them even if it is only the nurse getting sued and not the hospital.

My hospital says that too, but I don't really 100% trust them. To be honest :P Not only that, but what if you get hit with the lawsuit after you stop working there?

[tampaflrn6]

www.NSO.com

One of my nursing instructor who has a PH D in nursing, and works for a malpractice lawyer suggested NSO.

[tampaflrn6]

Forgot to mention.... this website www.nso.com gives you a free quote on their website plus if your a recent graduate nurse (1st year) they automatically give you a discount.

[JRD2002]

Originally Posted by november551

My hospital says that too, but I don't really 100% trust them. To be honest :P Not only that, but what if you get hit with the lawsuit after you stop working there?

I have been with this hospital for 5+ years so I have built up my trust with them. However, that is a good point about the lawsuit being filed after I stop working there.

[elkpark]

There have been a bunch of threads on this topic over the years. You can find them with the "search" button it you want to review some pros and cons. Here is one recent thread (that I could find easily because I posted on it):

http://allnurses.com/forums/f224/nur...ce-292946.html

I'm one of those nurses who would never consider working a single day without my own coverage. If you really believe that your employer would cover you if/when the doo-doo hits the fan, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you!

My father, a (now retired) MD, advised me 'way back when I was in nursing school to never work without my own coverage and never depend on an employer to protect me, and everything I've seen in nursing over the almost 25 years since then has just reinforced to me what good advice that was ...

[Megsd]

Originally Posted by november551

Not only that, but what if you get hit with the lawsuit after you stop working there?

It depends what kind of malpractice insurance the hospital has. Some will A) cover YOU during the time you work there, and some will B) cover EVENTS that OCCURRED while you worked there.

So if I work for a hospital under condition A, and something happened a year ago while I worked there, but now I work elsewhere, I'm out of luck.

But if I work for a hospital who has type B insurance, and something happened a year ago while I worked there, I'm covered because the event took place while I was employed there.

My hospital has the second type of malpractice insurance, so I am covered forever for anything that happens during the course of my employment. I still currently have my own insurance (my student policy is good till August) and I haven't decided whether to continue carrying my own.

[elkpark]

Originally Posted by Megsd

But if I work for a hospital who has type B insurance, and something happened a year ago while I worked there, I'm covered because the event took place while I was employed there.

My hospital has the second type of malpractice insurance, so I am covered forever for anything that happens during the course of my employment. I still currently have my own insurance (my student policy is good till August) and I haven't decided whether to continue carrying my own.

The reality is that you are probably still out of luck if the hospital has "type B" insurance, because the first thing that happens when something gawd-awful happens in a hospital is that the attorneys and risk-management people start looking around for who they can blame in order to reduce the facility's liability, and if there is any way at all that they can blame it on some poor schmoe nurses, they do it in a heartbeat and leave you to dangle in the wind. I have seen this happen (to others) many times during the years I spent working as a hospital surveyor/inspector.

Please, everyone, look into this issue carefully and don't just assume that your employer will take care of you! They will throw you under a bus at any moment if that will serve the interests of the facility ... I truly find it very hard to believe that anyone, in this day and age, still trusts an employer to look out for her/his best interests -- the world just doesn't work that way anymore.

[yellow finch]

Originally Posted by JRD2002

I don't carry any and depending on what facility you work at you might not need any. The hospital I work at pays for all legal fees for its nurses and will stand by them even if it is only the nurse getting sued and not the hospital. Granted my hospital has a low incidence of lawsuits and it continues to decrease. I would contact the administration department of the facility you are going to work at and ask them if they recommend that you get liability insurance.

I've heard this as well... however, if something you've done is even slightly outside the realm of the hospital's policy they won't think twice about telling you they won't back you up. Know your policies and buy personal insurance. Mine is $250/year being a NP student, but it's far less than the millions that some people sue for. I kinda like the house I live in.