Career ending mistakes?

class 5 · May 29, 2008

First let me say that i've had 80 year olds that are like magicians and can get out of a posey vest or wrist restraints in a heartbeat!!As nurses we do our best to keep our patients safe and especially the confused pt. who climbs out of the bed..I have seen pt. falls even when the pt. was across from the nurses station..and I have had 9 pt. with at least 2-3 with periods of confusion and on fall precautions..and yes it's difficult because I can't be in 9 places at once.. frequent rounding, bed alarms,safety restraints, help from other staff such as cna's and other rn's on the floor, and when possible a sitter are ways we can prevent/reduce the number of pt. falls...I always was told by my mentors to have your own personal insurance it's a good idea to look into that...the annual premium is not bad under 100 bucks for most...

cupcake25 · May 29, 2008

You definitely need your own malpractice policy. If something bad happens where you work you can believe they are not going to back you up. I would never go to work without it. If an incident happens you have a lawyer. I get my policy from nurses service organization and it only costs me $98 per year. Take my advice and get it.

TazziRN, RN · May 29, 2008

I read your entire post and focused in on the part about insurance. Hospitals will tell you that but don't believe them. At all. They will indeed represent you if ever hit with a lawsuit, but the instant they find out that the blame can be shifted to you, they will do it in a heartbeat. You need your own policy.

Valerie Salva, BSN, RN · May 29, 2008

Elderly fall all the time, especially with the new "no restraints" policies. Pts will fall on your shift. It's a common occurance. Medicare does pay for injuries sustained in a fall at a facility.

In no way is a pt falling on your shift "career ending!" If you work in the understaffed world of LTC, it's a regular occurance, and is expected.

I also have my own malpractice insurance. You don't have to tell anyone you have it- how can having insurance make you a target if no one knows you have it?

Mine costs $28. a year, as it is a rider on my homeowners ins.

I know of two nurses who had their licenses revoked. In both cases, it because of substance abuse/alcoholism. Each nurse was required to participate in her state's impaired nurse program. They did not comply with the program's requirements and their licenses were revoked.

aeauooo · May 29, 2008

Chill.

"Career ending errors" are extremely rare. You will more than likely know you are on that track long before you get there.

Medication errors happen - every nurse has made at least one (that is, at best, an understatement). Giving a med late is not, IMO, a medication error, it's a fact of life.

Patients fall. When I sat on a products-evaluation committee, a rep from Posey came talk to us. One of the first things he said was, "Patients have the right to fall." It happens, and you'll feel awful when it does. It will make you cringe when you think about it for years afterwards, but there would be very few nurses practicing if the career of every nurse who had a patient fall on her/his shift ended as a result.

Even getting sued is not necessarily "career ending."

You may get fired for a serious error. You may get reported to the BON for a serious error, but the board will probably be more fair in their treatment of you than your former employer, who was trying to placate an angry patient or family.

I know that the BON of a couple of states in which I've been licensed publish lists of nurses who have had their licenses suspended or revoked or have had disciplinary actions taken against them. If you're curious, you can peruse those lists to find the reasons for those actions.

Revoking a license is usually the end result of failure to comply with the actions of the BON, not a single error.

futurecnm · May 29, 2008

we just learned about a lot of this recently in class. mistakes happen. falls happen. bad things happen, even to nurses. nurses are human. mistakes are mainly due to system errors and this is why there is incident reporting. this helps to identify potential errors and real errors. it helps to improve the system. even nurses who have substance abuse problems can retain their license if they go through the right treatment.

labrador4122, RN · May 29, 2008

Emsillystudent,

I feel the same way as you. As a new grad, IDnotK who to belive and what to belive.

Everyday I try to do my best, follow all the rules of the hospital and re-check myself before doing a new task.

I am wondering the same thing too. how do people lose their licenses?

I saw a case on forensic files, and the victims were a mom, an RN and a kid- a kid who was born premature and the vent for some reason did not work or the nurses did not put on the right parameters- anywho they sued and got 2 million dollars settlement- the husband wanted it and killed the mom, RN and kid for it.

but my point is that the kid ended up with mental retardation because of that vent problem.... does that mean that the nurse or doctor lost their license because of it.

in that case, would insurance represent the nurse or doctor.

i don't understand how that works.

TakeTwoAspirin, MSN, RN, APRN · May 29, 2008

So far as malpractice insurance goes, as far as I am concerned my home, my possessions, my retirement savings, etc., are my assets. Why would I trust it to someone else to protect them? Get your own insurance and protect yourself. Believe me, the hospital will be protecting itself if anything goes wrong and you should do likewise.

JaneyW · May 29, 2008

My husband is an insurance defense lawyer. He is hired by insurance companies to defend policy-holders when they are sued. The reason to have your own policy is to have your own lawyer defending only you. You will also have a lawyer from the hospital's policy, but they will have bigger interests than just you. To hire your own attorney would cost at least a $5,000 retainer. My husband charges almost $200 an hour and is on the cheap side. A meeting and a couple of phone calls and you are about 2-3 times the cost of the policy--buy one!

tanthalas · May 29, 2008

Are lawsuits really that common against docs and nurses in the USA?

rph3664 · May 29, 2008

Emsillystudent,
I feel the same way as you. As a new grad, IDnotK who to belive and what to belive.
Everyday I try to do my best, follow all the rules of the hospital and re-check myself before doing a new task.
I am wondering the same thing too. how do people lose their licenses?
I saw a case on forensic files, and the victims were a mom, an RN and a kid- a kid who was born premature and the vent for some reason did not work or the nurses did not put on the right parameters- anywho they sued and got 2 million dollars settlement- the husband wanted it and killed the mom, RN and kid for it.
but my point is that the kid ended up with mental retardation because of that vent problem.... does that mean that the nurse or doctor lost their license because of it.
in that case, would insurance represent the nurse or doctor.
i don't understand how that works.

I thought that little boy was on a vent because he had meningitis and it destroyed his respiratory center.

Anyway, one of the most common causes in my state for professional license revocation - any license - is refusal to pay child support. Most people would be surprised at how many of these nonpayers are women, but I wasn't because I once volunteered at a food pantry.

The most common cause is substance abuse, and that's the case with non-medical licensees as well, with one exception, and that is locksmiths. Their most common issue is lying about their criminal records. :specs:

This is certainly true for pharmacy, and probably for nursing as well, but an error is NOT going to cost you your license unless you did it on purpose.