A patient’s nutrition intake is also observed as it is also part of the patient’s health recovery. This is why a nurse should ensure that a patient is well taken care of especially their meal intake. Because a single mistake can cause great harm to any patient. A single mistake can put an RN in a difficult situation. So if this happens, an RN should consider hiring a nurse attorney for the defense.
At the time of the initial incident, the RN was employed at a hospital in McKinney, Texas, and had been in that position for two (2) years and three (3) months.
It was on or about October 1, 2015, through April 30, 2016, the RN failed to ensure that the facility had a system in place for accurately documenting the patient’s meal intake. The RN’s conduct was likely to injure the patients in that the healthcare staff would not have current dietary information to make decisions for nutritional needs and requirements.
On or about October 1, 2015, through April 30, 2016, the RN failed to ensure that the Registered Dietitian’s recommendations were followed for the patients. Further, the RN failed to appropriately intervene when the aforementioned patients experienced severe weight losses ranging between 8.5% and 19.1% of their admission body weights. The RN’s conduct unnecessarily exposed the patients to a risk of harm from complications associated with unintentional weight loss, including undetected underlying health conditions, loss of muscle mass, and decline in activities of daily living.
In addition, the RN failed to ensure that her nursing staff provided and/or documented that they provided feeding assistance for the patients as required by the patient’s plans of care. The RN’s conduct created incomplete medical records and unnecessarily exposed the patients to a risk of harm from choking or inadequate meal intake.
In response to the incidents, the RN states: Inexplicably, the surveyor failed to consider the contributing factors outside of RD’s control that, at times, accelerated patients’ weight loss. The surveyor also overlooked all the evaluations, interventions, and monitoring implemented by the RD. The facts demonstrate that the RD took careful steps to ensure that each patient was assessed individually, implemented interventions unique to each patient’s circumstances, and made changes regularly based on her observations while monitoring each patient’s progress. The underlying deficiencies were cited in part because of how the Facility’s software documented patients’ completion of meals, but the RD did not rely solely on these reports to determine whether a particular patient needed additional interventions to maintain their nutrition. Instead, the RD tailored all her available resources to meet each patient’s needs based on their unique circumstances. For example, the RD relied heavily on the expertise of a registered dietician to monitor progress or to change interventions such as increasing supplements or adding an appetite stimulant. No two plans were the same, and each patient that was the subject of this survey demonstrated improvement through either weight gain or stabilized weights.
As a result of the RN’s misconduct, the RN will be subject to disciplinary action by the Board. If the RN will not comply, his/her license will put at risk. To prevent things such as suspension or revocation, it is a must to have a nurse attorney for support or for defense. Having a nurse attorney around when facing a case could make a different result that is in favor of your side.
Do you have questions about the Texas Board of Nursing disciplinary process? Contact The Law Office of RN License Attorney Yong J. An for a confidential consultation by calling or texting 24/7 at (832) 428-5679 and ask for attorney Yong.