Administering medication to patients should be done carefully and must be in the specifications of the physician’s order. Improper administration of medication can cause harm to patients. The accusation of such negligence is common in nursing care. You just need a nurse attorney before dealing with such accusation cases.
At the time of the incident, she was employed as an LVN at a hospital in Wichita Falls, Texas, and had been in that position for nine (9) years and ten (10) months.
On or about December 27, 2020, while employed as an LVN at a hospital in Wichita Falls, Texas, LVN incorrectly verified and adjusted the infusion rate of heparin being administered to a patient, using a lab result from another patient. Specifically, another nurse based the adjustment of the heparin infusion using the partial thromboplastin time (PTT) lab result of the other patient, who was not receiving heparin and LVN signed off/verified the rate change. Additionally, LVN failed to notify the physician of the error. Subsequently, the error was noted by the oncoming nurse and the patient went the entire night without receiving the correct heparin dose. LVN’s conduct exposed the patient to a risk of harm in that failure to administer medications as ordered by the physician could have resulted in no efficacious treatment of the patient’s condition.
In response, LVN states that the charge nurse informed her that the physician had given verbal orders to place her patient on a heparin drip. LVN states that she informed the charge nurse that she did not feel comfortable administering heparin drips and that this had previously been discussed with management. LVN states that the charge nurse stated to LVN that she would put the orders in and start the heparin drip. LVN states that the charge nurse entered the orders and started the drip on her patient. LVN states that six (6) hours later, lab work was performed. LVN states that once the lab work resulted the charge nurse stated that the lab work had resulted, and the heparin dose was adjusted per the titration policy given by the physician. LVN states that the dose was adjusted on the intravenous pump by the charge nurse. LVN states that upon completion of the shift, the oncoming charge nurse was receiving a report when the oncoming nurse noted that the dose had been adjusted based on incorrect patient labs. LVN states that the charge nurse informed her of the error and informed LVN that she would order new lab work, document the error, and inform the physician since she had been the one who had administered the medication. LVN states that she completed report and left after the completion of her shift. LVN states that the following morning she was texted by the Director that she needed to come by and speak with her about the error. LVN states that during the meeting, she was informed that the charge nurse had not completed any documentation or reported the error to the physician. LVN states that she does take responsibility for the error that was made, as all heparin drips must be witnessed by two (2) nurses and when the titration was made, she should have double checked that the blood work was for the correct patient.
The above action constitutes grounds for disciplinary action in accordance with Section 301.452(b)(10)&(13), Texas Occupations Code, and is a violation of 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.11(1)(A),(1)(B),(1)(C),(1)(D)&(2)(A) 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 LVN’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 LVN 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.