The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) is one of the government agencies in the state of Texas that is responsible in regulating the practice of a RN or LVN nurse. It was established for the sole purpose of ensuring that the nurses are properly regulated to promote public health and safety. This Board exercises administrative functions as well as quasi-judicial functions. This means that it has the authority to promulgate rules and regulations that must be followed by all the RN or LVN nurses. At the same time, it can also render judgment that can affect the validity of nursing licenses.
Just like all government agencies or instrumentalities, the Texas Board of Nursing (BON) conducts a hearing first before it renders a judgment. The members of the Board are required to convene in regular and special sessions to hear and decide cases. Their jurisdiction covers only those who wish to apply for the licensure examination and those who have already obtained their licenses. Every single day, the Board orders the revocation or suspension of LVN or RN nurses. At the same time, some are also released from the charges against them.
Kathy was not lucky to be one of those who were exonerated from administrative charges by the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). She is a licensed vocational nurse in Texas who worked in a senior care facility. The LVN nurse did not have any negative record until one day, she failed to notify the physician after a resident senior patient was later diagnosed with a fracture femur. She was aware of the existing injury but she merely ignored the complaints of the patient about a lingering pain. According to the complaint, the LVN nurse heard the patient was crying after experiencing a fall on the previous shift.
Instead of helping the patient, the LVN nurse waited until the end of her shift and notified the oncoming shift nurse that the senior patient might need an x-ray. Afterwards, the same patient was later diagnosed with a fractured femur. Clearly, the conduct of the LVN nurse unnecessarily delayed the onset of medical interventions needed to prevent complication, and may have contributed to the patient’s continued pain.
In response to this allegation, the LVN nurse said that the patient complained of 7-8/10 pain at approximately 0100 and she gave the patient a pain pill. She argued that she took the necessary steps to care and assist the senior who was in need. She also said that she called another nurse for assistance at 0300 and both of them did not notice any redness, bruising, or abnormalities of the patient’s leg. She also reiterated that she noticed the patient to be crying in the TV room for about 1-2 minutes, and then it subsided.
During the hearing of the case, the RN nurse was not able to properly defend herself. The evidence of the complainant proved that she was guilty for the charges against her. This eventually resulted to the revocation of his professional nursing license in the state of Texas. The Board ordered for the revocation of the license with finality. As such, the RN nurse is no longer allowed to use her nursing license.
If you are looking for a Texas nurse license defense lawyer that has a proven track record in this practice area, contact the Law Firm of Yong J. An 24/7 by calling or texting him at (832) 428-5679 for a confidential consultation. Mr. An has over 10 years’ experience handling Texas BON disciplinary action cases and has helped several dozens of nurses in Texas protect their nursing license.