To get insurance or to not get insurance...that is the question

Nurses General Nursing

Published

  1. Do you carry insurance?

    • 97
      yes
    • 34
      no

131 members have participated

Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

Ok so something happened to me today at school that has me thinking. I am currently a LPN and have always carried throughout my entire career, and you could not convince me otherwise. Well, I am currently in a bridge program working on my RN. Today we were at clinicals, and we were just discussing the end of our day with our instructor. I had brought up something about malpractice insurance and to make sure you always have it. Our instructor highly emphasized that we DID NOT get malpractice insurance. I was baffled by this. She said most RN's she has ever worked with never carried it because it just puts a big red X on your back. She proceeded to tell us that even her ethics professor at her school told her not to get insurance as well. My instructor said that hospitals will cover you under their policy. Now I already knew this, but I also know that hospitals do not have our best interest, they have want to protect their own butts first.

I guess I just wanted to know what is everyone else's take on this? Do you carry malpractice insurance? It seems like it has always been drilled into my head to always have malpractice insurance, and now I have an instructor telling me no! I understand that it can target you, but still. I guess I'm just trying to figure out what I should do when I graduate. Of course, I'm going to watch my P's and Q's and follow protocol, but still I'm human and a mistake could always happen.

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Why would having it target you? The public doesn't know you have it. Your employer won't unless you tell them you do. If you're concerned don't tell anyone you have it.

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

She said that people can look it up online if you have it or not, therefor its public knowledge.

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Specializes in Urology, ENT.

I'd like to know where you can look up that you have insurance. I got mine because of something that happened to one of my parents. Dealing with the Board isn't fun, and even if you haven't done anything wrong, it's still a nightmare. There are some horribly petty people in our field who will turn you in for something stupid, or sometimes things look worse on paper than they actually were (one of my teachers had that problem).

I've been told that too that the hospitals have policies that can protect you, but yeah, their interests aren't your best interests. I haven't told anyone at my current job I have , and that's not something I put on a patient's chart either.

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Well that's the worst advice I've heard in a long time. Definitely get on your own, even if you are already covered by a policy through your employer.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
She said that people can look it up online if you have it or not, therefor its public knowledge.

I have carried for 35 years. I have not had the need to use it. The hospital will NEVER have your back! My schools ethics teacher advised all of us to have it.....35 years ago. You can't look it up on line. It is NOT public knowledge.

The hospital has malpractice insurance yon ou.....they have insurance so that if you make mistake and they get sued there is a kitty to pay for it...it has NOTHING what so ever to do with you getting personally sued that they will protect you.

Some school require nursing student to carry it.....does your school have that requirement?

In opinion one should ALWAYS carry malpractice insurance.

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

No our school doesnt require us to carry it. We are covered as students under our school. I was just so surprised that she was telling us all to nit get insurance and that no nurses today carry it.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

Your instructor is an idiot and should not be allowed to discuss this issue with students since her personal opinion could be detrimental to a nurse's future.

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Specializes in Peds, Med-Surg, Disaster Nsg, Parish Nsg.

You might want to read the article Should I Carry Malpractice (Liability) Insurance? in the Legal Nursing forum.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
No our school doesnt require us to carry it. We are covered as students under our school. I was just so surprised that she was telling us all to nit get insurance and that no nurses today carry it.

She isn't knowledgeable in this area....many nurses have . On this subject she is mistaken.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

This is one of the few times that I'd say to do NOT listen to your instructor.

No one can look up if you are insured. It's not visible on your license at all.

Hospitals may protect you under their policy...as long as it's in their best interests. If they have to chose between protecting you and protecting themselves, guess who loses?

It doesn't necessarily make you more prone to being sued. Yes, there's a possibility they may want to go after you as you have a policy that could pay out as opposed to poor uninsured Sally RN. But the same time, you're also got an insurance company that is going to fight to both defend you and to pay out as little as possible, so you're not necessarily a cash cow.

Whereas poor uninsured Sally RN can still be sued--yes, the uninsured CAN BE and ARE successfully sued--but she has no one to help defend her and her license unless she pays out of pocket. And should she lose that judgment, that might not be all she loses...

And then after that lawsuit you still have to deal with the BON. If you have insurance, you still have the attorney to help defend your livelihood. Going in front of the BON without an attorney usually does not bode well on one's license.

And keep in mind that we live in a litigation-happy society. People can and have sued for anything they could...it doesn't always means their case makes it to court, but lots of people try. So that lawsuit may not necessarily come from working at the hospital, but perhaps from some "advice" that you gave your neighbor, such as recommending a particular OTC.

Ignore your instructor and get the insurance. If it makes you feel better, don't tell anyone about it.

I've had it since day 1 of nursing school and I will never practice without it.

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Funny enough, during LPN school, I had an instructor pull me aside. We knew each other only in a social way (our kids went to school together, we saw each other in passing but not what I'd call 'friends'). Anyway, she told me she had no issues with me or my clinical performance but she highly advised I get even as a student because students were not immune to lawsuits. Being older she knew my husband and i owned our own home and had assets that could be gone after in a suit.

Went home that day and got a policy for students. I have held a policy ever since. I've worked too hard and too long to lose everything in a suit. Sleep much better knowing I have someone on MY side if the fecal matter hits the fan. The hospitals are out to protect themselves, not you. I'm out to protect myself. I'll maintain that policy for as long as I hold an RN license. :)

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