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 (RN) at a hospital facility in Longview, Texas, and had been in that position for eight (8) months.
On or about November 6, 2020, through November 14, 2020, while employed as a Registered Nurse (RN) and independent contractor at Giving Home Health Care, Amarillo, Texas, the said RN performed eight (8) home visits for patients who were assigned and documented those visits under the name and login of the assigned RN. The action of the RN was deceptive and created inaccurate medical records.
It was on or about November 6, 2020, through November 16, 2020, while employed as a Registered Nurse (RN), the RN failed to notify her employer and continued to perform home visits for several patients after testing positive for COVID-19. The RN’s behavior was contrary to CDC guidelines and public health recommendations and unnecessarily exposed her patients to the COVID-19 virus.
In response to the occurrence, regarding the charting, the RN stated the other RN was her mother and she had gotten sick with COVID-19 and was in the hospital so she offered to take care of her mother’s patients for her. It was also mentioned by the RN that her mother called her on Saturday, November 14, 2020, and told her that she had talked to one of the case managers and that they were probably going to be in trouble.
According to the RN, when she talked to the case manager, she told her that she and her mother should have let them know what was going on, that they were not being fired, and thanked the RN for checking in on her mother’s patients and doing the charting. The RN also states that she asked the case manager if she wanted her to chart under her mother or under herself. In addition, the case manager told her to chart the patients who were in the online charting system under her mother and chart paper charts under herself. It was added by the RN that on Monday, November 16, 2020, the case manager sent her a text and told her no more charting under her mother’s name. Regarding the positive COVID-19 test, the RN stated that she was scheduled for an induction and was required to get tested for COVID-19 as part of the hospital protocol. The RN also added that she was tested on Friday, November 6, 2020, but claims she did receive her results until Monday, November 9, 2020. It was indicated that her doctor’s office called and said she was positive for COVID-19; however, she later received another call stating that the rapid test was positive, but the long test was negative.
The RN failed to properly present and defend her case against the court. She was disciplined warning to suspension of her nursing license for violating Texas Board of Nursing regulations.
Get some helpful advice from a Texas nurse attorney to avoid making the same mistakes as the LVN who had been mentioned who eventually was subjected to disciplinary measures by the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). They may assess your situation, offer you a private consultation, and suggest the best course of action.
Texas Nurse Attorney Yong J. An, who has been representing over 300 nurses before the Texas Board of Nursing for the past 16 years, can be reached at (832) 428-5679 at any time.