All LVN or RN is under the jurisdiction of the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). All complaints or cases concerning the practice of their license are lodged before the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). Thereafter, the members of the Board will hear the case and decide on the issues or matters submitted for resolution. The parties charged are given the opportunity to be heard with the help of a nurse attorney. This is part of their right to due process.
At the time of the incident, an RN was employed as a Registered Nurse at a hospital in El Paso, Texas, and had been in that position for fifteen (15) years and three (3) months
On or about, September 5, 2018, the RN failed to document her notification to the physician that the newborn patient had signs of respiratory distress, and that verbal orders were received to monitor the patient. Additionally, the RN failed to timely intervene when the patient’s respiratory status continued to decline. The patient was noted to have persistent grunting, subcostal retractions, labored breathing, and nasal flaring. Subsequently, the newborn patient was transferred to the special care nursery for higher respiratory support. The RN’s conduct resulted in an incomplete medical record and exposed the patient to a risk of harm from a delay in respiratory support.
In regards to the incident, the RN states that the baby was born with the cord wrapped around the neck and was stunned at birth. The RN states that the baby was having mild respiratory difficulty. The RN states that at the time she was assessing and taking vital signs the grunting grew louder. The RN states that she placed the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on the baby for one (1) minute at five (5) minutes of age. The RN states that the patient became stable enough to place on the Mother’s chest to bond for a few minutes. The RN also states that she walked into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to place the baby in an isolette, but he then quit grunting. The RN states that since they had a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) on-site that day, she decided to take the baby to the transition nursery and put him on a monitor there. The RN states that the baby had intermittent grunting and intermittent retractions, but the oxygen saturation stayed at ninety-five (95) to one hundred (100) percent. The RN states that she called the physician and held the phone to the baby, so he could hear the grunting. The RN states that the pediatrician ordered them to monitor for four (4) hours and if anything changed to call him back. The RN states that another physician came to the transition nursery to see how the baby was doing, and she informed her of the pediatrician’s orders to monitor.
The RN states that the NNP was there in the transition nursery also and she informed the NN P that she had called the pediatrician and was told to monitor. The RN states that she then gave a report to the oncoming nurse. The RN states that, while she was charting the NNP, asked her to call the pediatrician again for transfer of the patient to the NICU, although she had already given a report to the oncoming nurse, and she did so. The RN later realized that she was interrupted in her charting and forgot to submit save.
Unfortunately, she failed to properly defend her case against the Texas Board of Nursing. She was disciplined and her license was suspended.
Avoid the same thing from happening to your license. If you are looking for a nurse attorney that has a proven track record in this practice area, contact the Law Firm of Nurse Attorney Yong J. An, 24/7 by calling or texting him at (832) 428-5679 for a confidential consultation. Mr. An has over 10 years of experience handling Texas Board of Nursing disciplinary action cases and has helped several dozens of nurses in Texas protect their licenses.