Nurses Can Be Sued For Following Doctors Orders, NC Court Rules

Ask Nurse Alice

A recent decision by the NC Supreme Court overturning a 1932 precedent that once protected nurses from liability now has many nurses worried that they can be sued for following doctor's orders as several news outlets have reported. If following doctors' orders is part of everyday practice how concerned should nurses be?

In this episode Nurse Alice discusses the court case that prompted the NC Supreme Court to overturn a 1932 precedent; explains the precedent that was overturned; gives a brief history lesson on the evolution of nursing licensure in North Carolina (spoiler alert - it didn’t happen til 1965); and discuss how this impacts you as a nurse in 2022 while sharing some of her own personal experiences with nurses following doctor's orders that resulted in harm.
Read the full article and court documents here