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Losing your license may greatly affect your future career, but only if you failed to hire a nurse attorney for your case. There are some RNs and LVNs who missed their chances to get their license saved from revocation just because they weren’t able to hire any nurse attorney to properly defend them. 

At the time of the initial incident, an RN was employed as a Registered Nurse at a hospital in Odessa, Texas, and had been in that position for three (3) months.

On or about September 7, 2018, and September 10, 201 8, while employed as a Registered Nurse, the RN exhibited signs of impaired behavior, including, but not limited to: the RN was late for his shift, appeared pale, diaphoretic, distracted, unable to communicate clearly, scattered, sweating, agitated,   and unable to recall simple actions. Subsequently, the RN was unable to complete nursing duties for his assigned patients during these shifts, including documenting the patients’ medical records and providing handoff reports to the next shift, without assistance and prompting from a nurse preceptor. The RN’s condition could have affected his ability to recognize subtle signs, symptoms, or changes in patient’s conditions, and could have affected his ability to make rational, accurate, and appropriate assessments, judgments, and decisions regarding patient care, thereby placing the patients in potential danger.

In response to the incident, the RN states that towards the end of July, and beginning of August, he lost a week of orientation which included charting experience, time management building, and working towards a full load of patients due to family emergencies. The RN states that he also did not have a working login for the Meditech system for the first 2 weeks so he lost more time in the orientation process in learning the charting system. The RN states that he spent hours on the phone with IT practically every day for those first 2 weeks and was not able to chart. The RN states that he was late to work on the 7th, and trying to get up the floor from the parking garage quickly could have definitely made him sweaty and appear a little out of sorts. The RN states that he had to have another nurse correct entries that the RN incorrectly entered into the computer. The RN states that at the end of his shift, another nurse handed him a pink post-it note with a list of things still needing to be charted and told him to ask the charge nurse to check it when he was done.

In addition, the RN states that the charge nurse took a report from him at the end of the shift, and advised that he was done for the day. The RN states that he attempted to leave when the nurse approached him and told him he still needed to give a report as she was not the relieving nurse. The RN states that he was extremely late on September 10, 201 8, and arrived between 9:15 — 9:30. He states that he was assigned 4 patients and was surprised when his preceptor told him that she had not given medications to any of the patients since it was the RN’s responsibility. The RN states that he assessed his patients and caught up with the critical meds when he was called into the supervisor’s office. The RN states that he was told that because he was late and had erratic behavior, he was going to have to undergo a drug screen. The RN states that he freaked out because he is prescribed ADHD medication and anti-anxiety medications, and knew that he would be positive for those medications. The RN states that he refused the screen and had his friend take him to get his car from the garage. The RN states that since he was late and then pulled off the floor less than two (2) hours of being at work, he was not able to administer all prescribed medications or finish charting.

However, without enough evidence to support her case and a nurse attorney to help her, she was disciplined. Thus, the Texas Board of Nursing subjected her license to revocation.  Because of this, the LVN has been subjected to discipline.

Losing your LVN or RN license can compromise your career. However, a skilled nurse attorney can greatly help you in major cases such as this. For assistance regarding your nurse license case, it’s best to contact Nurse Attorney Yong J. An by contacting him at (832) 428-5679.