In the not too distant past, our lawyers\u2019 experience had been that medical malpractice encompassed almost exclusively the negligent wrongs of physicians. However, as nursing has evolved into a sophisticated, technical, and specialized profession, nurses regularly assume roles previously in the exclusive domain of physicians. These include examinations, diagnosis, post-surgical monitoring, and treatments of patients. Sometimes this is done without any direct supervision from physicians. The nurse\u2019s expanded role in patient care, the continual development of specialized and sophisticated medical technology, and the heightened emphasis on independent nursing practice have placed nurses into positions of increased accountability.
\nGenerally, when the nurse\u2019s negligence occurs in the scope of the nurse\u2019s employment at a hospital or clinic, the nurse\u2019s conduct can be imputed to the facility or the hospital. In certain cases, the nurse\u2019s conduct may be imputed to the physician.
\nMost nursing negligence results from one or more of the five steps in the nursing process: Assessment, nursing diagnosis, care planning, intervention, and evaluation. More specifically, the allegations often focus on improper treatment, performance of treatment, failure to prevent injuries, failure to follow the chain of command, failure to monitor a patient\u2019s condition, failure to communicate information to physicians, failure to follow hospital policies and protocols, and medication errors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the not too distant past, our lawyers\u2019 experience had been that medical malpractice encompassed almost exclusively the negligent wrongs of physicians. However, as nursing has evolved into a sophisticated, technical, and specialized profession, nurses regularly assume roles previously in the exclusive domain of physicians. These include examinations, diagnosis, post-surgical monitoring, and treatments of patients. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[44],"class_list":["post-1600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-personal-injury-wrongful-death","tag-personal-injury"],"yoast_head":"\n