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The Texas Board of Nursing is known to be very strict when it comes to all actions of nurses, which is why a nurse attorney is needed when attending hearings before the Board. The Texas Board of Nursing does not allow those who wish to exceed the scope of their practice as an RN or LVN. A certain LVN in Houston could’ve done this but failed to hire a good nurse attorney.

At the time of the incident, the LVN was employed in a medical facility in Houston and had been working in the facility for two years already.

On or about June 2015, through the present date, the LVN exceeded her Board authorized scope of practice as an FNP by practicing in the role of a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner for multiple employers, without authorization and licensure from the Texas Board of Nursing, as required. Additionally, the LVN misrepresented herself to the public as a Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Her conduct was likely to deceive patients and the public in that they believed the LVN’s nursing practice was in compliance with all Board Rules and Regulations.

In response to the incident, the LVN states that she passed her Psychiatric/Mental Health Board exam in April 2016, but she was not aware, taught, or informed that she had to apply for additional licensure specifically for the Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) role, until she attended a PMHNP group meeting in February 2017. She states that she then immediately submitted an application online in March 2017, and did not receive any reply from the Board’s office, which gave her the impression that everything was fine for her to continue working. The LVN states that she again received a letter in March 2018 that the application from the prior year would expire soon, so she then submitted all the required documentation and became more proactive in the application process.

The LVN states that she has been working at the healthcare facility providing medical and psychiatric care, which is part of her Family Nurse Practitioner scope of practice.

The Texas Board of Nursing has full jurisdiction over all cases that may affect the RN license. The strictness of the Board also ensures that nurses will only commit to the duties they are assigned to in order to guarantee accurate and excellent performance in all hospitals throughout the state of Texas.

As a result, the Texas Board of Nursing decided to sentence her LVN license to disciplinary action to ensure that she will never commit such acts again. It may be okay to get close to a patient or student. But make sure that it’s within the scope of your own practices, as it can cause problems and may cause further harm and issue to anyone.

The case would have yielded a different result if the LVN was able to hire a nurse attorney. So if you also have the same cases or concerns, it’s best to contact Nurse Attorney Yong J. An for further details. You may contact him at (832) 428-5679 to get a schedule for a confidential consultation.