의료과오와 간호사 책임

Abstract

Medical services aren’t done by doctors only but by different medical personnels. If any medical accident takes place, to what extent doctors, nurses and other personnels should respectively be liable for that should be determined. And when an employed doctor does any illegal medical act, his or her employer also should be responsible for that as a user. If a medical accident occurs, the victim or patient usually claims against the employer of the doctor who causes the accident for compensation. And those who assist medical treatment, including nurses, should be liable for their own acts, but in case their doctor doesn’t give any appropriate directions, the doctor should shoulder the liability. This indicates that nurses are also professional medical personnels, and that they should share the liability as well. There are lots of different medical personnels, but doctors and nurses are the pivot of team treatment, and nurses should also take responsibility for their services. Doctors and nurses are equal, as they are in pursuit of the same, namely, helping patients recover their health. Only their roles are different. If they respect each other and see each other as being responsible for their own roles, they will be able to consult together. Medical information on patients and nursing information should be shared by both of them, and patients should be provided accurate treatment and nursing services. If those who offer nursing services are unaware of required information due to conflicts with doctors, it might result in threatening the safety of patients. And in case any important information isn’t properly conveyed between them, it might trigger a medical accident. Sophisticated and complex medical science requires medical personnels to be professional, and nurses as well as doctors need to be an expert. The fact treatment-related accidents take place often indicates that treatment is basically attended with danger. Furthermore, patients respond to all sorts of investigation and medicine in a different manner. They should be professional and knowledgeable to predict how they might respond and prevent any possible hazardous situations, and they are expected to have more knowledge in the future. Nonetheless, there aren’t yet enough studies on the legal liability of nurses, and this study is expected to pave the way for future research on nurse liability against medical accidents.