Every RN in this state is subject to the jurisdiction of the Texas Board of Nursing. Whenever there are administrative complaints against RN, the Board will have authority to hear and decide the merits of the cases. But in case an RN will be in trouble with any cases, a nurse attorney can help and defend any RNs from such situation.
At the time of the incident, an RN was employed as a Registered Nurse at a health facility in Houston, Texas, and had been in that position for less than one month.
On or about June 14, 2020, while employed as a Registered Nurse, Patient FS had a diagnosis of pneumonia secondary to COVID-19 and was experiencing a low oxygen saturation. The said RN placed a non-rebreather mask on the patient at 0000 but failed to calculate when the oxygen tank would empty and/or ensure herself or a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) reassessed the patient between 0409 and 0615. The resident was discovered at shift change by a Certified Medication Aide (CMA) with the non-rebreather mask off and an empty oxygen tank. The RN’s conduct unnecessarily exposed the patient to a risk of harm from undetected changes in respiratory status.
Th said RN had never worked at a nursing home previous to this assignment. Her career has been as a traveling ICU nurse for the prior twenty-five (25) years. At the time of the incident, she had only worked three (3) days at the facility. Her trainer failed to adequately train her in the nursing home requirements as she left for several hours during her training shift. On the night of the incident, the RN was the only nurse covering four (4) hallways with forty (40) residents. There was a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) for each hallway. However, the facility had thirty-five (35) patients diagnosed with COVID which required isolation procedures, including donning new Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for each patient. At least ten (10) of the COVID patients were also on oxygen. The said RN also had one patient that was expiring that evening as the family had withdrawn care.
As a result of the occurrence, the RN admits that a certified nurse aide (CNA) reported that the resident was experiencing a low oxygen saturation of 66% so she contacted the provider on call and obtained an order for a non-rebreather mask with oxygen at 10 liters per minute and morning labs. The RN states she stayed by the patient’s bedside until her oxygen saturation read greater than 95%. The RN added that after that, she left to continue caring for her other patients and charting. It was stated by the RN that the CNA reported the patient was fine when she made her rounds at 0500; however, at 0600 the medication aide went into the patient’s room and the patient had her non-rebreather mask off and the oxygen tank was empty.
But due to what had happened, the Board, therefore, decided to put the RN into discipline. Putting the RN into disciplinary proceedings will ensure that she will perform even better in the future or will do the right things.
If you’re facing cases such as this, be sure to hire a nurse attorney who can fully assist you. Nurse Attorney Yong J. An, is an experienced nurse attorney for more than 14 years. To contact him for inquiries or to schedule a confidential consultation, dial (832) 428-5679 to proceed.