Theory
As nurses, we cannot always be perfect. A heavy workload, stress, anxiety, and persistent racing thoughts can cause nurses to sometimes make mistakes. As nurses, we have to understand that we are human and mistakes do occur, even though we try our hardest to avoid them. But, as nurses we must to be honest and have fidelity. We must confess our mistakes because we can avoid making similar mistakes in the future and allow ourselves a chance to grow. However, sometimes nurses take advantage of their authority and autonomy. This leads them to commit professional negligence.
According to Marquis and Huston (2017), “negligence is the omission to do something that a reasonable person, guided by consideration that ordinarily regulates human
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This negatively affects the patient and the patient suffers. This leads to the discussion of malpractice.
Malpractice or professional negligence is defined as the failure of a person with professional training to act in a reasonable and prudent manner (Marquis & Huston, 2017, p. 114). In malpractice cases, the plaintiff is the injured party and defendant is the professional who is alleged to have cause the injury (Marquis & Huston, 2017, p. 114). There are five elements to malpractice: duty owed, breach of duty, foreseeability of harm, causation, and injury. A professional must meet all five elements to be held liable for malpractice. The first element is duty owed, which is the standards of care that should be given under the circumstances; what a reasonably prudent nurse would have done (Marquis & Huston, 2017, p. 115). The second element is breach of duty, which is not giving the proper care that should be given under the circumstances; the standard was violated (Marquis & Huston, 2017, p.
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A civil suit is where one individual sues another for money to compensate for a perceived loss (Marquis & Huston, 2017, p. 112). The burden of proof required for a guilty verdict is based on a preponderance of the evidence (Marquis & Huston, 2017, p. 112). This means that the judge or jury must believe that the accused individual was accountable for the injuries of the complainant. The consequences of a guilty verdict in a civil case are monetary; the individual suing receives some money for the