Malpractices have been a signature specialty of a nurse attorney when handling cases for some nurses. However, some nurses tend to forget this fact because they really felt like they should be responsible even if they never intended to commit such an error.
On or about April 24, 2017, while employed as a Registered Nurse in medical facility in Houston, the RN incorrectly documented that one (1) mg out of a two (2) mg/one (1) ml vial of Morphine that was removed for a patient was wasted, when the vial had not yet been opened.
Subsequently, the patient refused the administration of Morphine and the RN documented the wastage of the remaining one (1) mg of Morphine. Her conduct resulted in an inaccurate medical record and was likely to injure the patient in that subsequent caregivers would not have accurate documentation in order to provide further patient care.
Because of this, the RN was summoned by the Texas Board of Nursing to defend her side.
This issue was filed as a complaint and sent to the Texas Board of Nursing. The Texas Board of Nursing has full jurisdiction in all cases that may affect the status of an RN or LVN’s license in the future. But they advise nurses to attend a hearing first before placing the sentence, which the RN attended for her career’s security.
During the hearing, the RN states that she had been caring for the patient for more than a week and he never requested or required as needed pain medication, as he was receiving scheduled pain medication. The patient had an order for a computerized tomography (CT) scan. She states that the CT nurse called her and asked her to pre-medicate the patient for pain. She states that she informed the nurse that the patient does not take additional pain medication, but the CT nurse insisted.
The RN states that she went to the Pyxis and pulled two (2) mg IV morphine and had another nurse witness a one (1) mg waste since the patient’s dose was for one (1) mg. The RN stated she did not open the vial and took the unopened vial to the patient’s room whereupon the patient refused the pain medication. When questioned by her clinical nurse leader, she states that she apologized and told her that she knew it was not done according to policy.
As a result, 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.