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Trial by Nursing

From left to right, Nursing student Stephanie Swoffer gets sworn in by Nursing faculty member Leighton Chapman prior to questioning by real-life lawyer David Poindexter during a mock trial presided over by area lawyer Ron Nichols.

Ferris Nursing students studied their parts to make sure they weren’t “sketchy” on the details during a mock trial that took place in the Reed City Circuit Court building

   It’s a scene familiar from any number of television shows, from Perry Mason to Law & Order – a distraught witness is on the stand testifying. In this case, it’s a mother whose daughter suffered brain damage during delivery. The mother has a crumpled wad of Kleenex in her hand as she recounts the events of that fateful day.
   Everything seems familiar, even predictable, until the prosecuting attorney points out that her pain and suffering would make more of an impact if she stopped giggling.
   Occasional laughter and a few nervous smiles are just some of the clues that this isn’t a real trial. There are also conspicuously few objections, the defense and prosecuting attorneys sometimes consult each other, and the trial resumes after lunch even though the judge hasn’t returned to the bench.
   Whatever its dramatic shortfalls, for seniors in Kathleen Poindexter’s Medical/Surgical course readying themselves to take their registered nursing state boards (including Kelly Jones, the distraught mother), this mock trial being held in the Reed City Circuit Court building is a valuable lesson in the importance of the everyday details of health care.

The Process of Discovery
   “It can be difficult for students to understand how standards of care and standards of practice translate into everyday applications,” says Poindexter, an associate professor of Nursing at Ferris. “We can talk about it all we want, but when students really get immersed in the whole process, then it becomes very real and lifelike to them.”
   Poindexter’s students have indeed been immersed in preparations for this mock malpractice trial for weeks. They play the roles of nurses and doctors involved in the delivery, as well as the mother, other family members and expert witnesses, and also act as the jury.
   “We want to impress upon them the importance of being able to articulate what they want to say, how much they need to back up their information and how accountable they need to be,” says Poindexter. “I don’t want the fear of a malpractice suit to be the driving force for them to do these things. I just want them to have a passion for their profession.”
   Debate over medical malpractice reform has been a potent political issue for the past several national elections, with politicians squaring off over the relative values of patient rights versus excessive jury awards.
   According to an American Medical Association publication entitled “Medical Liability Reform – NOW!” dated March 26, 2004, medical liability costs have risen an average of 11.9 percent a year since 1975.
   The issue has also played out in state legislatures. Earlier this year, the New Jersey State Senate passed a measure that would create a subsidy fund to help doctors and hospitals pay for insurance coverage, while at the same time preserving the rights of malpractice victims to sue for damages. The legislation sets guidelines for filing malpractice suits and grants judges additional discretion in controlling monetary awards.
   Poindexter tried to make these sometimes-abstract political and cultural arguments real.
   “I think the trial helped them see how innocent situations can cause problems even when the nurse does things exactly right,” she says. “If they document appropriately, if they follow proper protocol and procedure, then they’re OK. My goal is always to bridge classroom theory with clinical practice in real-life situations.”

Ripped from the Headlines
   It takes some help to make that bridge happen. In Poindexter’s case, she was able to draw upon some pro bono legal help from a resource close to home – her husband.
   “I talked to David who arranged use of the courthouse and recruited some of his peers who were willing to help with this project by donating their time,” says Poindexter. “The attorneys, David and Breanna Moore, have been very involved in the case and worked closely with the students.”
   David’s background dovetails well with the goals of the mock trial.
   “I used to teach, too, and I always thought it was important for people to understand the practical aspects of what they were studying,” he says. “I want these students to realize there are practical aspects to nursing, that there’s purpose to what’s being taught.”
   Appropriately, the case being tried by the students isn’t simply a piece of fiction, but based on a trial in which Poindexter herself served as an expert witness.
   “In the actual case in which I testified, the standards of care were upheld,” she says. “The nurse’s actions were found not to have been a direct cause of the infant’s injury, and the nurses properly documented as they were supposed to and followed the hospital’s procedures.”
   In the mock trial, as in real life, that’s the question at hand.

Awaiting the Verdict
   After the two lawyers make their summations to the jury and the judge gives his instructions, the bailiff leads the eight-member panel to the Jury Room behind the judge’s bench to try to reach a verdict.
   The bailiff, Leighton Chapman, also is a Nursing faculty member – and, appropriately, additionally holds a bachelor’s in Criminal Justice from Ferris. In trying to make the day as authentic as possible, the jury even remained sequestered and ate take-out pizza while the rest of the students had their pepperoni and vegetarian specials at a local restaurant.

Nursing students acting as the jury paid close attention during the trial.

   As students who had been expert witnesses, nurses and doctors on the stand discussed their testimony, referring often to textbooks they brought with them to court, the jury signals that they have reached a verdict.
   The buzzing in the courtroom quiets as the local attorney Ron Nichols, acting as judge, asks the re-seated jury if they have reached a verdict.
   “We have your honor,” says Ann Platz, acting as jury foreperson, passing a slip of paper to the judge who reads it and passes it back.
   “And how do you find?” he asks.
   “We find the defendant not guilty,” Platz announces, mirroring the finding in the real-life trial.
   Even though this is a mock trial, there’s a clear sense of relief among the spectators that their fellow student, Kathi Jones, the accused nurse, has been found innocent of any lapse of her professional duty.
   As the students mill about outside the courtroom after the jury has been dismissed, they talk about their testimony, the outcome and their upcoming boards.
   “Of all the experiences I’ve been through while at Ferris in the Nursing program, the mock trail was the best,” says Lindsey Vanderheuval, who served as one of the trial’s expert witnesses. “It was a true eye opener and something I feel each nursing class should experience. This allowed us to see what a trial might be like and how to best prepare for it.”
   Outside the courthouse, there are no reporters or television crews to report news of the verdict. There are only a couple dozen professionally dressed students heading to their cars a little more prepared for what will soon—and for real—be a whole new set of responsibilities.