The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) is the government agency that has jurisdiction to hear and decide administrative cases involving a RN or LVN nurse. The Board has the power to reprimand the nurses for any violation of the administrative rules and regulations that every nurse is bound to follow. Aside from this, it also has the power to order the suspension or cancellation and revocation of a nursing license.
In exercising the inherent powers of the Texas Board of Nursing (BON), it is important that it observes substantive and procedural due process. Every nurse who has a pending case with the Board must be given the right to be notified of the charges against him as well as the right to be heard. Another right available to him to the right to be represented by a counsel. Unfortunately, many nurses waive their right to a lawyer. Because of this, they are often placed in the losing end.
Take for example the case of Camille who is a vocational nurse in Texas. Right after she passed the Board, she immediately worked at a medical center. While she was engaged in the performance of her nursing tasks, she inappropriately placed warm saline bottles in the axillary and popliteal areas of the patient. She did it even though the patient’s plan of care did not include the house of warmed saline bottles as an appropriate intervention. Moreover, the records of the patient indicated that no interventions were to be implemented unless the patient’s temperature fell below 96 degrees. The act of the LVN nurse was likely to injure the patient from burns due to improper and/or inappropriate applied warming interventions.
Eventually, a case was filed against her before the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). Instead of actively participating in the hearing of the case, the vocational nurse chose to waive his right to a counsel. She did not present any evidence to help her defend her case. The Board declared her guilty for the offense charge. As such, she was suspended from the practice of the nursing profession. Moreover, the Board ordered her to undergo probation.
Consult with Texas nurse attorney Yong J. An today if you have any questions about your response letter or the disciplinary process by calling or texting him at (832) 428-5679 day, night or weekends.