Losing your license may greatly affect your future career and reputation as a nurse, but only if you failed to hire a nurse attorney for the case. There are some RNs and LVNs who missed their chances to get their license saved from revocation just because they weren’t able to hire any nurse attorney to defend them.
At the time of the incident, an LVN was employed as a Licensed Vocational Nurse at a hospital in, Katy, Texas, and had been in that position for nineteen (19) years and one (1) month.
On or about August 21, 2020, while employed as a Licensed Vocational Nurse, the LVN exceeded her scope of practice as a Licensed Vocational Nurse, in that she removed the mid-line intravenous catheter of a patient without appropriate documentation of competency or certification.
Additionally, the LVN failed to document the removal of the mid-line catheter in the patient’s medical record, including site assessment and the patient’s response to the removal. The LVN’s conduct unnecessarily exposed the patient to the risk of harm from a procedure performed without sufficient training.
In response to the incident, the LVN states that she was approached by another nurse and asked to help her remove the intravenous (IV) line. The LVN states that the other nurse seemed to be very worried and stressed about the removal. And that she also states that she is a graduated nurse and received the appropriate training on mid-line removal and on more than one occasion removed lines under the supervision of a nurse on duty during her hospital clinical rotations. The LVN states that it was not her intention to hurt the patient and never thought she was going over her limits as a nurse. The LVN states that she followed proper and sterile procedures at all times and the patient tolerated the procedure very well. The LVN states that she monitored the patient for pain and site bleeding. The LVN states that she understands that this act was out of her scope, but she states that she has the appropriate training and is IV certified.
Unfortunately, with the lack of an effective nurse attorney to defend her case, the Texas Board of Nursing (BON) decided to take disciplinary action against the LVN. The evidence gathered after the investigation was received by the Board was sufficient in cause pursuant to Section 301.452(b)(10)&(13) of the Texas Occupations Code.
Losing your nurse license can compromise your career. However, a skilled nurse attorney can greatly help you in major cases such as this. For assistance regarding your nurse license case, it’s best to contact Nurse Attorney Yong J. An by contacting him at (832) 428-5679.