Whether they work in a hospital, nursing home, or clinic, nurses strive to provide quality care to every patient. Nonetheless, mistakes are made. These errors are sometimes administrative. Other times, they relate to patient care. Either way, a mistake can put the nurse’s license in jeopardy. But this can be helped, a nurse attorney is someone whom you can rely on when mistakes turn into complaints or accusations.
On or about April 18, 2019, while licensed as a Registered Nurse and during the RN’s preceptorship at a medical facility in Denton, Texas, the RN appeared in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) on a day she was not scheduled for, without notification to the faculty or her assigned preceptor.
Additionally, the RN lied about being on the unit of the PICU and did not have proper identification with her name while on the unit. Furthermore, when staff began to question the RN about her presence on the unit, she stated her name was “Brooklyn.” The RN’s conduct was likely to deceive facility staff, patients, and the University of the clinical hours she needed to complete for her graduate classes and created an unsafe environment in that she did not have proper identification while on the unit.
In response, the RN states she is truly sorry for the poor judgment she displayed during her clinical shift at Cook’s on the day reported. The RN states at the time she was working two jobs so she could help pay for her impending adoption. The RN states she was struggling to get all of her required clinical hours completed for her graduate classes. The RN also states that she was having difficulty coordinating times with her preceptor and made a poor decision to report for an unscheduled shift in an effort to obtain her required hours for her class. The RN states she did not confirm the proper badge requirements and wore the badge she was given instead of a badge with a picture ID. The RN explains when the acting team lead began questioning her in an interrogative manner about her refusal to go into a room without personal protective equipment, it made her feel very defensive. The RN states things got out of hand at this point and she realized that she might get in trouble with her instructors and she panicked. The RN states she realizes that she was unwise to even show up for this shift and certainly should not have been dishonest about her name in hopes that her instructors would not find out. The RN states she is not dishonest in her practice and should not have been in this classroom setting. The RN states she did not engage in actual patient care during this time and was basically an observer. The RN states no lives were jeopardized and no patient care was compromised due to her bad choice.
The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) found the RN’s conduct violates a section of the Texas Occupations Code. Thus, her RN license was suspended, and placed on probation.
The Texas Board of Nursing gave the RN sufficient time to defend the complaints filed against her. However, there was a failure on the RN’s part to find the right nurse attorney to handle her case. The negligence of the nurse’s attorney led to the suspension of the defendant’s RN license.
Equip yourself with the knowledge and expertise you need for a successful outcome by consulting a knowledgeable and experienced Texas nurse attorney. Contact the Law Office of Nurse Attorney Yong J. An and text or call nurse attorney Yong 24/7 at (832) 428-4579.