👤 By the CinnaRN Clinical Content Team🕐 Updated 2026-08-23🏷️ Management of Care🔖 Free to read, print, and share
Also known as: nursing negligence · professional negligence · lawsuit · liability
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Use this quick-reference guide to spot, treat, and prevent Negligence and Malpractice on the NCLEX. Keep it handy during review and on exam day!
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📒 The 1-minute cheat sheet
📌 Def
Negligence = below standard care
Malpractice = professional negligence
4 D's: Duty, Dereliction, Damage, Direct
📌 Types
Med error, fall, wrong site
Failure to assess/monitor
Not following standard/protocol
✅ Do
Document accurately + timely
Follow policy + scope
Carry liability insurance
🚩 Report
Error → file incident report
Never falsify/alter records
📚 Negligence and Malpractice — full study notes
The cheat sheet above is your quick recall card. These notes go deeper — what it is, what to do first, what must be reported, and what to teach.
Negligence is failure to act as a reasonably prudent person would, causing harm. Malpractice is professional negligence by a licensed person whose conduct falls below the accepted standard of care. Both expose the nurse to legal liability, making accurate documentation and adherence to standards essential protection.
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Key points
Understand these first
Malpractice requires four elements: duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages (harm).
The standard of care is what a reasonably prudent nurse would do in the same situation.
Following a clearly erroneous order does not protect the nurse; the nurse is accountable for questioning it.
Common malpractice causes include medication errors, falls, failure to monitor, and failure to communicate changes.
Accurate, timely, factual documentation is the nurse's best legal protection.
Carrying out an action outside one's scope of practice can constitute negligence.
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Nursing priorities
What to do, in order
Follow facility policy, standards of care, and the six rights of medication administration consistently.
Document objectively and promptly, charting exactly what was observed and done.
Question and clarify any order that is unclear, incomplete, or appears unsafe before acting.
Monitor and reassess patients per protocol and report changes in condition promptly.
Complete an incident report for any error or unexpected event per facility policy.
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Red flags — report now
Escalate immediately
Never carry out an order you believe is unsafe; clarify with the provider first.
Never alter, backdate, or falsify documentation after an event.
Report errors immediately rather than concealing them; concealment increases liability and patient risk.
❓ Negligence and Malpractice: NCLEX FAQs
What are the priority nursing interventions for Negligence and Malpractice?
Follow facility policy, standards of care, and the six rights of medication administration consistently. Document objectively and promptly, charting exactly what was observed and done. Question and clarify any order that is unclear, incomplete, or appears unsafe before acting. Monitor and reassess patients per protocol and report changes in condition promptly.
What are the warning signs of Negligence and Malpractice a nurse must report?
Never carry out an order you believe is unsafe; clarify with the provider first. Never alter, backdate, or falsify documentation after an event. Report errors immediately rather than concealing them; concealment increases liability and patient risk.
What do I need to know about Negligence and Malpractice for the NCLEX?
Malpractice requires four elements: duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages (harm). The standard of care is what a reasonably prudent nurse would do in the same situation. Following a clearly erroneous order does not protect the nurse; the nurse is accountable for questioning it. Common malpractice causes include medication errors, falls, failure to monitor, and failure to communicate changes.
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Quick Tip
Malpractice requires four elements: duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages (harm).