 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Goodman v. Wesley Medical Center10/31/2003
nal belief, that the defendant's polices, as expressed and implemented, fell below the standard of care. 886 F. Supp. at 1574.
The KNPA requires nurses to adhere to the applicable standard of care, which turns on the facts in each case. The doctor in Aiken failed to establish a causal connection between the employer's policies and a violation of the standard of care. This is precisely the situation before us. Goodman has failed to establish a causal connection between Wesley's alleged understaffing and problems she reported. Any causal connection is based upon Goodman's opinion only. She admits that her opinion may not be the same as the opinions of other Wesley employees.
It would be both troublesome and unsettling to the state of the law if we were to allow a retaliatory discharge claim to be based on a personal opinion of wrongdoing. Such a holding, under these circumstances, would effectively do away with the employment-at-will doctrine, which has become a part of Kansas public policy.
Public policy cannot be determined on a subjective basis. Instead, public policy "'should be so thoroughly established as a state of public mind so united and so definite and fixed that its existence is not subject to any substantial doubt.'" Palmer, 242 Kan. at 897 (quoting Noel v. Menninger Foundation, 175 Kan. 751, Syl. 4, 267 P.2d 934 ).
Goodman cites Kirk v. Mercy Hosp. Tri-County, 851 S.W.2d 617, 622 (Mo. App. 1993), which held that the Missouri Nursing Practice Act provided the rules, regulations, or laws necessary for the basis of a retaliatory discharge action. In Kirk, a nurse assessed a patient and determined that the patient had toxic shock syndrome. When the patient's doctor did not respond, the nurse complained to her supervisor, who told the nurse to "'document, report the facts and stay out of it.'" 851 S.W.2d at 618. After the patient died, the nurse offered to provide medical records to the deceased patient's family.
The Kirk decision is substantially different from the facts in the case before us. In Kirk, the nurse was reporting specific incidents of alleged negligence to the family of a deceased patient. Here, Goodman's information was not related to a patient who she had provided care for and who was the subject of the lawsuit.
To support a retaliatory discharge claim, the public policy must be "'so definite and fixed that its existence is not subject to any substantial doubt.'" See Palmer, 242 Kan. at 897. Because the KNPA does not provide definite or specific rules, regulations, or laws, it cannot be the basis for a retaliatory discharge claim. Without a clear mandate of public policy as a foundation for Goodman's claims, she cannot establish the first element in a retaliatory discharge actionthat a reasonably prudent person would have concluded that her employer was engaged in activities in violation of rules, regulations, or the law pertaining to public health, safety, and the general welfare. See Palmer, 242 Kan. at 900.
Wesley further argues that retaliatory discharge claims under the KNPA are precluded by the Kansas Risk Management Act (KRMA), K.S.A. 65-4921 et seq., for two reasons. First, mandatory reporting under the act will give all nurses causes of action for retaliatory discharge. Second, the KRMA provides an adequate statutory remedy.
The KRMA requires health care professionals to report any incident that " s or may be below the applicable standard of care and has a reasonable probability of causing injury to a patient" or "may be grounds for disciplinary action by the appropriate licensing agency." K.S.A. 65-4921(f); see K.S.A. 65-4923. K.S.A. 65-4928 protects health care providers
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kansas Employee Leasing Services
Employee Leasing Services
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|