It seems that about 2/3rds of the posts on here mention either being sued or losing your license...it doesn't seem to matter what the topic is someone makes a comment about losing your license or being sued.
I am curious as to whether this is a valid fear or whether this is part of fear-based nursing culture.
1. How many years have you been a nurse?
2. How many nurses do you know personally that have been sued?
3. How many of those nurses who were sued have had to testify in court?
4. How many of those who testified were found guilty?
5. How many nurses do you know personally who have lost their license for patient related (non-criminal) actions? (By non - criminal I mean not for cases of drug diverting or robbing a back or something where the nurse knows what they are doing is illegal and will result in losing their license)
Another thing is in the nursing application it clearly states that a DUI does fall into the category of a minor traffic violation when it asks you if you have ever been convicted
It seems that about 2/3rds of the posts on here mention either being sued or losing your license...it doesn't seem to matter what the topic is someone makes a comment about losing your license or being sued.
I am curious as to whether this is a valid fear or whether this is part of fear-based nursing culture.
1. How many years have you been a nurse?
2. How many nurses do you know personally that have been sued?
3. How many of those nurses who were sued have had to testify in court?
4. How many of those who testified were found guilty?
5. How many nurses do you know personally who have lost their license for patient related (non-criminal) actions? (By non - criminal I mean not for cases of drug diverting or robbing a back or something where the nurse knows what they are doing is illegal and will result in losing their license)
Thanks!
I told a group of my students that I would give them $100 if they could produce one case of a nurse from the Board of Nursing website disciplinary actions in our state that lost her license over a medical error.
I kept my $100.
I did the exercise to prove that this is a major myth in nursing. I can sue anyone on this message board for anything I want....doesn't mean I will ultimately collect. Suing and collecting are different things.
Nurses RARELY get sued. That is why you can get $2 million in Liability Insurance for less than $200 a year. It's because they rarely pay out. If it was common, it would be far more expensive.
Um I respectfully and completely disagree with you. A DUI will have your license pulled faster. Than you can blink and more than like no crime was ever commited especially not murder so you are wrong. The DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SAFETY works with BON to discipline if notified.
Depends on what state you are working in. DUI's in my state are traffic violations. They are not criminal convictions. They can become criminal convictions if you are a repeat offender.
I told a group of my students that I would give them $100 if they could produce one case of a nurse from the Board of Nursing website disciplinary actions in our state that lost her license over a medical error.
I kept my $100.
I did the exercise to prove that this is a major myth in nursing. I can sue anyone on this message board for anything I want....doesn't mean I will ultimately collect. Suing and collecting are different things.
Nurses RARELY get sued. That is why you can get $2 million in liability insurance for less than $200 a year. It's because they rarely pay out. If it was common, it would be far more expensive.
How do you define "medical error"? Because nurses do lose their licenses over practice issues ("medical errors"), depending on the severity and/or frequency of the errors. Not as frequently and easily as a lot of posters here are afraid of, but it does happen. Your state BON likely publishes the results of its disciplinary hearings on its website or in its newsletter, since they are public record. Did your students just not know where to look to find the info? Did you define "medical error" so narrowly that you knew there wouldn't be any cases that applied? Did you set a time frame for your challenge that was so narrow you knew your $100 was safe? Is your state BON so lax that no one ever gets disciplined, regardless? (That last one is a really scary thought ...)
My state does this. Makes for some very interesting reading sometimes!! I just read about a classmates disciplinary action, quite eye-opening!
I can't say anything for getting sued but if you go to the website for your state BON they sometimes have the minutes from their hearings/meetings available for download. I was surprised at the amount of nurses in these meetings who went before the board for DUI, drug diverting, practicing outside of the scope of nursing etc. I won't say there were tons, but enough to make me realize how prized my license will be to me.
My state does this. Makes for some very interesting reading sometimes!! I just read about a classmates disciplinary action, quite eye-opening!
In my hospital-based diploma program, a hundred years ago, the school took the senior class each year to a BON meeting, including sitting through the disciplinary hearings (which are open to the public, BTW). It was definitely enlightening and sobering, and a cautionary tale about how any of us could end up going "off the rails" if we're not careful (I'm quite sure none of the nurses who appeared before the board that day ever planned to, or even imagined that they could, get into that much trouble, until it happened).
Frankly, the other big takeaway for me from that experience was that, if I ever have to appear before the Board, I'm going to have an attorney with me. There was a huge difference between the hearings of the nurses who appeared without representation, and the one nurse who did have an attorney.
Are you speaking of the case in Wisconsin? If so, her license was suspended, not revoked. She got probation and was not allowed to work at a hospital or clinic that accepted Medicare reimbursement for 5 years.
Have been a nurse for six years (LPN)
I know 2 RN's who have lost license.
One gave an epider. drug thru IV line, and killed a woman.
The other had to do with a serious head injury, initially the doctor was not
notified immediately and the patient had serious injury.
Specializes in ER, ICU/CCU, Open Heart OR Recovery, Etc.
Frankly, the other big takeaway for me from that experience was that, if I ever have to appear before the Board, I'm going to have an attorney with me. There was a huge difference between the hearings of the nurses who appeared without representation, and the one nurse who did have an attorney.
How do you define "medical error"? Because nurses do lose their licenses over practice issues ("medical errors"), depending on the severity and/or frequency of the errors. Not as frequently and easily as a lot of posters here are afraid of, but it does happen. Your state BON likely publishes the results of its disciplinary hearings on its website or in its newsletter, since they are public record. Did your students just not know where to look to find the info? Did you define "medical error" so narrowly that you knew there wouldn't be any cases that applied? Did you set a time frame for your challenge that was so narrow you knew your $100 was safe? Is your state BON so lax that no one ever gets disciplined, regardless? (That last one is a really scary thought ...)
Did you really think I gave an assignment and not tell them where to find the information? I not only showed them I emailed the link and pulled up the computer and told them exactly how to access it.
The med error was wide open. Any med error.
Oh...the time frame ran for the remainder of the semester. It was given about three weeks in after I got tired of these urban myths being spread by other instructors and senior nurses at the hospital.
By the way...the vast majority of practice issue disciplines do not result in the loss of a license they result in a suspension unless there is documentation that it is repetitive.
The loss of license occurs when the nurse false charts to cover it up.
standupspeakout
39 Posts
Another thing is in the nursing application it clearly states that a DUI does fall into the category of a minor traffic violation when it asks you if you have ever been convicted