An RN or LVN who violates the state laws and issuances from the Texas Board of Nursing (BON) should seek proper help from a nurse attorney. Doing so could make or break their cases. As a matter of fact, the license can even be suspended or revoked if not defended properly by a skilled nurse license attorney.
At the time of the incident, RN was employed as the Director of Inpatient Rehab with a medical facility in Victoria, Texas, and had been in that position for two (2) years and eleven (11) months.
On or about April 11, 2019, while employed as the Director of Inpatient Rehab with a medical facility in Victoria, Texas, RN failed to notify the physician/surgeon regarding the Jackson Pratt (JP) drain of a patient, which had lost suction, and instead removed the drain without obtaining an order to do so. RN’s conduct exposed the patient to a risk of harm from lack of ordered surgical site drainage and the risk of impaired healing.
In response, RN states that on the day in question, the patient’s nurse approached her and asked for help because the JP drain was not working properly. RN states that she is confident that pulling it out was the right thing to do, though she realizes that since it was not an emergency, that she should have obtained an order prior to removal. RN states that she tried to troubleshoot the problem first, as would be expected by the physician prior to calling about it, by milking the tubing and flushing the drain. RN states that she inspected the insertion site and saw that the drain was almost out; The sutures in the patient’s skin were intact, though the sutures at the top of the drain were loose enough to allow movement of the drain tubing in or out of the insertion site. RN states that she removed the loose sutures and withdrew the 1/2 to 1 inch of drain left in the wound. RN adds that because of the movement of the tubing and lack of draining, that leaving the drain as it was exposed the patient to the risk of infection. RN states that when she called the physician later, she told her the drain was no longer in place and was therefore removed. RN states that the physician said that it likely came out with dressing changes; RN mentioned that it could have been dislodged due to therapy or turning the patient as well.
The above actions constitute grounds for disciplinary action in accordance with Section 301.452(b)(10)&(13), Texas Occupations Code, and are a violation of 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.11(1)(A),(1)(B),(1)(C),(1)(M)&(1)(P) and 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.12(1)(A),(1)(B)&(4).
However, she was not able to provide a good and experienced nurse attorney to help her defend her side of the story. Because of the incident, the RN’s license to practice nursing in the state of Texas was subjected to disciplinary action by the Board of Nursing.
A good and experienced nurse license attorney is always the best line of defense for these cases. This is the reason why Nurse License Attorney Yong J. An is dedicated to helping those nurses in need to settle their cases. Consult with Texas nurse attorney Yong J. An today if you have any questions about your response letter or the disciplinary process by calling or texting him at (832) 428-5679 day, night or weekends. Nurse Attorney Yong J. An is an experienced nurse attorney for various licensing cases for 16 years and represented over 200 nurse BON license cases before the Texas BON.
