Documentations have been a signature specialty of a nurse attorney when handling cases for some nurses. However, some nurses tend to forget this fact because they really felt like they should be responsible even if they never intended to commit such an error. A nurse attorney is the best defense on allegations of proper documentation failure.
At the time of the incident, she was employed as an RN at a hospital in Grand Prairie, Texas, and had been in that position for nine (9) months.
On or about April 8, 2020, while employed as an RN at a hospital in Grand Prairie, Texas, RN failed to correctly insert a Foley catheter for a patient, who presented for an outpatient Cardiac Cath Lab procedure. Specifically, no urine return was noted after RN inserted the catheter and flushed it. Additionally, RN failed to completely document regarding the insertion of the Foley catheter, including size, drainage, flushes, or problems encountered after inserting the catheter. Subsequently, the patient was noted to have gross hematuria with clots, pain, and required additional medical treatment. RN’s conduct was likely to injure the patient from incorrect placement of the Foley catheter causing damage.
In response, RN states that there was no resistance or trauma noted upon insertion of the Foley Catheter. RN states that the catheter slid in with no physically felt or observed issues. RN states that she did not notice immediate urine return and asked the anesthesiologist if she should flush with a small amount of normal saline, which she then did. RN states that the anesthesiologist then told her it was okay to proceed with the remainder of the procedure. RN states that towards the end of the procedure little to no urine was still observed, which she reported to the anesthesiologist. RN states that she was given the okay to flush with sterile saline once more, but she did not notice any urine still. RN reports that another nurse then came into the procedure and proceeded to manipulate and flush the catheter until blood or bloody urine came out of the catheter. RN states that at no point did she attempt to move the catheter around in the patient’s body. RN states that at this point, the patient was moved to the recovery room. RN states that the documentation of the event could have been better. RN states that she did not thoroughly document the events that happened during the procedure.
The above actions constitute grounds for disciplinary action in accordance with Section 301.452(b)(10)&(13), Texas Occupations Code, and is a violation of 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.11(1)(A),(1)(B),(1)(C),(1)(D),(1)(M)&(3)(A) and 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.12(1)(A)&(1)(B).
The Texas Board of Nursing gave the RN enough time to defend the complaints filed against her. However, there was a failure on the RN’s part to find the right RN/LVN license attorney to handle her case. The negligence of the RN/LVN license attorney led to the decision of the Texas BON to place the RN’s license under disciplinary action.
Equip yourself with the knowledge and expertise you need for a successful outcome by consulting a knowledgeable and experienced Texas RN/LVN license attorney. Texas Nurse Attorney Yong J. An is one of those dedicated nurse attorneys who helped represent more than 300 nurse cases for the past 16 years. Contact the Law Office of Yong J. An 24/7 through text or call at (832) 428-5679 for a confidential consultation regarding any accusations from the Texas BON.