How does liability work in nursing?

[Dental Hygienist]

I know that in the event of actual litigation; things will vary greatly based on each individual situation but I just want some general information on how a nurse's liability plays out.

I don't understand much about the nursing profession yet; but I get the feeling that a lot of what a nurse does is based on doctor's orders.

Hypothetical situation #1: Dr. makes an order. nurse performs the duty, patient is hurt, patient sues, turns out the doctor was wrong/made a mistake; nurse could not have been expected to know it was a mistake: what kind of liability does the nurse have?

Hypothetical situation #2: Dr. makes an order; but there is a mistake in the order that the nurse would be expected to recognize, but she performs the duty anyways without questioning, patient is hurt, patient sues; what is the nurses liability?

Hypothetical situation #3: Dr. makes an order; nurse recognized a mistake in the order and questions the doctor about the order and raises her concerns, Dr. instructs her to perform the duty anyways, nurse performs the duty, patient is hurt, patient sues; what is the nurses liability?

I realize that only so much can be learned through analyzing hypothetical situations; but I'm really curious how a nurse is legally expected to conduct him/herself when doctors orders are wrong?

The reason that I'm so curious is because I work in dentistry and I occasionally get bad orders from the dentist, and in my profession if I were to perform those duties that violated the "standard of care" I would likely share some of the liability with the dentist. (which is why I carry my own malpractice insurance!) Just curious how it goes with nursing.

[Soup Turtle]

I know that in the event of actual litigation; things will vary greatly based on each individual situation but I just want some general information on how a nurse's liability plays out.

I don't understand much about the nursing profession yet; but I get the feeling that a lot of what a nurse does is based on doctor's orders.

Hypothetical situation #1: Dr. makes an order. nurse performs the duty, patient is hurt, patient sues, turns out the doctor was wrong/made a mistake; nurse could not have been expected to know it was a mistake: what kind of liability does the nurse have?

Hypothetical situation #2: Dr. makes an order; but there is a mistake in the order that the nurse would be expected to recognize, but she performs the duty anyways without questioning, patient is hurt, patient sues; what is the nurses liability?

Hypothetical situation #3: Dr. makes an order; nurse recognized a mistake in the order and questions the doctor about the order and raises her concerns, Dr. instructs her to perform the duty anyways, nurse performs the duty, patient is hurt, patient sues; what is the nurses liability?

I realize that only so much can be learned through analyzing hypothetical situations; but I'm really curious how a nurse is legally expected to conduct him/herself when doctors orders are wrong?

The reason that I'm so curious is because I work in dentistry and I occasionally get bad orders from the dentist, and in my profession if I were to perform those duties that violated the "standard of care" I would likely share some of the liability with the dentist. (which is why I carry my own malpractice insurance!) Just curious how it goes with nursing.

...just a student, but from what I've been taught #2 and #3 would be situations where a nurse could be considered at fault.

I don't know about 1, but I'm guessing if it's within your scope of practice you should know something about it.

[ready4crna?]

In all of the scenarios you have presented, including number 1, the nurse is culpable for any negligent act. Ignorance is not an excuse. If you are a RN, you are held to the standard of care for a similarly experienced/educated RN. If a nurse performs an act that they are not trained/educated/experienced in, then they are negligent according to nearly all nurse practice acts (duty to not perform an act).

Above all, our profession is one of patient protection. If a physician gives an order that is questionable or one that a particular nurse cannot carry out, it should be moved up the chain of command until resolution is met. It is the duty of the RN to see that care is provided in a safe manner, not to blindly follow physicians wherever they may try to lead.

[anonymurse]

I realize that only so much can be learned through analyzing hypothetical situations; but I'm really curious how a nurse is legally expected to conduct him/herself when doctors orders are wrong?

You are expected to conduct yourself at all times and under all circumstances as any reasonable person constrained by the terms of your NPA and with your education and experience would conduct themselves in a quiet environment with no distractions and all the time in the world to think things over--that is to say, the environment of a courtroom or closed chambers, which is where your jury or BoN will be abstractly examining and speculating over every nuance of your words and actions.