Medical negligence occurs for a number of reasons, one of them being the drastic, nationwide nursing shortage. There just aren’t enough qualified nurses to go around. I interviewed over 150 nurses and doctors for my book on how to be an advocate for a hospitalized loved one and most nurses said they couldn’t do the job they aspire to. If there is a nurse to patient ratio law in your state, hospitals have had to cut support nursing staff to afford to hire the required number of registered nurses. Now those RNs are not only caring for sick patients but are doing the jobs of the cut support staff.
I agree with you that it is not bad people causing medical errors but good people in bad systems. However, until our hospital system has undergone an overhaul, there needs to be a family member or good friend to act as a watch dog or sentinel for a hospitalized patient to help prevent medical errors, medication mistakes, the spread of hospital-acquired infectious diseases and more. My book, Critical Conditions: The Essential Hospital Guide To Get Your Loved One Out Alive is all about how to do this. We will all be touched by a hospitalization whether it be our own or that of a loved one. We need to get involved. More ...

Martine,

I can't agree with your comment more. Your website is very helpful and I am ordering your book. Folks need to become involved in their local healthcare systems and start the "overhaul" process to clean up the problem of "bad systems." The bad systems must constantly be held accountable for the wrongs they cause patients. I will encourage folks to read your book.