If you have been reported and have received a letter from the Texas Board of Nursing regarding a case or complaint filed against you, seeking and hiring a nurse attorney is the solution for that. This should be the first thing to do for an RN or an LVN before facing the case they are in.
At the time of the initial incident, the RN was employed as a Registered Nurse at a hospital in Victoria, Texas, and had been in that position for six (6) years.
It was on or about October 10, 2019, through November 7, 2019, while completing student clinical hours at a Family Clinic and at a Pediatrics facility in, Victoria, Texas, for the course of Advanced Practicum 1 as part of the requirements for obtaining a Master’s Degree in Nursing in order to apply for and obtain licensure as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in the State of Texas, the RN failed to ensure the documentation of her student clinical logs accurately reflected the actual clinical site where the practice occurred as well as having the correct preceptor’s signature for the corresponding hours at that site.
Consequently, the RN submitted student clinical logs to the University which indicated she completed student clinical practicum hours at the said Family Clinic, on six (6) dates after October 4, 2019, when she was not present at the clinic. Further, the student clinical logs submitted by the RN had preceptor signatures which were inconsistent with the signatures submitted for previous clinical dates. The RN’s conduct may have been deceptive and resulted in inaccurate student clinical logs being submitted to her school.
On or about October 30, 2019, after having completed her student clinical experience at the Family Clinic, for the course Advanced Practicum 1 as part of the requirements for obtaining a Master’s Degree in Nursing, in order to apply for and obtain licensure as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in the State of Texas, Petitioner falsely documented prescriptions to herself for Zolpidem, Phentermine, and Doxycycline in the medical record by adding them to an earlier visit note which had been completed on September 9, 2019. Further, the RN documented the prescriptions using the name and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) numbers, and then obtained the prescribed medications from a Pharmacy, When confronted by clinic staff about the prescriptions five (5) days later, the RN stated her purse and laptop had been stolen the week before and that someone must have used the information to order the medications. After being informed that the person knew how to send prescriptions to pharmacies, that the prescriptions were logged to the RN’s username and login, and that there could be licensing implications, the RN admitted lying about the prescriptions and stated the Phentermine and Doxycycline were actually for her mom.
During an informal settlement conference conducted on September 1, 2020, with Staff of the Texas Board of Nursing, the RN admitted that she had obtained the Phentermine for herself and not for her mom as she had previously indicated. Petitioner’s conduct was deceptive, resulted in inaccurate medical and pharmacy records, and violated both Chapter 481 of the Texas Health and Safety Code (Controlled Substances Act) and Chapter 483 of the Texas Health and Safety Code (Dangerous Drugs Act).
The RN received a grade of “F” for the course Advanced Practicum 1 from Houston Baptist University, Houston, Texas, during the Fall 2019 term, and she received a grade of “A-” after being required to retake the course during the Spring 2019- 20 term in a different clinical setting.
In response, the RN states she must have put the wrong clinic site on the logs and that the signatures may have differed because sometimes a signature stamp was used. Petitioner further states she believes she continued her clinical hours at the Family Clinic until at least October 24, 2019. And also, she admits to forging the prescriptions. She also states that she ordered Zolpidem due to extreme stress and the Phentermine for weight loss for herself, and Doxycycline was for her mother. The RN states she returned the medications and provided photographs and receipts of the returned medications.
The RN’s history reflects conduct that may constitute grounds for discipline and denial of a license under Section 301.452(b)(2),(10)&(13), Texas Occupations Code. This sanction was decided by the Board of Nursing to be subjected to the RN. This will badly affect her RN license if the RN will not act fast before it is too late. Hiring a nurse attorney is the best option for the RN to help him solve his case.
Always remember that an experienced nurse attorney is fully equipped with what is needed to be done when such a scenario happens. Never hesitate to seek help and if you have questions about the Texas Board of Nursing disciplinary process? Contact The Law Office of Nurse Attorney Yong J. An for a confidential consultation by calling or texting 24/7 at (832) 428-5679 and ask for attorney Yong.