The competence and sobriety of healthcare professionals are paramount to ensuring patient safety and well-being. Nurses bear the critical responsibility of making sound judgments, providing accurate assessments, and delivering appropriate care to those under their charge. Deviations from these standards, especially involving the misuse of controlled substances, pose grave concerns for both patient safety and the nurse’s fitness to practice. A nurse attorney possesses comprehensive knowledge of healthcare regulations and legal standards, ensuring a clear understanding of the LVN’s rights and responsibilities.
At the time of the incident, she was employed as an LVN with a home health care service provider in McAllen, Texas, and had been in that position for one (1) year and three (3) months.
On or about October 1, 2021, while employed as an LVN with a home health care service provider in McAllen, Texas, LVN was accused of the following:
- LVN lacked fitness to practice vocational nursing when agency staff was notified, she was purchasing illegal drugs, and when she exhibited changes in behavior and practice. LVN’s conduct could have affected her ability to recognize subtle signs, symptoms, or changes in patients’ conditions, and could have affected her ability to make rational, accurate, and appropriate assessments, judgments, and decisions regarding patient care, thereby placing the patients in potential danger.
The above action constitutes grounds for disciplinary action in accordance with Section 301.452(b)(10)&(12) Texas Occupations Code, and is a violation of 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.12 (1)(B),(1)(E),(4)&(5).
- LVN engaged in the intemperate use of Amphetamines, Marijuana, and Methamphetamines in that she submitted a specimen for a random drug screen that resulted positive Amphetamines, Marijuana, and Methamphetamines. Possession of Amphetamines, Marijuana, and Methamphetamines, without a valid prescription, is prohibited by Chapter 481 of the Texas Health & Safety Code (Controlled Substances Act). The use of Amphetamines, Marijuana, and Methamphetamines by an LVN, while subject to call or duty, could impair the nurse’s ability to recognize subtle signs, symptoms, or changes in the patient’s condition, and could impair the nurse’s ability to make rational, accurate, and appropriate assessments, judgments, and decisions regarding patient care, thereby placing the patient in potential danger.
The above action constitutes grounds for disciplinary action in accordance with Section 301.452(b)(9)&(10) Texas Occupations Code, and is a violation of 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.12 (1)(B),(1)(E),(4),(5),(10)(A)&(10)(D).
The Texas Board of Nursing then subjected the LVN and her license into disciplinary action. The accusation would have been defended by an experienced and skilled Texas Nurse Attorney, had the LVN hired one. Hiring a Texas Nurse Attorney for defense is applicable for any kind of accusation laid against an RN or LVN.
For more details and to schedule a confidential consultation, you must approach one of the most experienced Texas Nurse Attorneys, Yong J. An. He is an experienced nurse attorney who represented more than 500 nurse cases for RNs and LVNs for the past 17 years. You can call him at (832) 428-5679 to get started or to inquire for more information regarding nursing license case defenses.