In nursing care obtaining the correct diagnosis or result is very important, by doing so; the patient can receive the right treatment he/she needed. If an RN fails to do it correctly and if something bad happens to the patient due to the RN’s misconduct, the RN will be subjected to disciplinary action by the Board. The RN involved with such a case can ask for help from a nurse attorney.
At the time of the incident, the RN was employed as a Registered Nurse at a hospital in Pearland, Texas, and had been in that position for five (5) months.
An incident happened on or about December 26, 2018, while employed as a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department of a hospital in Pearland, Texas, the RN failed to correctly obtain an electrocardiogram (EKG) for Patient Number 206847 and verify the patient identifiers on the printed results. The EKG machine was not programmed correctly with the patient’s demographics, and a copy of another patient’s EKG reading was printed instead, showing an S-T Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI). Subsequently, the provider ordered Aspirin, Nitroglycerin, and Lovenox to be administered to the patient prior to transporting the patient to another hospital, where he was correctly diagnosed with a Cerebrovascular Accident and intracranial hemorrhage. The RN’s conduct exposed the patient to a risk of harm from clinical care decisions formulated based upon inaccurate assessment information, and a delay in diagnosis and correct treatment.
And in response to the incident, the RN states that there was another individual tasked with ensuring that the EKG was programmed correctly for this particular patient, who assured the RN that the current patient demographics had been entered. The RN states that the patient’s demographics are not visible on the screen during an ongoing EKG, and the date, time, and demographics were incorrect once the EKG was printed out. The RN states that once the strip was printed, she handed it to the physician assistant, whose responsibly it was to interpret the rhythm and order medications, and he also missed that the rhythm strip belonged to a different patient. And lastly, she states that once the mistake was caught, she informed the provider before the patient was transferred, but she opted to let them take the patient and notify the receiving hospital.
As an ending result to the case of the RN, the information received by the Board produced evidence that the RN may be subject to discipline pursuant to Section 301.452(b)(10)&(13), Texas Occupations Code. This result could have been changed if only the RN had hired and consulted a nurse attorney for assistance regarding the case she is facing.
It is best to know ways on how to defend yourself especially when your license and career are at stake. A nurse attorney on the other hand can help you face any case that will be thrown at you. By considering the fact that a nurse attorney is such a great help, you will have nothing to worry about the next time you will be having complaints or accusation cases.
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.