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 Odessa, Texas, and had been in that position for one (1) year and one (1) month.
On or about January 17, 2019, while employed as a Registered Nurse, the RN failed to document clarification with the physician regarding an order for eye drops for a patient. The RN documented the administration of the aforementioned medication to a patient when the medication had not been verified by the pharmacy due to a discrepancy between the dosage of the order for the medication and the dosage of the medication itself. The RN’s conduct resulted in an incomplete medical record and was likely to injure the patient in that subsequent caregivers would rely on her documentation in order to provide further care.
In response to the incident, the RN states that she did not give the eye drops to the patient because the medication administration record said it was the wrong dose. The RN states that the medication was Acular 0.4 mg in the medication administration record, but the actual dose on the bottle was Acular 0.5 mg. The RN states she contacted the doctor to make sure the right order was put into the medication administration record. The RN states she then contacted the pharmacist and he informed her that the correct dose would be sent along with the correct label the next morning. The RN states that for the safety of the patient she did not want to give the wrong dosage. The RN stated she relayed this information to the incoming nurse and she agreed to follow up for the corrected dose in the morning.
As a result, the Texas Board of Nursing placed her RN license in 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.