Types of Medical Malpractice Insurance Policies, Essay Example

Rationale and Support

Nurses are successful in their career when they provide quality healthcare to their patients.  Unfortunately, only one medical malpractice lawsuit can put a nurse’s career in jeopardy while posing various financial risks in the future.  Indeed, nurses are at risk for being sued in every facet of their practice.  This is why policy competency is of paramount importance for NPs who want to protect themselves from potential malpractice suits in the future, as suggested by NONPF Core Competency / Domain #VI.

Healthcare policy is devised through various channels, including institutional decision-making, actions taken by the government, and/or organizational structures. Such policy creates a framework through which the delivery of healthcare services can either be impeded or facilitated.  In addition, healthcare providers need to become fully engaged in medical practices to effectively address needs within the healthcare system.  Therefore, it is of paramount importance for nurses to involve themselves in the development of healthcare policy in order to address patients’ needs. Moreover, organizationally and professionally justifying and sanctioning the application of nursing epistemologies, skills, and expertise in delivering healthcare to patients has been linked to the enhancement of autonomous nursing practice (Kramer & Schmalenberg, 2003).

NONPF Core Competency Indicator #VI-I calls for an understanding by the NP of how policy is translated into practice.  Nursing practice involves both interdependent and autonomous actions.  This calls for the identification of acceptable responses or solutions to certain situations that are often at the periphery of the most commonly accepted practice score within the nursing process.  Such identifications include establishing clear protocols for administering over-the-counter medications or effectively communicating and carrying out physician orders.  Further, there are various behavioral expectations that must be formally underscored in an ongoing dialogue about nursing practices.  This competency is especially important with regards to medical malpractice cases that nurses are most vulnerable to.  DSGNE Program Outcome #2 is achieved through inquiry regarding laws as they relate to medical malpractice, which enhances the efficacy of nursing care.

State and federal laws and regulations, in addition to practice hospital by laws, unequivocally affect nursing practice stipulations.  Many of these policies impose stringent restrictions to nursing practices that are crucial for the promotion of homogeneity in nursing practice across locations and situations.  Legal barriers to nursing practice and the delivery of healthcare must be removed in order to reduce costs, increase the ability of patients to choose services, and amplify the quality of healthcare.

This exhibit takes into consideration how legal and regulatory processes directly impact the delivery of healthcare, nursing practice, and patient outcomes, in accordance to AACN Element #VI-3.  Malpractice insurance is necessary for both nurse practitioners and physicians alike in order to safeguard professionals from incurring lawsuits if patients experience negative outcomes in regard to their healthcare.  Medical organizations do not always offer insurance coverage to fully protect nurses within their own institutional policies.  As such, nurses need to invest in independent forms of malpractice insurance in case they are embroiled in a lawsuit, in order to avoid incurring serious financial ramifications both for the nurse in question and his or her employer.

Several types of insurance plans are available to nurses for coverage, and the coverage chosen varies on an idiosyncratic basis.  This exhibit is an example of, AACN Essential Standard #VI, as policy competency is taken into consideration and how health policy and advocacy plays an integral role in the delivery of healthcare and healthcare outcomes.  As PYC Specialty Program Outcome #1 indicates, the relationship between healthcare policy, organization, and finance in primary care practice all converge when examining malpractice and the need for protection against such cases within healthcare settings.

Reflection

Malpractice within healthcare contexts refers to any unethical conduct or clear-cut lack of dexterity by a professional in the medical field.  Often, this term denotes negligence on the part of the medical professional or a demonstration of a lack of skill.  As such, damages and harm are incurred.  Currently, I know that there is some confusion, because the definition of malpractice acts are offered by various state nursing practice acts as well as federal guidelines that can be invoked in a court of law.

I think nurses need to invest in insurance plans due to the fact that the definition of malpractice continues to widen as a result of a handful of factors that have spawned escalating numbers of malpractice lawsuits against nurses.  Such factors include premature discharge, shortage of medical personnel due to downsizing, the delegation of tasks to unqualified medical personnel, vague legal definitions of liability, technological advancements that nurses fail to understand, and the enhancement of consumer knowledge about the healthcare system.  I truly believe that nursing is an amazing profession, but the proliferation of medical malpractice cases due to nurses’ lack of knowledge about insurance coverage poses some worrisome risks.  As such, I know that it is imperative to invest in autonomous insurance coverage so that I am protected and so that I can deliver optimal healthcare to patients.

References

Kleinpell, R., Scanlon, A., Hibbert, D., Ganz, F., East, L., Fraser, D., Wong, F., & Beauchesne, M. (2014). Addressing issues impacting advanced nursing practice worldwide. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 19(2). http://dx. doi.gov/ 10.3912
/OJIN.Vol19No02Man05

Kramer, M., & Schmalenberg, C. E. (2003). Magnet hospital staff nurses describe clinical autonomy. Nursing Outlook, 51, 13-19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1067/mno.2003.4