Select Page

Leaving your assignment as a nurse is a form of the negligence of duty. A lot can badly happen to a patient if you will just leave your assignment without prior notice. It is a serious issue of negligence; you can have your license suspended or worst be revoked because of such inappropriate behavior.  The Texas Board of Nursing will have you subject to disciplinary action or a lot worse than that. If this happens, an RN should know how to defend herself/himself by means of having a nurse attorney around.

At the time of the incidents, the RN was employed as a Registered Nurse at a hospital in Laredo, Texas, and had been in that position for four (4) months.

It was on or about November 11, 2019, that the RN had failed to count medication with the off-going shift when she arrived for her shift at 1900. The RN’s conduct could have resulted in an inaccurate medication count.

And on or about November 11, 2019, through November 12, 2019, the RN left her nursing assignment eight (8) hours early without giving a hand-off report to another nurse, without counting medication with another nurse, without completing a safety huddle, and without completing a patient admission. The RN’s conduct exposed the patients unnecessarily to risk of harm in that leaving the nursing assignment could have resulted in patients not getting the care needed. Furthermore, the RN’s conduct could have resulted in an inaccurate medication count and medical record, and was likely to injure the patients in that subsequent caregivers would not have complete information on which to base their care decisions and identify safety issues.

And on the same day, the RN failed to complete assessments and/or reassessments for patients, but falsely signed that she did complete them. The RN’s conduct resulted in an inaccurate medical record and was likely to injure the patients in that subsequent caregivers would not have complete information on which to base their care decisions. Furthermore, the RN’s conduct was likely to injure the patients in that failure to assess patients as ordered by a physician could have resulted in non-efficacious treatment.

In response to the incidents, the RN states that she did not count with the nurse assigned to the 3-11 shift as the nurse left while the RN was on the phone with the House Supervisor inquiring about finding help for the 11-7 shift. The RN states that upon arrival to the unit she was in report for twenty (20) minutes, had to check patient rooms for contraband which took another hour, and was at full capacity with twenty (20) patients. The RN states that she proceeded to make rounds, but had to address contraband found in a patient’s room, make arrangements for a new admission, and address three patients running in the hallway. She states that after she addressed all of this, it was close to time for shift change and learned there was no relief. She also states that she told her supervisor that she was not comfortable working the rest of the shift herself due to acuity level, but was told that there was no one else to call in. Also, she states that she informed both House Supervisors that she could not complete her shift and jeopardize her license. The RN states that she would not have accepted the shift had she known she would be left short-staffed. She added that she began signing check-off sheets used to document patient behavior but was unable to complete her documentation. The RN states that she did not falsify documents to her knowledge. The RN states that both supervisors arrived to her unit and asked for her badge and keys, and escorted her out not giving her the opportunity to give report or complete a medication count. The RN states that the safety huddle and patient admission were not completed in full as she did not have time to complete a full shift of duties in four hours.

As a result, evidence was submitted and it is shown that the RN had committed violations pursuant to Section 301.452(b)(10)&(13), Texas Occupations Code. The RN is now subjected to disciplinary action by the Board.

Hiring a nurse attorney could possibly lead to a positive outcome. That is why it is best to have a nurse attorney around when facing such cases. So if you have questions regarding the Texas Board of Nursing disciplinary process, you may contact the Law Office of RN License Attorney Yong J. An for a confidential consultation by calling or texting 24/7 at (832) 428-5679 and ask for attorney Yong.