No matter what your profession is, it’s important to protect yourself with professional liability insurance. You don’t want to risk your career or license if something were to happen. You don’t want to lose your dream. Medical professionals are especially at risk due to the nature of their profession. While the procedures that nurses perform may not be as complicated as some doctors, things can still go wrong when someone is under their care. You are administering medication and other services that get handled precisely. Find out why travel nurses across America, including New Jersey, should invest in professional liability insurance.
Why Travel Nurses Need Professional Liability Insurance
If you’re a travel nurse as your profession, you need to make sure that you are adequately covered by insurance just in case something were to happen.
Claims filed against nurses by employers
A lot of times, claims against nurses will be submitted by their employers. Such claims arise for a couple of reasons. It could be that the patient complained to the boss about the nurse. Then, the employer files this complaint. In other cases, the company will initiate a claim due to the performance of the nurse. The nurse may have performed under expectations, have issues with documentation or falsify records. Also, there may be allegations of theft of drug diversion.
Protecting your career and future
While a nurse can have coverage under the employer’s policy, if it is the employer that filed the complaint, this nurse can no longer count on this coverage. The employer won’t cover the legal expenses that are associated with your defense when they’re the one on the other side of the complaint. If you don’t have the appropriate protection, you may find yourself losing your job as well as your license. You may never be able to work as a nurse again. Insurance is imperative for protecting yourself, your license and your future career.
Insurance if a claim arises against a nurse’s license
The necessity of insurance for nurses who travel to different locations is a matter of ongoing debate. Many travel nurses assume that their employer’s or the staffing agency’s liability insurance provides comprehensive coverage. While most healthcare staffing agencies do carry liability insurance on their clinical employees, this doesn’t protect against complaints filed with a Board of Nursing against the nurse’s license.
Malpractice claims
Traveling nurses can be an easy target. A traveling nurse is hired to work in a certain location for a limited amount of time. Usually, they will work between 13 and 26 weeks in one place. Because of this, they are the first to be suspected if something goes amiss and this can lead to malpractice claims. They probably won’t have as strong ties to their coworkers and the location of their assignment. People will be less likely to be loyal to them than someone they’ve worked with for years which is directly employed by the company.
It is affordable
Another great reason to obtain professional liability insurance if you’re a traveling nurse is that it’s relatively inexpensive. Many policies are only around ten dollars per month. Usual coverage for this price is about one million dollars for civil suits and $25,000 or more for professional license defense. Make sure that your liability insurance has both of these. Also, some insurance policies don’t offer the license defense coverage. This is something that you’ll want to get. Make sure you know the ins and outs of the policy you’re looking at to ensure that it will give you the coverage you need. You need to protect your license.
Professional Advantages and Responsibility
The profession comes with significant advantages. These include the ability to choose between different jobs for different lengths of time. The field is in demand so that nurses can have an enormous amount of freedom. You’re able to see many different locations and work with a variety of people. Also, it can be great in figuring out where you may want to settle permanently. And despite the advantages, it’s still important that you have the necessary protection.
Backup plans matter
No matter your coverage with your employer, have a backup plan. You need to know you have insurance protection in any of the above cases where you can’t count on your employer. Make sure to look out for yourself, your license and your career. And you may have a good relationship with your employer, but no matter how good it is, something could happen.
We can help you assess the coverage you need and help you through the entire process. You may have questions regarding coverage and procedure. In conclusion, we would be glad to help with any questions you may have and help you find the right coverage for you.
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