Course Educates Docs on Malpractice Issues

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer via Symtym

Except for a crop of gray hair, the enrollees in Sean Byrne's malpractice course at the University of Richmond Law School look like normal students. They sip Starbucks coffee and tap out notes on their laptop keyboards. And with lumpy hair and bleary eyes, a few looked like they rolled out of bed after a few hours of sleep.

But instead of suffering the effects of late-night study, some of them might have come off a long night at a hospital. That is because more than half the students are physicians, many of them in obstetrics or other specialties at high risk for malpractice lawsuits. Some have been sued; others say it's only a matter of time.

"I'm shocked at what is part of my life that nobody ever taught me about," said Dr. Shannon Weatherford, an obstetrician in Richmond who is taking the Saturdays-only class. "Four years of medical school and four years of residency, and there's nothing about the business of medicine and the legal aspects. This is just a single, terrific opportunity to get educated on something I should know about."

Much of the interest in the course was sparked by soaring premiums and growing insurance losses from malpractice claims that have led to calls for tort reform (though some critics have accused insurers of overstating these losses).