Are you facing allegations from the BON and contemplating whether to seek assistance from a nurse defense lawyer? If so, the case below illustrates the significance of seeking advice from a competent nurse defense attorney. Let us delve into the details of this case and understand why finding the right nurse defense attorney can help you when facing allegations from the BON.
Incident Scenario:
On or about July 22, 2021, through July 23, 2021, while employed as an RN at a medical facility in Garland, Texas, the RN failed to correctly administer a phenylephrine drip to a patient in that RN failed to verify the dose concentration and change the intravenous infusion pump settings to account for the revised medication order that RN acknowledged and administered. Consequently, the patient received four (4) times the dose of phenylephrine at each titration, which ranged from 300 mcg/min to 720 mcg/min and exceeded the ordered maximum dose of 180 mcg/min. In addition, the RN continued to document the incorrect dosage concentration in the patient’s medical record. RN’s conduct could have exposed the patient to an increased risk of injury in that failure to administer medication, as ordered, could have resulted in non-efficacious treatment. Furthermore, the RN’s conduct resulted in an inaccurate medical record and could have exposed the patient to an increased risk of injury in that subsequent caregivers would not have accurate information on which to base their decisions for further care.
Nurse’s Response To The Allegations
The RN responded to the allegations without asking for advice from an experienced nurse defense attorney. And stated that she had been in contact with the pharmacist approximately every two hours to request medication and the pharmacist never discussed with her any plan regarding a change to the concentration of Phenylephrine. Additionally, The RN stated that the pharmacist documented the medication change as a telephone order, overrode the exceeded daily maximum dosage warning, and listed the rate and dose as titrate. RN stated no concentration was listed. RN stated that she scanned a bag of Phenylephrine with the new concentrated dose at 15:57, and members of the operating team arrived a little after 17:00 to take a report and transport the patient to surgery. Other nurses scanned and hung bags of Phenylephrine, making the same mistake that the RN made. RN stated she returned the following day and was assigned to the patient. RN stated that the patient remained very unstable and hypotensive. RN stated that the charge nurse noticed the discrepancy when she hung a new bag of the medication at 13:54. RN admitted to making the medication error, but stated that there were system safety failures that contributed to the event.
The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) Action
Under Section 301.452(b)(13) Texas Occupations Code the above action of the nurse constitutes grounds for disciplinary action and is a violation of 22 TEX ADMIN. CODE §217.11(1)(A),(1)(B),(1)(C)&(1)(D).
The Texas Board of Nursing then subjected the RN’s license to disciplinary action. The accusation would have been defended by an experienced and skilled nurse attorney if the RN hired one. Hiring a nurse attorney for defense is applicable for any kind of accusation laid against an RN or LVN.
Always remember that anyone can file a complaint against an RN/LVN with the state board for any reason. When this happens, all complaints need to be taken seriously no matter how trivial or unfounded they may appear. A nurse attorney is someone who can help you defend your license when the state board summons you. Consult a knowledgeable and experienced Texas RN license defense attorney today. Texas Nurse Attorney Yong J. An has been an experienced nurse attorney for various licensing cases and has represented hundreds of nurses before the Texas BON. Contact the Law Office of Yong J. An 24/7 through text or call at (832) 428-5679.