Malpractice Insurance?

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What do you pay for your (RN's)? Do you pay this amount monthly / yearly? Does this amount vary state by state? I've been given advice by a friend who is an RN to always have your own malpractice insurance, even though the hospital might say that you are covered under theirs because if something does happen, at the end of the day the hospital's interest will lie in protecting itself, not you. I'm a pre-nursing student and just gleaning nuggets of wisdom from current nurses.

Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.

You should have your own coverage. If you deviate from a policy and procedure, the hospital is going to boot you to the curb. Med error on your part...boot you to the curb.

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Specializes in Pulmonary med/surg/telemetry.
There are a bunch of existing threads here about the pros and supposed "cons" of carrying your own insurance -- I encourage you to take a look at them.

I'm confused... what possible cons could there be for carrying your own insurance?

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There are a bunch of existing threads here about the pros and supposed "cons" of carrying your own insurance -- I encourage you to take a look at them.

I'm confused... what possible cons could there be for carrying your own insurance?

That's why I put the word in quotes -- there are always a few people here, when this discussion comes up, who make various arguments about why insurance isn't necessary or is even a bad idea. It's hard for me to believe that there's anyone in nursing who still believes that stuff, but they're out there. (Notice the first response to the OP on this thread.)

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Specializes in Anesthesia.

That's why I put the word in quotes -- there are always a few people here, when this discussion comes up, who make various arguments about why insurance isn't necessary or is even a bad idea. It's hard for me to believe that there's anyone in nursing who still believes that stuff, but they're out there. (Notice the first response to the OP on this thread.)

Hmm....after having further discussion with my CRNA colleagues (Who work for the hospital and have been in practice for decades), I could not find one person who has purchased . As I have said before, as well as many other people in older, similar threads "Money Talks!" A lawyer is not going after a nurse making $60,000/year or a CRNA making $160,000/year. But...if you are implicated in a malpractice case as an RN and you do have insurance then they will go after 1.) You 2.) The doctor that you are working under (AKA: Captain of the Ship) and most importantly 3.) The hospital (The Deepest Pockets)

I do however have colleagues that do office based anesthesia such as plastics and they purchase for this type of practice. The reasoning behind this is that they are practicing anesthesia under a plastic surgeons license. If something happens to the pt. and gross negligence is caused on the anesthesia providers part, then they are at fault due to the plastic surgeons lack of education and specialization in anesthesia. Therefore, liability insurance is a must.

Now, if you are an APRN such as a Nurse Practitioner in certain settings, I could see why liability insurance would be necessary. But for the average Registered Nurse working in a hospital setting, insurance in my opinion is useless.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.

That is not true that they will go after you. They have to have cause. This is a decades old thought.

3 of my friends are CRNA's and they carry their own insurance. The person you practice under is NOT responsible for your actions, you are. And all the APN's that work as practitioners in my unit carry their own insurance also since our area is one of the highest litigated.

It really isn't useless, and that is your opinion, but as it as been stated, if you don't follow something to the letter in a policy or you make a mistake that causes harm, the hospital may not cover you. Never think you are perfect and will never make a mistake, because you are human and it can happen.

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Specializes in med/surg and dialysis.

I live in VA and in my first year as an RN and I strongly believe in caring my own . I believe only my personal insurer will have my best interests. I carry mine through my home owners insurance and it added less than $80/year for one million dollars in coverage.

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Can / should you get this as a student nurse? Thanks.

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Can / should you get this as a student nurse? Thanks.

At my school we were required to have it. I don't know if that is standard or not for most NS these days.

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Specializes in Cath Lab/ ICU.

Again, it's unbelievably naïve to not have , especially as an APN.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
Again, it's unbelievably naïve to not have malpractice insurance, especially as an APN.

Over 3/4 of my fellow staff CRNA's that I work with are >45 y/o with at least 15+ years experience in anesthesia (Not including prior nursing experience) None of them carry personal as we are comfortable with our hospital coverage and the fact that we work in an anesthesia care team setting with fellow anesthesiologists who sign their names on our records. The other 1/4 of staff CRNA's do not carry liability insurance either. I have trained with many other CRNA's from hospitals around the area as well and it applies to them as well. So, I guess we are all naive..... As far as being help liable, yes of course we can be held liable for gross negligence. But it is our job to be vigilant as we are taking care of our patients while under anesthesia. You have to do something really stupid to commit gross negligence when your job is to focus on one pt. at a time. I'm just telling you what I have come to know in my experience; if you don't agree go get yourself some insurance.....if it makes you sleep better at night.

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what great comments...thank you so much everyone. It is such a small investment for such a great benefit that I think I will be carrying my own private insurance. Now for the question posed by a PP...can/should you purchase and carry this insurance as a nursing student while performing clinicals?

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Specializes in Cath Lab/ ICU.

Yes, you can as a student nurse. I think its pretty cheap. Check out nso.com. I'm glad you see that this is the right thing to do!

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