The Texas Board of Nursing is known to be very strict when it comes to all actions of nurses, which is why a nurse attorney is needed when attending hearings before the Board. The Texas Board of Nursing does not allow those who wish to exceed the scope of their practice as licensed nurses. A certain LVN in Houston could’ve done this but failed to hire a good nurse attorney. At the time of the incident, she was employed in a healthcare facility in Houston and had been working in the school for almost five years.
On or about May 16, 2017, the LVN failed to notify the physician of the change in the condition of a patient and instead informed the resident’s family that the resident should be seen by a psychiatrist at another facility. Subsequently, she documented a telephone order from the physician to discharge the resident from the facility and transfer her to a psychiatric hospital, without approval from the physician.
The LVN’s conduct exposed the resident to the risk of harm from interventions implemented without the treating physician’s authorization.
The Texas Board of Nursing took action to the case, summoning the LVN to defend against the accusation. In response, she states that she mistakenly assumed that the nurses caring for the resident were informing the visiting physician of the resident’s change in condition. The LVN states that on the day before, the Assistant Director of Nurses (ADON) notified her that the patient was “going down” psychiatrically and acting out with a staff, and she did not know if anyone contacted the physician.
The next day, the LVN states that she was notified that the resident was on the floor, and would not allow anyone to assess her or check her blood sugar. She states that she called the resident’s daughter to inform her of this and that it was her nursing judgment that the resident needed to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital where she could be treated by a psychiatrist. She states that once she told the resident’s daughter this, the daughter wanted the resident sent right away.
The LVN states that she then sent a text message to the visiting physician to let him know that the family requested that the resident goes to a psychiatric facility, and she told the physician that she would write the discharge and transfer order and it would be in his box.
Unfortunately, the LVN failed to hire a good nurse attorney to help her defend her case.
The Texas Board of Nursing has full jurisdiction over all cases that may affect the LVN license. The strictness of the Board also ensures that nurses will only commit to the duties they are assigned to in order to guarantee accurate and excellent performance in all hospitals throughout the state of Texas.
As a result, the Texas Board of Nursing decided to sentence her LVN license to disciplinary action to ensure that she will never commit such acts again.
The case would have yielded a different result if the LVN was able to hire a nurse attorney. So if you also have the same cases or concerns, it’s best to contact Nurse Attorney Yong J. An for further details. You may contact him at (832) 428-5679 to get a schedule for a confidential consultation.