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.
At the time of the initial incident, an RN was employed as a Registered Nurse at a hospital facility in McAllen, Texas, and had been in that position for one (1) year and one (1) month.
On or about March 28, 2017, while employed as a Registered Nurse, and assigned to a County Jail in Texas, the RN falsely documented the physical examination and health appraisal information of a patient, the RN documented that all entries were within normal limits, however, the patient had an extensive medical and mental health history, including traumatic brain injury, alcohol withdrawal, seizures, suicide attempts, and posttraumatic stress disorder with prior mental health care provided at another facility. The RN’s conduct resulted in inaccurate medical records and was likely to injure the patient in that subsequent caregivers would rely on her documentation in order to provide further patient care.
On or about December 11, 2017, while employed as a Registered Nurse, the RN falsely documented the physical examination and health appraisal information of the patient. The RN documented that all entries were within normal limits and the patient denied medical history and mental health history. however, the following day the patient reported extensive medical information when interviewed by staff. The RN’s conduct resulted in inaccurate medical records and was likely to injure the patient in that subsequent caregivers would rely on her documentation in order to provide further patient care.
On or about January 11, 2018, while employed as a Registered Nurse, the RN falsely documented the physical examination and health appraisal information of six (6) patients, who were not actually examined or seen. The RN’s conduct resulted in inaccurate medical records and was likely to injure the patient in that subsequent caregivers would rely on her documentation in order to provide further patient care.
On or about January 11, 2018, while employed as a Registered Nurse, the RN falsely documented vital signs and weights in the medical records of the patients. The RN’s conduct resulted in inaccurate medical records and was likely to injure the patient in that subsequent caregivers would rely on her documentation in order to provide further patient care.
On or about March 26, 2018, through March 27, 2018, while employed as a Registered Nurse, the RN failed to document physical examination and health appraisal information for nine (9) patients. The RN’s conduct resulted in incomplete medical records and was likely to injure the patient in that subsequent caregivers would rely on her documentation in order to provide further patient care.
In response to the incidents, the RN maintains that the history and physical information inputted by her for the patients at issue accurately and properly reflected the information reported to her by the individual patient. Likewise, the RN denies falsifying the patient vital signs. She included only vital signs done at the time of the history and physical, unless the patient refused, in which case it was left blank. The facility lacked written procedures for completing the patient history and physicals and the RN relied on the limited training and instruction received from her immediate supervisor. The RN was on medical leave for a broken foot from March 28. 2018 to April 15, 2018. If there were incomplete assessments from immediately prior to the RN taking leave, they were not completed because they had not been unlocked for the RN to complete prior to taking leave.
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 for 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.