The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) is the government agency that has jurisdiction to hear and decide administrative cases involving RN and LVN in Texas. It is also the agency that is responsible for overseeing the practice of professional nursing all over the state of Texas. Any RN or LVN who is guilty of violating state laws and issuances from the Texas Board of Nursing (BON) may be subjected to penalties or fines if not properly defended by a nurse attorney. As a matter of fact, the RN license and LVN license can even be suspended or revoked.
A perfect example of this incident happened on or about April 28, 2008, to an RN in Houston. During the said date, the RN failed to ensure that a patient who presented to the Emergency Department complaining of chest pain received an EKG (electrocardiogram) within fifteen (15) minutes as required by the protocol. Her conduct exposed the patient unnecessarily to a risk of harm from complications due to undiagnosed and, consequently, untreated disease processes.
Subsequently, she failed to notify the physician in a timely manner that a patient was in the Emergency Department complaining of chest pain. The physician was not notified until one (1) hour from the time of the patient’s arrival. Her conduct exposed the patient unnecessarily to a risk of harm from a delay of treatment of his disease process.
During the hearing, the RN states that when she started her contract at the hospital, she received only one (1) day of orientation. During this time she was told that the unit clerk puts all the orders into the computer and make all the necessary calls pertaining to orders. She was also told that the nurse did not have to do the EKG, those were done by the EKG Tech and that the charts are given to the NP or PA if the physician was not available. On the night in questions, it was very busy and they were short-staffed. The charge nurse gave her the chart and told her to triage the patient who had chest pain. She took the patient back to a room, put him on a monitor and started a saline lock. The patient told her he had chest pain for several days, but currently had very little to no pain. She took the chart to the unit secretary and told her to order the EKG and labs, she then administered 1 aspirin to the patient. She then gave the chart to the PA or NP and told them the patient had chest pain. Later when she returned to the nursing station she found out that the EKG was not done, she asked the unit clerk who told her that she had charted it but had not called anyone because she did not know who to call. When the on-coming physician asked her about the patient she told him she gave the chart to the PA and that EKG had not been done. Respondent states “When I changed the triage time I honestly thought I had looked at the time wrong when I saw the times I had given the aspirin and when the labs & EKG were ordered. I didn’t believe it took an hour to triage the patient as I was triaging while placing him on the monitor, oxygen and obtaining a saline lock.”
This is just one of the many cases why every nurse in Texas is expected to act with prudence in practicing the profession. Gross negligence, disobedience or any form of offense on the part of an RN or LVN is never excused.
Any type of accusations can be defended, as long as there is a skilled nurse attorney ready to assist you during the hearing before the Board of Nursing. The Texas Board of Nursing has full jurisdiction regarding cases that may affect an RN or LVN’s license from suspension, disciplinary action or revocation.
The RN lost the case simply because she failed to find an effective and efficient nurse attorney. Avoid committing the same mistake she did. Find the right nurse attorney in Texas to help you with your needs. Contact nurse attorney Yong J. An directly by calling or texting him at (832) 428-5679 for a discreet consultation.