The role of a nurse is very essential in inpatient care. A patient’s recovery with long-term health outcomes is implicated by the quality of care that nurses give to their patients. Although they give such quality care, a lot of factors hinder nurses in giving such care. Sometimes nurses make mistakes in providing patient care and can be counted as a violation of the Nursing Practice Act or to any related rules and regulations of nursing. If you are an RN and such a situation happens, always remember that a nurse attorney can help.
At the time of the incident, RN was employed as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at a pediatric hospital in Dallas, Texas, and had been in that position for eight (8) years and three (3) months.
On or about December 30, 2020, through December 27, 2021, while employed as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at a pediatric hospital in Dallas, Texas, RN failed to timely follow up on the lab tests she ordered for a patient on December 30, 2020. The patient had critical lab results, including a glycosylated hemoglobin of 11.2%, glucose of 491 mg/dl, and total cholesterol of 264. Subsequently, the patient was diagnosed and hospitalized with diabetes and a fatty liver on December 28, 2021. RN’s conduct delayed the onset of medical interventions and was likely to injure the patient from complications of elevated glucose and cholesterol levels.
In response, RN states the lapse in care was caused by the clinic staff who received the abnormal lab results and scanned them into the patient’s chart without informing the RN. In addition, RN states the patient had been pre-diabetic since she was 7 years old and providers often provided education on healthier lifestyle, referred to nutrition and weight management but the family did not make the patient’s health a priority. RN states the course of treatment was not ideal due to the lack of care of the mother and of the patient, and lapses by office staff who were hired to help her as a provider.
The above action constitutes grounds for disciplinary action in accordance with Section 301.452(b)(10)&(b)(13), Texas Occupations Code, and is a violation of 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.11(1)(A),(1)(B)&(1)(M) and 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.12(1)(A),(1)(B)&(4).
A case was ultimately filed against her before the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). The said allegation was fatal to the RN’s capability to perform the essential functions and duties. Sad to say, the nursing defense attorney who handled her case was not able to properly defend her interests and rights before the Board. The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) found her guilty of the offense alleged in the complaint and decided to place her RN license under disciplinary action.
If you also received a letter from the Texas Board of Nursing regarding a case or complaint filed against you, you should hire a nurse attorney immediately before it’s too late. Texas Nurse Attorney Yong J. An is one of those dedicated nurse attorneys who helped represent more than 300 nurse cases for the past 16 years. You may contact him 24/7 at (832) 428-5679 for more information or if you want to schedule a private consultation.