who can testify as an expert witness has attempted to recognize that in healthcare there are sometimes competing schools on what is proper treatment.
There are many areas where there is no uniform agreement among healthcare practitioners on what is the most appropriate and effective care. One group may believe that a certain cancer should be surgically removed, while another may believe it should be treated with radiation. The law will not judge members of one group by the standards of the other, as long as both approaches are reasonable and have their adherents. In Sullivan v Edward Hospital, the Illinois Supreme Court held that for purposes of the law on expert testimony, nursing was a separate “school.” Illinois has a statute that says that a healthcare practitioner’s conduct should only be judged by the school of which the practitioner is a member.
