The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) is the government agency that has jurisdiction to hear and decide administrative cases involving RN and LVN in Texas. It is also the agency that is responsible for overseeing the practice of professional nursing all over the state of Texas. Any RN or LVN who is guilty of violating state laws and issuances from the Texas Board of Nursing (BON) may be subjected to penalties or fines if not properly defended by a nurse attorney. As a matter of fact, the RN license and LVN license can even be suspended or revoked.
At the time of the initial incident, an RN was employed as a Registered Nurse at a hospital in Pearland, Texas, and had been in that position for six (6) months.
On or about September 16, 2019, while employed as a Registered Nurse, the RN failed to accurately and/or completely document the number of attempts and the amount of difficulty experienced while accessing the Port-a-Cath for the patient who required intravenous access.
Additionally, the RN failed to activate the chain of command when the patient refused a peripheral intravenous site and requested to speak with the owner/manager to have another staff member access her port. Later, the RN stated to the Chief Nursing Officer that he did not call for assistance because he felt there was no reason.
Furthermore, the RN failed to adhere to the facility’s policy when accessing a port-a-Cath, which was assessed as having redness or swelling and the patient complaining of pain. The RN’s conduct created an inaccurate medical record and could have deprived subsequent caregivers of vital information on which to base further nursing care and interventions.
On or about October 1, 2019, the RN failed to completely and accurately document care given to a patient, such that he requested a change to the original medical record without clarifying how to properly do so. As a result, the staff member believed the RN asked him to delete the original medical record. The RN’s conduct created confusion and could have resulted in the destruction of a medical record.
In response, the RN stated he assessed the catheter site and observed that it appeared slanted with slight swelling on the right side, but there was no redness or tenderness. The RN states he reported this to the attending physician, who instructed him to attempt to access the port-a-cath. The RN states he did as instructed and in fact, was successful in one attempt. The RN states, that when interviewed by a member of the facility’s management team, his reporting of the slanted port-a-cath, was mistaken as an indication that he had experienced difficulty in accessing the catheter when in fact, he was merely reporting the slanted port-a-cath to the physician as he believed he was required to do.
Additionally, the RN denies asking the Emergency Room front desk staff member to remove a part of the medical record previously recorded from September 16, 2019, for a patient.
The Texas Board of Nursing then subjected the RN and her license to disciplinary action. The accusation would have been defended by an experienced and skilled nurse attorney, had the RN hired one. Hiring a nurse attorney for defense is applicable for any kind of accusation laid against an RN or LVN.
For more details and to schedule a confidential consultation, you must approach one of the most experienced nurse attorneys in Texas, Nurse Attorney Yong J. An. He has assisted numerous nursing license cases since 2006. You may contact him by dialing (832)-428-5679 if you wish to learn more information should you undergo accusations or any other case that may affect your license.