The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) has the jurisdiction to hear and decide cases involving the practice of professional nursing in Texas. Any RN or LVN found guilty of violating the state laws and regulations may be subjected to a disciplinary case if not properly defended by a nurse attorney.
At the time of the initial incident, an RN was employed as a Registered Nurse at a medical facility in Corpus Christi, Texas, and had been in that position for two (2) years and eleven (11) months.
On or about October 1, 2018, while employed as a Registered Nurse, the said RN failed to unclamp the Alprostadil (Prostin) drip for the patient, a patient with ductal dependent pulmonary circulation when she changed the intravenous line tubing and administered a new bag of the medication at 18:00. Subsequently, the oncoming nurse discovered the clamped tubing during her line checks at approximately 18:45. The conduct of the RN was likely to injure the patient due to the failure to receive necessary medication, especially since the medication is ordered as a continuous infusion due to its short half-life.
It was on or about November 18, 2018, while employed as a Registered Nurse, the RN falsely documented that she administered ampicillin to the patient at 16:30 when the medication was removed from the Omnicell at 17:12 by another nurse. The RN’s conduct resulted in an inaccurate medical record and was likely to injure the patient in that subsequent caregivers did not have accurate information on which to base their decisions for further care.
In the aftermath of the incident, the said RN states that the event occurred at the end of shift when there were many tasks that needed to be completed for the patients, including care plans, documentation of education, feedings, and diaper output, line changes and documentation thereof, as well as medication administration. In addition to that, the nurses on the unit frequently stay after the shift to complete documentation, the RN also states that the error was quickly found by the oncoming nurse during line checks and that the lines had just been changed and the medication had not been clamped more than a few minutes because she was still in the process of scanning the fluids that she had just hung, including the Alprostadil.
In regards to the occurrence, the RN mentioned that she does not recall the occurrence and questions why she would need to falsify documentation when she has the ability to change the timing of the medication. It was added by the RN that it is very easy to get behind on certain things when you are in an intensive care unit situation as there are multiple things going on at any given time that can interfere with the flow of an assignment.
As a result, the RN was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay an amount. She was disciplined warning to suspension of her RN license by violating Texas Board of Nursing regulation.
Avoid a similar thing from happening on your end. Make sure to find the right nurse attorney in case a complaint will be filed against you before the Texas Board of Nursing (BON).
If you’ve ever done any errors during your shift as an RN or LVN, and you wish to preserve your career and your license, an experienced nurse attorney is what you need. Nurse Attorney Yong J. An, an experienced nurse lawyer for various licensing cases for many years
Consult with Texas nurse attorney Yong J. An, today if you have any questions about your disciplinary process by calling or texting him at (832) 428-5679 day, night or on weekends.