The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) is the government agency that has jurisdiction to hear and decide administrative cases involving RN license and LVN license being defended by a nurse attorney. The BON has the power to suspend and/or revoke the nurse license. It is also the agency that is responsible for overseeing the practice of professional nursing all over the State of Texas.
The disciplinary proceeding before the Texas Board of Nurse (BON) is an administrative proceeding wherein LVN / RN are charged for the commission of an offense or violation of certain state laws.
On or about July 11, 2016, while employed as an RN in a Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, the RN failed to ensure a time-out procedure was performed or document a time-out prior to the start of the hemodialysis catheter implantation procedure for a patient.
Aside from this, the RN also administered sedation to the patient. prior to her scheduled hemodialysis catheter implantation procedure without the supervision of the physician or another licensed practitioner, per facility policy.
The RN not only failed to verify the code status of the patient prior to her scheduled hemodialysis catheter implantation procedure. Subsequently, the patient became unresponsive, a Code Blue was called, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was initiated. The patient’s Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order was identified, CPR was discontinued, and the patient was pronounced deceased.
On the same day, the RN falsely pre-documented in the medical record of the patient that the patient tolerated the hemodialysis catheter implantation procedure well and was transported back to her room via bed following the procedure. The patient had actually expired in the interventional radiology suite prior to the start of the procedure.
In response to the complaints filed against her, the RN states the hospital did not give her adequate training related to her position in Interventional Radiology (IR). She further explains she requested copies of policies regarding sedation, as well as a list of nursing duties and responsibilities in IR, but was never provided with the requested information.
The RN thought what she was taught by her supervisor and tenured colleagues were correct and in the facility’s policies. She states she assessed the patient before administering sedation and the patient’s vital signs were stable. She adds she suggested early documentation to her supervisor to keep up with the pace of the unit and her supervisor said it was fine because they already knew the expected outcome. She further explained she was never given a chance to modify her documentation because they wanted her to immediately complete an incident report.
However, the Texas BON found the RN’s conduct was likely to injure the patient in that the correct patient, procedure, and surgical site would not be confirmed by staff prior to the procedure, placing the patient at risk of undergoing the wrong invasive procedure. Her conduct was also likely to deceive other caregivers who needed current information on the patient’s status to make decisions for further care.
Furthermore, her conduct was likely to injure the patient from care provided without a physician’s order and against the patient’s wishes.
Due to the series of events, the Texas BON disciplined the RN and her RN license was suspended.
She failed to justify her case to the Texas BON by not hiring a nurse attorney that will properly defend her.
Avoid committing the same mistake she did. If you’re looking for a nurse attorney, immediately contact the office of nurse Attorney Yong J. An by calling or texting 24/7 at (832) 428-5679.