Steps to Avoid Malpractice as a Nurse Practitioner

Malpractice Case

In the malpractice case, the NP failed to take several steps that could have prevented the negative outcome. First, the NP should have obtained the patient’s complete medical and cardiac history, as this is always a key variable in making health care decisions. Second, the NP should have identified that the biopsy did not require medical clearance; this is another key variable that if addressed properly would have prevented confusion on the part of the patient. Third, the NP did not communicate with the referring physician to gain understanding of the request for medical clearance; communication would have prevented a negative outcome as well, which is why it is yet another key variable in this case.

There were also several improper steps taken by the NP regarding the patient’s anticoagulant therapy, delivery of instructions, and documentation. The NP neglected, first of all, to properly manage the patient’s drug therapy. Then the NP communicated instructions in a hand-written note that was very informal and not appropriate for the kind of care that was being considered; again, this was an outcome of the NP’s confusion on the matter, but a simple conversation with the doctor would have cleared this up, and the fact that the NP used this type of informality suggests a lack of prudence and consideration—perhaps even some burnout, which can happen, but is not indicated in this particular case (Corbridge & Melander, 2019).