If you have been injured by the negligence of a nurse or medical assistant, you may be entitled to compensation. Both medical assistants and nurses are considered licensed healthcare professionals, which means that they can be liable for medical malpractice. To hold a nurse or medical assistant liable for malpractice you need to show that they breached the applicable standard of care. The standard of care for a registered nurse will be much different than the standard of care for a medical assistant, so it is important to understand the difference between the two.