new grad, insurance?

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As a new nurse, do I need to purchase insurance or is this something that is taken out of my paycheck my the hospital I work for?

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

What kind of insurance are you referring to? Health insurance? If so, most organizations will have you complete a benefit enrollment when you become eligible and then deduct the portion you are responsible for paying from your check. If you're referring to , that's something you do on your own.

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yes . So it is optional?

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
yes malpractice insurance. So it is optional?

Always purchase your own. Don't assume your work will have any or that it will cover you. Because at the end of the day, work is only looking to cover themselves not you.

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Do most nurses have this? It wasn't ever mentioned in nursing school. It still hasn't been mentioned to me. I don't know where to begin.

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
Do most nurses have this? It wasn't ever mentioned in nursing school. It still hasn't been mentioned to me. I don't know where to begin.

Yes, most nurses have it. I know, they didn't tell me about it in nursing school either. I wish I had known about AN then. Thank goodness nothing happened to me when I was working!

NSO is a popular choice, I don't know the other one.

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Specializes in Healthcare risk management and liability.

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/one-healthcare-risk-999441.html

Read this before you make a decision.

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Specializes in retired LTC.

OP - please, oh please! Get yourself . As a new grad, you'll prob qualify for a discount. Even for us regulars, a policy only costs about $10 a month avg or so. About 2 fancy-schmany coffee-house coffees!

Here on AN, you'll read of the many mistakes and near misses made by members. Any error has the potential to become a lawsuit. Protect yourself because no one else will. The hospital insurance protects the hospital, NOT YOU!

Think about it - you buy health insurance, auto insurance and homeowners insurance. You buy it never hoping to need it, but it's there for you JUST IN CASE!

Protect yourself - your license, your career, your assets, your family's security/stability. And don't let others here on AN sway your decision to decline insurance (and there are some here on- AN).

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Specializes in ED.

I have insurance through NSO. Have never worked without it and never will.

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The other company that gets mentioned a lot as specializing in covering nurses (and allied health professionals) is Marsh, www.proliability.com.

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I get the importance of it but why am I reading stories where people are saying it made them more of a target to be sued?

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Specializes in retired LTC.

Many people (even the general public) erroneously believe that if one has insurance, then there's more likely to be a payout if you're sued. Like "oh, the insurance company ALWAYS settles". BALONEY!

That line of thinking DOES NOT (repeat after me - DOES NOT) hold true. Nurses listen to their employers who tell them "oh, you're covered under our facility insurance policy". Well, yeah, the facility insurance will payout for you if there's to be a settlement, but then the employer can come after YOU for payback because you made an error or didn't follow their house P&P (or some other reason.

Lawsuits most often occur YEARS after an incident. You may no longer be employed (esp if you were terminated after a mistake) with that facility and EX-employers are notorious for being less than concerned with helping you. Why should they go out of their way for you, an ex-employee (this truly happened to me in a suit)?

Remember who's paying for the hospital insurance policy. They're going to protect themselves, not you!

Your own insurance also offers you other benes, like if you now need to go before your BON re some incident that reflects on your license, like a DUI, accusations of theft and/or drug/alcohol usage, abuse, etc. They know how to deal with the Board of Nsg. They can counsel you. Your employer's insurance is NO HELP.

Moral of my story - any nurse with a license to practice needs personal .

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