Each year, nurses make themselves vulnerable for potential malpractice claims because they are not well-informed about malpractice elements. You will read a fictitious scenario and identify pertinent facts that pose risks for malpractice claims.
Refer to your course readings and lectures as you complete the assignment.
Performance Objective:
Rubric
Use this rubric to guide your work on the assignment, “Malpractice.”
| Task | Accomplished | Proficient | Needs Improvement |
| Elements of Malpractice List four elements of a malpractice claim.(Total 50 points) | Correctly lists all four elements of a malpractice claim.(50 points) | Correctly lists three elements of a malpractice claim.(40 points) | Does not correctly list at least three elements of a malpractice claim. (25 points) |
| Pertinent Facts States pertinent facts for each element of a malpractice claim.(Total 50 points) | Clearly and correctly states pertinent facts for each element. (50 points) | Correctly states pertinent facts for at least three elements. (40 point) | Does not correctly state pertinent facts for at least two elements. (25 point) |
Potential Malpractice Claim
Read this scenario. Decide if the situation presents potential elements of malpractice.
Nurse A was assigned to Mr. Jones, a post-surgical patient on the Medical-Surgical floor, who had been doing well on the day shift. Nurse A was working a 7:00 P.M. to 7:00 A.M. shift. (Dr. Grumpy, Mr. Jones’s treating physician, had screamed at Nurse A last month when Nurse A called him at 3:00 A.M. to report a change in status of another of Dr. Grumpy’s patients.) During this shift, Nurse A became uneasy about the status of Mr. Jones, which reflected a substantial change in blood pressure and pulse, but Nurse A did not call Dr. Grumpy, choosing instead to “watch” the situation. At approximately 5:00 A.M., Mr. Jones had to be rushed to emergency surgery with internal bleeding. Now, 1½ years later, Mr. Jones has not recovered from the second surgery.
List the 4 elements of a malpractice claim and, for each of the 4 elements, state which, if any, of the facts in the scenario support that specific element.
| Elements of Malpractice Claim | Pertinent Facts |
Submitting Your Assignment:
Click Module 5: Assignment in the Module 5 Folder
Scroll down to Assignment Submission. Click Browse My Computer and navigate to your Desktop where you saved your paper. Select the final version of your paper to upload from your computer.
Click Submit at the bottom of the Assignment Submission screen and your saved document assignment will appear in the gradebook with a green exclamation point that alerts your Academic Coach that your assignment is ready for grading.
