Illegal drug use has been a signature specialty of a nurse attorney when handling cases for some nurses. However, some nurses tend to forget this fact because they really felt like they should be responsible even if they never intended to commit such an error.
On or about November 2, 2014, through January 12, 2015, while employed as staff nurse in a medical facility in Mc Allen, the RN withdrew one capsule of Lyrica 50mg, one tablet of Lorazepam 0.5mg, four tablets of Hydrocodone/APAP 7.5/325mg, and nineteen tablets of Hydrocodone/APAP 5/325mg, from the medication dispensing system for patients, but failed to follow the facility’s policy and procedure for wastage of the unused portions of the medications. Her conduct left medications unaccounted for, was likely to deceive the hospital pharmacy, and placed the pharmacy in violation of Chapter 481 (Controlled Substances Act) of the Texas Health and Safety Code.
When she submitted a specimen for a for-cause drug screen, the result was positive for these drugs. The use of these drugs by a Registered Nurse, while subject to call or duty, could impair the nurse’s ability to recognize subtle signs, symptoms, or changes in a patient’s condition, and could impair the nurse’s ability to make rational, accurate, and appropriate assessments, judgments, and decisions regarding patient care, thereby placing a patient in potential danger.
This issue was filed as a complaint and sent to the Texas Board of Nursing. The Texas Board of Nursing has full jurisdiction in all cases that may affect the status of an RN or LVN’s license in the future. But they advise nurses to attend a hearing first before placing the sentence, which the RN attended for her career’s security.
However, the RN failed to hire an effective nurse attorney to help her defend her side. As a result, the Texas Board of Nursing placed her RN license to disciplinary action. It’s too bad that she failed to hire a nurse attorney for assistance, knowing that she had every reason to defend herself in the first place. Her defense would have gotten better if she actually sought legal consultation from a Texas nurse attorney as well.
So if you’re facing a complaint from the Board, it’s best to seek legal advice first. Texas Nurse Attorney Yong J. An is willing to assist every nurse in need of immediate help for nurse licensing cases. To contact him, please dial (832)-428-5679 for a confidential consultation or for more inquiries.