The outcome of the patient’s health will be based on the nurse’s efforts and proper care. However, if an RN conducts improper care which can harm the patient, he or she may face complaints or allegation cases. An RN should come prepared before appearing or facing the Board. A nurse attorney can be your best defense against any circumstances.
At the time of the incident, she was employed as an RN at a hospital in Mission, Texas, and had been in that position for nine (9) years.
On or about January 24, 2020, while working as an RN at a hospital in Mission, Texas, and caring for a patient, RN failed to timely notify the physician of the fetal distress and late decelerations while pushing during labor. Additionally, RN failed to discontinue Pitocin when the patient had the late decelerations, per ordered protocol. Subsequently, the infant was delivered with a cord pH of 6.99, and Apgar’s of 4/7/9, and required transfer to a higher level of care. RN’s conduct was likely to injure the fetus from delayed treatment.
In response, RN states that she had spent several hours at the patient’s bedside managing the patient’s labor and had fallen behind in her nursing documentation. RN states that the patient had been laboring and the fetal monitor had indicated variable deceleration in the heart rate that required frequent position changes. RN states that the physician was contacted when the patient was complete and did a couple of practice pushes with the patient. RN states that the patient had deep variables with both pushes. RN states that the physician started to push the patient and when she is complete to call. RN states that at that time, the physician did not make any changes to care, the Pitocin drip was not ordered to be stopped. RN states that she asked her charge nurse to labor the patient to allow RN time to get caught up with her nursing documentation. RN states that she sat at the nurse’s station to complete her charting and at no time did the charge nurse, or the second nurse assisting her request RN’s help or ask her to provide any care. RN states that she was charting and was not aware of the fetal distress, that the charge nurse was in the room providing care to the patient. RN states that the charge nurse had viewing access to the fetal heart tones while she was in the room. RN states that she was focused on her charting, so she did not see the fetal decelerations that would indicate a need to stop the Pitocin. RN states that she trusted the charge nurse to care for her patient while she was charting and did not watch the monitor.
The above action constitutes 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),(1)(P)&(3)(A) and 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.12(1)(A),(1)(B)&(4).
However, without enough evidence to prove she’s not guilty, the RN lost the case. This is the reason why the Texas Board of Nursing placed her RN license under disciplinary action.
If you ever undergo cases such as this, it’s best to seek the assistance of a good nurse attorney as it could make the case better in your favor. Be sure to find a nurse attorney who is experienced and knowledgeable in several nurse cases to ensure the best assistance possible.
If you also received a letter from the Texas Board of Nursing regarding a case or complaint filed on you, you should hire a nurse attorney immediately before it’s too late. Texas Nurse Attorney Yong J. An is willing to assist every nurse in need of immediate help for nurse licensing cases. He is an experienced nurse attorney for various licensing cases for the past 16 years and represented over 300 nurses before the Texas BON. To contact him, please dial (832)-428-5679 for a confidential consultation or for more inquiries.