Some nurses tend to forget the fact that they can hire a nurse attorney when accused of a case they wish to deny or never committed. This is because they really felt like they should be responsible even if they never intended to commit such an error.
At the time of the initial incident, an RN was employed as a Registered Nurse (RN) at a hospital in Odessa, Texas, and had been in that position for nine (9) months.
An incident took place and happened on or about October 12, 2019, when an RN contacted the physician to notify her of a critical lab value for a Patient but was vague and/or unaware of the patient information that the physician needed. The RN’s conduct exposed the patient to the risk of harm by depriving the physician of information required to institute timely medical interventions to stabilize the patient’s condition.
It was on or about October 14, 2019, an RN failed to document admission assessments, including vital signs, for two Patients. The RN’s conduct created incomplete medical records and was likely to injure the patients in that subsequent caregivers would not have complete information to base their future care decisions,
And on or about October 16, 2019, and October 17, 2019, the RN failed to administer IV Zosyn to a Patient at 21:45 and 05:45, respectively, as scheduled and as ordered by the physician. The RN’s conduct was likely to injure the patient from complications associated with infection, including sepsis.
Then on or about October 17, 2019, the RN failed to draw labs for a magnesium level for a patient at 04:00, as ordered by the physician. The lab was drawn by the oncoming shift nurse approximately five (5) hours after the ordered time. The RN’s conduct was likely to injure the patient from delayed lab results and exposed the patient to a risk of harm from complications associated with low magnesium levels.
On or about October 27, 2019, through October 28, 2019, the RN failed to document the reason for initiating restraints for a Patient. Additionally, the RN failed to assess, and/or document her assessment of, the patient after she experienced a fall. The RN’s conduct created an incomplete medical record.
Regarding the admission assessments, the RN states she has never performed an assessment and has not documented it. Regarding Zosyn, the RN states she does not recall ever not giving a patient their medication. Regarding the magnesium level, the RN states that if there was ever a time that she did not draw labs, it was because she attempted to draw labs on them more than once and then asked another nurse to try. The RN adds that if that nurse could not get the labs, she would call rapid and if rapid did not come before the end of the day, she would notify the oncoming shift nurse. Regarding the restraints and patient fall, the RN states she was the only RN on the unit for that shift. The RN states she called the House Supervisor and asked for help because she needed to go down to the pharmacy to get the dialyzer for a patient who needed dialysis. She also states that another patient had previously attempted to get out of bed because he was confused. The RN states the HS sent a surgery RN to help temporarily so she went downstairs to get the dialysis bag and when she returned, the surgery RN told her that a patient had fallen and he had called a rapid response. She states that although the rapid response was there and the other RN had already assessed the patient, she performed her own assessment. The RN admits she did not document her assessment because she forgot.
The Texas Board of Nursing placed her RN license to 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.