We all expect nurses to bring the best quality of care to us, patients. And we sometimes complain if our expectations are not met. These complaints and accusations can cause them big time. It can cause their license to get suspended or get revoked. A Nurse can face a lot of accusations, allegation cases, or complaints cases and they will face the Texas Board of Nursing to formally follow procedures. But if a nurse is experiencing such circumstances, a nurse attorney can be their defense and can assist them in dealing with the cases they are facing.
At the time of the incident, an RN was employed as a Registered Nurse at a hospital in Irving, Texas, and had been in that position for five (5) years and seven (7) months.
On or about February 17, 2019, an RN failed to monitor telemetry patient while in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) holding and left the patient unattended. Subsequently, while waiting for the MRI, the patient became unresponsive with a weak pulse and labored breathing, and started bleeding from her dialysis fistula site; a Rapid Response Team and then Code Blue was called, though resuscitation was unsuccessful, and the patient expired. The RN’s conduct was likely to injure the patient in that significant changes in the patient’s status may have gone undetected and prevented a timely intervention.
In response to the incident, the RN states that the patient had a rapid response called at the start of the shift for a change in condition, and was taken emergently to get a computerized tomography (CT) scan for evaluation of a stroke. The RN states that the CT did not show signs of stroke and she was returned to the medical floor, still classified as a medical patient. The RN states that after rounding on her other patients, this patient’s family called again, and the patient had a facial droop and fixed eyes at that time. The RN states that she called the medical intermits and demanded that they come to evaluate the patient again; the doctor stated he did not see a difference in the patient between the rapid response and now but ordered a STAT MRI upon the RN’s insistence and panic.
The RN states that at that time, she was running a blood infusion for another patient, but rushed this patient down to the MRI. The RN states that once they arrived in MRI, she was informed there would be a 10- minute wait. The RN states that the patient remained on the telemetry box while waiting in her hospital bed. The RN states that the patient had been stable, aside from the facial droop and not verbalizing, with unlabored breathing, and her fistula dressing was dry and intact. The RN adds that she recognized the urgency of the situation but was concerned about the other patients that she had left on the unit. With the agreement of the MRI technician, the RN states that she ran upstairs to check on her patient receiving blood and was gone about 5 minutes.
The RN states that she received a call from the MRI technician reporting that the patient looked different, and when the RN ran downstairs, she found the patient unresponsive. The RN states the patient’s appearance had completely changed, with an ashen appearance and labored breathing. The patient had a bradycardic and weak pulse, and she told the MRI tech to call a rapid response; the patient then lost their pulse and she said to call a code blue. When the patient was turned to place a backboard to do compressions, the RN states that she then saw blood on the patient’s fistula site. The RN then adds that in retrospect, the MRI tech’s approval should not have validated her departure from this patient’s side, and in hindsight, she deeply regrets her failure to trust her coworkers to help with her other patients. The RN states that she failed to anticipate the worse possible scenario of her patient spontaneously and instantly bleeding, due to her struggle to manage so many patients with so little support.
As a result, the RN is facing the consequences of her actions. The Board has to take the RN into disciplinary action since the RN has not been able to have a nurse attorney by her side to defend her.
Having a nurse attorney around during the trial of your case can change the outcome of the case you are dealing with. So, if ever you have questions about the Texas Board of Nursing disciplinary process? Contact The Law Office of Nurse Attorney Yong J. An for a confidential consultation by calling or texting 24/7 at (832) 428-5679 and ask for nurse attorney Yong.