Court Ruling Protects Nurse Whistleblowers (7/10/01)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 10, 2001
CONTACT: ANA Communications Dept.
301-628-4ANA
Washington, DC --The American Nurses Association (ANA) and its constituent member, the New Mexico Nurses Association (NMNA), applauded the Third Judicial District Court ruling of the Hon. Thomas Cornish, which provides protection for six registered nurses who acted as whistleblowers against a physician who allegedly acted incompetently and unprofessionally, and whose actions, according to the plaintiffs, resulted in the death of a patient. Although the parties await the written order, the judge ruled on July 6, 2001, that he would grant the plaintiffs’ motion for rules governing the questioning of nurse witnesses. The ANA had filed an amicus brief in support of the nurses, in which the association detailed the importance of the Code of Ethics and patient advocacy in the context of nursing practice. ANA’s argument was presented by the association’s nursing practice counsel, Winifred Y. Carson.
“The nurses in this case adhered to the profession’s Code of Ethics,” said ANA General Counsel Alice Bodley. “Under this Code, they are required to stand up, speak out and protect their patients. The judge’s ruling is a victory for the workplace advocacy efforts of the ANA.”
The six nurses are members of NMNA and are, or had been, employees of Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces, NM. Based on ethical grounds, they testified in support of the patients in a lawsuit brought forth by Thomas Smith and Irene Dockray against Lorraine Martinez, D.O. Martinez is accused of negligence and incompetence involving Smith’s wife, Deborah, who died from sepsis, a massive infection, after Martinez allegedly failed to treat her. She is also accused of permanently harming Dockray during a medical procedure.
The court ruled that the Memorial Medical Center could not require its employed nurses to speak only through or with hospital attorneys. Over the hospital’s objections, the judge included a charge nurse within the scope of the court’s protective ruling for the staff nurses. This ruling not only provides protections for the nurses involved in the case, it also reveals the importance of nurses’ ethical requirements and the need for state law and judicial proceedings to protect nurses who speak out on behalf of quality patient care. In addition, the court held the hospital accountable for any retaliation against the nurses, stating that retaliatory action will be considered contempt of court.
“This case sends a message in New Mexico and throughout the country that nurses can and will stand up and make their concerns known about inadequate or deficient patient care,” said NMNA President Judith Dunaway, RNC, MSN, HNC. “The nurses tried to work internally through the hospital system; but, that system didn’t work. When nurses express concern over inadequate care, their concerns should not be ignored. Now the barriers have been removed that would hinder nurses in New Mexico from speaking out for their patients.”
ANA President Mary Foley, MS, RN, was also happy about the ruling. “Nurses should never feel that their jobs or licenses are jeopardized because they speak out against poor medical practice or unsafe patient care,” said Foley. “It’s our responsibility as nurses to advocate on behalf of our patients.”
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The American Nurses Association is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation's 2.7 million Registered Nurses through its constituent member state nurses associations. The ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.