When the Texas Board of Nursing (BON) summoned you to appear before the court, hiring the best nurse attorney is crucial. Unfortunately, not all nurses were able to hire a nurse attorney as they underwent such cases. This incident that an RN committed in 2017 was one of those examples.
The Incident happened on or about June 2017 through August 2017, while employed and practicing as a Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in Sugar Land, Texas, the RN inappropriately prescribed Abilify to a four (4) year old Pediatric patient, increasing the dose to 15 mg in less than two (2) months, although the minimum age requirement is six (6) years old. Further, the RN violated professional boundaries in that she provided treatment and medication to the mother patient, who she then allowed to work in her office, and continued to treat the mother patient and her child patient.
On or about December 2016 through December 2017, while employed, the RN prescribed Alprazolam 2mg, a scheduled IV controlled substance, to the mother patient continuously for 12 months and failed to collaborate with a delegating physician and/or failed to document collaboration with a delegating physician regarding the need for continued use of the medication.
In response to the incident, the RN states that she appropriately assessed, diagnosed, and treated the pediatric patient for his behavioral disorder. The RN states that following a thorough evaluation, she prescribed Abilify 5mg for the pediatric patient. The RN explains that she saw the pediatric patient again on July 5, 201 7, and the mother patient was pleased with his dramatic improvement, but he had developed a tolerance to Abilify 5mg. The RN agreed to increase it to 7.5mg after an assessment. The RN states that she never prescribed 15mg of Abilify and to her knowledge, the pediatric patient was never taking that much. The RN states that at this point, the pediatric patient was on 7.5mg of Abilify, but she allowed the mother patient to “increase the daily dose to 10 mg only for occasional breakthroughs producing acute severe episodes.” The RN states that she consulted with a doctor who agreed that the pediatric agent should not be receiving a maintenance dose as high as 10mg of Abilify and suggested adding Depakote to assist. The RN states that the pediatric patient was never released back to her for care, therefore, she could not evaluate his condition and progression of his illness. In addition, the RN states that she began seeing the mother patient on February 2, 2015, the RN states that around the start of September 201 7, the mother patient wanted to work in her office as a thank you for caring for her for free. The RN states that she agreed for the mother patient to assist her in the office on a part-time basis over the course of approximately four (4) weeks. The RN states that the mother patient was never an employee with Life Motivations, but she did answer phones and perform administrative tasks that the RN personally paid her for as she did not feel it appropriate to receive her help for free.
The following incident and defense against the case caused the Texas Board of Nursing to place the RN and her license into disciplinary proceedings. She could have sought assistance from a good nurse attorney to provide clarifications for the case but failed to do so.
Always remember that anyone can file a complaint against an RN with the state board for any reason. When this happens, all complaints need to be taken seriously no matter how trivial or unfounded they may appear. A nurse attorney is someone who can help you defend your license when the state board summoned you. Nurse Attorney Yong J. An, an experienced nurse lawyer for various licensing cases for 14 years, can assist you by contacting him at (832) 428-5679.