Sources of the standards of care in malpractice actions.

In these times of physician strikes and daily newspaper articles concerning the "malpractice crisis", it is appropriate to review one of the most important aspects of any malpractice suit-the standard of care against which the conduct of the defendant-medical practitioner will be judged. A malpractice suit against any professional, including a CRNA, is basically the same as any type of personal injury litigation. The plaintiff is required to prove that the defendant owed him a duty, that he breached that duty, and that because of that breach the plaintiff suffered injury. The standard of care required of the defendant is merely another way of stating the type of duty which the defendant owed to the plaintiff. It is a measure of that degree of skill and care which is required of anyone holding himself out to be a professional. Therefore, it is very important that any medical practitioner, including a CRNA, be very aware of exactly what the law expects of him or her during the treatment of a patient. The standard of care required in a medical malpractice action is -not something which is established from only one or two sources, but is something which is developed from many sources. The common thread which joins all of these sources together to weave the standard of care consists of the belief that a professional should know or be aware of all of these guidelines, and therefore, should practice his or her profession accordingly.