Nursing documentation must provide an accurate, complete, and honest account of the events that occurred, as well as medications administered to the patient. Any false or tampered information can lead to disciplinary action from the board, suspension, or worse, RN/LVN license revocation. If this happens, you need to seek the right nurse attorney to defend your case.
Alleged Incident: Exceeding Scope of Practice
On or about January 20, 2020, while employed as an RN at a healthcare facility in Irving, Texas, the RN exceeded the scope of her Practice when she administered a bolus of painkiller to a patient without a physician’s order. In addition, the RN failed to document the administration of the painkiller bolus. Subsequently, the aforementioned patient’s blood pressure dropped, necessitating additional interventions, including the administration of vasopressor medications, fluid boluses, and albumin. RN’s conduct could have contributed to injury to the patient in that the administration of medication without a physician’s order resulted in non-efficacious treatment. RN’s conduct resulted in an inaccurate medical record and could have contributed to injury to the patient in that subsequent caregivers would not have accurate and complete information on which to base their decisions for further care.
RN’s Response to the Allegation
The RN stated in response that she began her shift at the nurse’s station, where the departing nurse had given her a report on the patient. However, as the patient became anxious, they moved to the patient’s bedside. The RN adjusted and raised the dose of Versed because the patient did not appear to respond to the nurse’s earlier upward adjustment of painkillers. According to the RN, the patient’s blood pressure was within standard limits. According to the RN, she and the other nurse talked about raising the painkiller dosage. After that, she went to get the key from the charge nursing desk and explained the circumstances to both present charge nurses. The registered nurse reports that the other nurse called her from the patient’s room to inform her that the key was still in the patient’s bed. The RN claims she called the hospitalist using the charging phone to get orders for restraints before returning to the patient’s room. The registered nurse reports that the patient stayed anxious even after the other nurse gave him a versed bolus. The RN claims that instead of continuing to increase the painkiller drip at that point gradually, she told the other nurse that she planned to give a bolus of painkillers. The RN reports that after opening the syringe chamber, raising it to her eye level, and pressing the plunger, she injected one ml or fifty mcg of painkillers. The patient calmed down, but her blood pressure started to decrease rapidly, according to the RN. The RN reports that she reduced the patient’s dosage of painkillers and versed and restarted the Norepinephrine because the patient was still hooked up to it, even though the other nurse had turned it off. As soon as possible, the Charge Nurse helped the RN alert the other medical professionals and obtain further orders to utilize albumin and IV fluid boluses to raise the patient’s blood pressure.
After an investigation, the Texas Board of Nursing took disciplinary action against the registered nurse’s RN license for the abovementioned actions. If the nurse had hired a nurse attorney for her defense, her case might have had a better outcome. Unfortunately, there was insufficient evidence to establish her innocence.
If you find yourself in a circumstance similar to the one described above with an RN, don’t get upset or worried. All you have to do is look for a qualified Texas nurse attorney to assist you with your case. Speak with a competent and experienced Texas RN/LVN licensing attorney to equip yourself with the information and experience you need for an effective result. Texas nurse attorney Yong J. An has been practicing for 16 years, representing over 300 nurses in license disputes before the Texas Board of Nursing. The Law Office of Yong J. An can be reached 24/7 via text message or phone at (832) 428-5679.