An experienced nurse attorney has surely helped a lot of RNs and LVNs when it comes to cases that may lead to disciplinary action. Unfortunately, not all nurses were able to hire a nurse attorney as they underwent such cases. This incident that an RN committed in February 2018 was one of those examples.
On or about February 27, 2018, the RN failed to properly assess, intervene and failed to notify her supervisors when a patient presented with low blood pressure, tachycardia, dizziness and seeing spots, symptoms of insufficient blood flow. Instead, she placed the patient in a minor care room. The RN failed to document the patient’s history of severe, late-stage alcoholism, his state of being unkempt, and his jaundice (yellow skin), a symptom of liver problems that occur as a complication of late-stage alcoholism. Shortly after coming to the ED, the patient began to repeatedly vomit blood, a hallmark symptom of varices in alcoholic patients, which has a high risk for death especially without treatment; it continued throughout the afternoon, the patient was subsequently diagnosed with gastrointestinal hemorrhage, and transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
The RN’s conduct resulted in an inaccurate, incomplete medical record, and may have contributed to the delay of the start of medical treatment required to prevent complications, and likely contributed to patient injury and suffering from gastrointestinal hemorrhage with risk for death.
The Texas Board of Nursing has full jurisdiction over all cases regarding errors committed by an RN or LVN. Thus, she was called by the Board to defend against the case.
During the hearing, the RN denies that she triaged the patient, she reports she did not log out of the computer when she left the nursing station in triage at the time of the incident so that the documentation of the triage is electronically in her name.
The following incident and defense against the case caused the Texas Board of Nursing to place the RN and her license into disciplinary proceedings. She would have sought assistance from a good nurse attorney to provide clarifications towards the case.
If you’ve ever done any errors during your shift as an RN or LVN, and you wish to preserve your career and your license, an experienced nurse attorney is what you need. Nurse Attorney Yong J. An, an experienced nurse lawyer for various licensing cases for 14 years, can assist you by contacting him at (832) 428-5679.