The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) is the government agency that has jurisdiction to hear and decide administrative cases involving RNs in Texas. It is also the agency that is responsible for overseeing the practice of professional nursing all over the state of Texas. Any RN who is guilty of violating state laws and issuances from the Texas Board of Nursing (BON) may be subjected to penalties or fines. As a matter of fact, the RN license can even be suspended or revoked. In these times of problems, a nurse attorney is a reliable help for your case.
A perfect example of this happened to a certain RN on January 10, 2018. While employed as an RN in a nursing home in Amarillo, the RN administered 25 mg of chronic painkillers to a patient in error, when the medications were ordered for another resident, and failed to timely disclose that both chronic painkillers were administered together.
Additionally, the RN failed to completely and accurately document the resident’s medical record and incident reports regarding the medication that was administered to the resident. Subsequently, the patient remained somnolent for over 24 hours, requiring Narcan administration and transfer to the hospital.
This conduct by the RN resulted in an incomplete and inaccurate medical record and was likely to injure the resident from adverse effects of administering sedating pain medication without physician orders or medical indication, such as a decreased level of consciousness or respiratory depression.
As a defense to the case, the RN stated that the two medications were given in error, when they were ordered for another resident, and the resident did remain somnolent for the remainder of her shift. She stated that she recognized the error within five minutes and called the on-call nurse to report it, who instructed her to call the physician.
The RN stated that she spoke with the nurse practitioner and reported the error, and was then told to observe the resident and check vital signs frequently. She states that when she returned for her shift the next day, she was told that the resident had received Narcan during the day and was stable.
The RN added that when the resident’s family arrived, they asked that the resident be transferred to the hospital. Regarding the documentation, she states that after the resident was transferred to the hospital, the Director of Nursing (DON) had her come to her office to assist her with the data incident regarding the error.
The RN stated that the DON recorded that the pain relief had been given in error, and she did not correct her because she was intimidated by her hostile attitude and demeanor. The RN stated that in hindsight she could have been more forceful when assisting the DON with the computer charting and in her responses to the DON in general.
However, the Texas Board of Nursing finds that her conduct violates the Texas Occupations Code. As a result, her license was disciplined and suspended.
This is just one of the many cases why every RN in Texas is expected to act with prudence in practicing the profession. Any form of misconduct or fraudulent acts on the part of a licensed RN is never excused.
As a result, the Texas BON found the RN guilty of the complaint against her. Her RN license was disciplined and suspended. She lost the case simply because she failed to find an effective and efficient RN license attorney or a nurse attorney for that matter.
Avoid committing the same mistake she did. Find the right RN license/nurse attorney in Texas to help you with your needs. Contact nurse attorney Yong J. An directly by calling or texting him at (832) 428-5679 for a discreet consultation.