Complaints from patients may cause your license and career at risk. Issues such as this may greatly affect your future career, but only if you failed to hire a nurse attorney for the case. There are some RNs and LVNs who missed their chances to get a better defense just because they weren’t able to hire any nurse attorney to defend them.
At the time of the incident, the RN was employed as an ON-Call RN at a hospital in Edinburg, Texas, and had been in that position for two (20 years and eight (8) months.
It was on or about February 9, 2018, the RN failed to appropriately question the group home staff member regarding the medical history and medications of the patient when staff called at 7:42 am reporting that the patient had an elevated blood pressure of 151/112 mmHg and a heart rate of 122 beats per minute. Additionally, the RN failed to ensure the staff member performed follow-up vital signs and/or advise the staff to send the patient to the emergency room. Instead, the RN told staff to have the nurse at the day program assess him on arrival, and he sent a group text to nursing staff one (1) hour later informing them of the patient’s elevated vital signs. The patient was not assessed by a nurse until around noon, at which time he was experiencing vomiting, shortness of breath, and a distended abdomen. The patient was transported to the hospital where he was diagnosed with severe bowel impaction and bowel obstruction and died less than four (4) hours later. The RN’s conduct resulted in a delay in treatment for the patient that was needed to prevent further complications.
In response to the incident involving the RN, the RN states that he got the call from the staff member who reported the elevated heart rate and blood pressure, and asked if the patient had received his morning medications and was told he had, so he asked the staff member to retake the vital signs. The RN states that he was told that the patient was in the van and on the way to the day workshop, but was reported to not have any symptoms and was sitting quietly in the van. The RN also stated that he told the staff member to have the nurse reassess him when he arrived at the workshop. The RN states that he did not have access to an updated patient record which includes diagnoses, complete medication lists, or plans of care, so he is dependent on asking the group home staff questions. The RN adds that if the staff member had reported any symptoms, he would have told them to pull over and he would have called 911 himself. The RN states that he sent a text message report at 8:42 am regarding the patient and received a reply at 9:26 am from the nurse at the workshop that she would follow up with the patient.
However, the Texas Board of Nursing found that his conduct violates the Texas Occupations Code. As a result, he receives disciplinary and further sanctions from the Texas Board of Nursing (BON).
This is just one of the many causes why every RN in Texas is expected to act with prudence in practicing the profession. Gross negligence or disobedience on the part of the RN is never excused.
Avoid committing the same mistake the RN did. Find the right nurse attorney in Texas to help you with your needs. Contact nurse attorney Yong J. An directly by calling or texting him at (832) 428-5679 for a discreet consultation.