One of the most common reasons that a nurse in Texas may face disciplinary action by the Texas Board of Nursing (BON) is because they either gave the wrong dose of medication, the wrong medication or altogether missed administering the dose of medication that was prescribed by the attending physician.
Let’s explore the case of a nurse in Texas who had her license revoked due to a series of incidents that involved medication.
The first incident occurred in August of 2015, when the nurse failed to administer the ordered dose of Doxycycline to the patient and also failed to notify the physician of the missed mediation. The nurse’s conduct was likely to injure the patient from non-efficacious treatment of the patient’s infection.
The second incident occurred in November of 2015, when the nurse administered Novolin N in error to a patient and failed to notify the physician of this error. The nurse’s conduct was likely to injure the patient from adverse effects of critically low blood sugar, including neurological damage and/or possible demise.
The third incident also occurred in November 2015, when the nurse administered Dextrose 5% Normal Saline intravenous solution to a patient without the physician’s order. Once again, this nurse failed to notify the physician of her error. The nurse’s conduct was likely to injure the patient from possible mis-diagnosis and clinical treatments based on artificially elevated blood glucose levels.
In addition, there was also a fourth incident that occurred in December of 2015. The nurse administered Zyrtec liquid for oral administration to the patient through the patient’s intravenous line (IV). Furthermore, the nurse falsely documented that she had administered the medication orally in the patient’s medical record, and failed to inform the physician of the medication error. The nurse’s conduct was considered deceptive and was likely to injure the patient from adverse effects of administering an oral mediation through an IV, including infection, vein and/or organ damage, and possible demise.
In her defense, the nurse indicated that she was on her way to administer the Doxycycline but got distracted by other duties and forgot to give the patient the medication. Regarding insulin, the nurse now does not administer insulin without checking the original order in the chart. She now realizes that prior to administering saline, she needs to check that the bags of saline have been labeled correctly prior to administration and to check the MAR against the original order from the physician, and to have another nurse check it with her. The nurse also stated that she now used a written or printed MAR to check all medications and ensure she has the right medication, right patient, right dose, right time and right route.
Contact a Dallas Nurse Defense Lawyer if You Find Yourself in a Similar Situation
If you are facing disciplinary action for any reason, contact nurse attorney Yong J. An today for a confidential consultation by texting or calling him 24/7 at (832) 428-5679.