An RN or LVN who violates the state laws and issues from the Texas Board of Nursing (BON) should seek proper help from a nurse attorney. Doing so could make or break their cases. As a matter of fact, the LVN license can even be suspended or revoked if not defended properly.
The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) is the government agency that has jurisdiction to hear and decide administrative cases involving LVN licenses. The BON has the power to suspend and/or revoke the nurse license. It is also the agency that is responsible for overseeing the practice of professional nursing all over the State of Texas.
At the time of the initial incident, he was employed as an LVN with a medical facility in Odessa, Texas and had been in that position for five (5) months.
On or about March 31, 2020, while employed as an LVN in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at a medical facility in Odessa, Texas, and caring for a patient who was transferred to the ICU for a higher level of care as a result of septic shock/hypoxia, LVN did the following:
- LVN failed to validate the patient’s vital signs in order to preserve them in the patient’s medical record; instead, the patient’s vital signs were validated by the leadership team. LVN’s conduct could have resulted in an incomplete medical record and could have contributed to injury to the patient in that subsequent care givers did not have accurate and complete information on which to base their decisions for further care.
- LVN failed to document the doses of norepinephrine administered to the patient in the medication administration record and failed to document that he stopped the norepinephrine at 0500. LVN’s conduct resulted in an incomplete medical record and could have contributed to injury to the patient in that subsequent care givers did not have accurate and complete information on which to base their decisions for further care.
In response, LVN states that he takes accountability for not charting the norepinephrine titration and not validating 15-minute vitals. LVN states that one reason for not validating the vital signs was due to his concerns that many blood pressure readings were not accurate due to the inability to keep the patient’s blood pressure cuff in place as a result of the patient’s combativeness and the discomfort the patient experienced when the blood pressure was taken. LVN states he was constantly in the patient’s room to monitor and assess the patient, including assessing the patient’s vital signs and oxygen saturation levels.
The above actions constitute grounds for disciplinary action in accordance with Section 301.452(b)(13), Texas Occupations Code, and is a violation of 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.11(1)(A),(1)(B),(1)(C),(1)(D)&(1)(M).
However, without enough evidence to prove he’s not guilty, the LVN lost the case. This is the reason why the Texas Board of Nursing placed his LVN license under disciplinary action.
Do not be stressed or anxious if you find yourself in a similar situation as that of the LVN mentioned above. All you need to do is to find the right RN/LVN license attorney who can help you in the case. Equip yourself with the knowledge and expertise you need for a successful outcome by consulting a knowledgeable and experienced Texas RN/LVN license attorney. Texas Nurse Attorney Yong J. An is an experienced nurse attorney for various licensing cases for the past 16 years and represented over 300 nurses before the Texas BON. Contact the Law Office of Yong J. An 24/7 through text or call at (832) 428-5679.