Every year, many nurses face disciplinary action by the Texas BON. Many of these nurses fail to consult an experienced Texas BON attorney and as a result end up taking actions based only on instinct and at many times, ill-informed advice from outsiders. The result of not responding to a letter from the Texas BON in a timely manner or taking the proper precautions to carefully prepare for your case with the Texas BON can result in unfortunate circumstances. Many nurses also waive their rights to a hearing and do not realize that their chance of a more favorable outcome may increase by consulting an experienced nurse attorney before making any rash decisions.
Let’s examine the incident that happened to an RN who was employed with a health care agency in McAllen, Texas, and had been in that position for eight (8) months.
On or about January 3, 2020 through February 15, 2020, while employed as an RN with a health care agency in McAllen, Texas, RN failed to accurately and correctly document in a timely manner. Additionally, as of January 25, 2020, there were thirty-seven (37) skilled nursing notes not completed.
In response, RN states the health care agency used an electronic system that he was not familiar with and received one day of training by reading manual books and reviewing one patient’s chart. RN states the documentation in question was missing because of the lack of internet availability in the area. RN expresses his understanding that he is responsible to document patient care in a timely fashion but states his skilled nursing visits were primarily teaching visits. RN states he is responsible for failure of documenting on time and he is certain with more training and the right equipment, such as available internet in areas needed, he would have not fallen behind. He states the health care agency did not provide appropriate equipment and that he couldn’t use the internet at fast food restaurants because he needed a secure connection.
The above actions constitute grounds for disciplinary action in accordance with Section 301.452(b)(10)&(13), Texas Occupations Code, and is a violation of 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.11(1)(A),(1)(B)&(1)(D) and 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.12(1)(A), (1)(B),(1)(C),(4)&(11)(B).
The Texas Board of Nursing then subjected the RN and his license into disciplinary action. The accusation would have been defended by an experienced and skilled Texas Nursing Law Attorney, had the RN hired one. Hiring a Texas Nursing Law 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 Texas Nursing Law Attorney, Yong J. An. He is an experienced nurse attorney who represented more than 300 nurse cases for RNs and LVNs for the past 16 years. You can call him at (832) 428-5679 to get started or to inquire for more information regarding nursing license case defenses.