The nursing profession is not an easy journey. Every practicing RN or LVN license holder in the state of Texas is required to follow certain rules and regulations imposed by the government. These laws and statutes were implemented to ensure that the safety of the patients is protected by the state. A nurse attorney is the one responsible for defending the case filed against an RN or LVN.
An RN who commits any violation can place her RN License in jeopardy. The Texas Board of Nursing has the authority to revoke or suspend an RN license in the country for as long as there is a justifiable reason.
One perfect example of this happened to an RN who, at that time of the incident, was employed as a Staff Nurse in a Healthcare facility in Fort Worth, Texas, and had been in that position for just one month.
On or about August 23, 2016, through September 4, 2016, the RN administered four doses of Norco 10-325mg, five (5) doses of Tramadol 50mg, and four doses of Tylenol #3 3 00-30mg to a patient, after the medications were discontinued by the physician.
The RN defends herself by saying that she started working at the facility the day before the first incident and was supposed to be training for three days. She states that on the dates and for the medications in question, the medications were most likely administered by her at those times.to that exact patient.
The RN further states that on her second day, she worked her first night shift and, to her surprise, she found out that she was not going to have a preceptor, and that she would work the floor alone that twelve-hour shift. She states that she then asked the assistant director of nursing (ADON) that night if she needed to sign a Safe Harbor slip because she felt uncomfortable with working alone with these residents that she hardly knew and the ADON told her that they did not have any but she would help her out.
According to the RN, the ADON left half-way through the shift. She states that she continued to fulfill her obligations instead of abandoning her employer. The RN states that the facility was very short-staffed and did not have a training system in place due to this issue. She further states that she was notified by her DON of the incidents and was in-serviced on the medication errors that she had made.
However, the Texas BON found that the, however, RN’s conduct was likely to injure the patient from adverse effects of a possible overdosage of narcotic medications without a physician’s order. Because of this, her RN license was disciplined.
She did not have a nurse attorney to fully defend her case led to this decision by the Texas BON.
Do you have questions about the Texas Board of Nursing disciplinary process? Contact The Law Office of nurse attorney Yong J. An for a confidential consultation by calling or texting 24/7 at (832) 428-5679 and ask for nurse attorney Yong.