The assistance of a nurse attorney is valuable if you’re facing a case before the Texas Board of Nursing. Your defense can be strengthened further if you’re going to face the Board, even if your case is multiple instances of failure to follow a procedure. There are times where mistakes at work could be inevitable, which is why a nurse attorney can assure full assistance over such errors. Disciplinary actions could have been thought about by the Texas Board of Nursing if this particular RN from Houston, Texas hired a nurse attorney over her case.
A similar case happened to an RN in Columbus, Texas. On or about October 24, 2015, while employed as a Charge Nurse in a healthcare facility, the RN failed to adequately assess, reassess, and monitor a diabetic resident, when he experienced a change in condition, with a blood glucose level of 65 mg/dL, and oxygen saturation level of 77%. The RN sent a fax notification to the physician, though the office was closed, instead of calling to notify and obtain orders for further treatment. The next morning, the resident became unresponsive, with a blood glucose level of 55 mg/dL, oxygen saturation level of 85%, and labored breathing, and required transfer to a higher level of care.
Subsequently, the RN failed to administer Glucose Gel to the resident patient, for blood glucose levels less than 69 mg/dL.
The RN defends herself to the Board of Nursing by stating that the patient was admitted to the facility from a specialty hospital with as-needed orders to administer four ounces orange juice or apple juice or one tube glucose gel in response to glucose levels 55-69 mg/dL. She states that she notified the RN and the physician, and there was no emergency situation regarding the patient on the October 24th. She further adds there was minimal training of new staff chronic under staffing, and The RN was licensed less than two months on the date she was questioned.
Despite her efforts to truthfully explain her side, still, the Texas Board of Nursing believes that her conduct was likely to injure the resident from clinical care decisions based upon incomplete assessment information. Additionally, her conduct exposed the resident to a risk of harm in that failure to administer medications as ordered by the physician could have resulted in non-efficacious treatment of the patient’s low blood glucose.
The Texas Board of Nursing has jurisdiction over all cases that may affect the license and career of an RN or LVN. Therefore, based on the findings of the Board, the RN received a disciplinary action to ensure further safety and accurate documentation as she works in the future. She should hire a nurse attorney for instances such as this. So if you’re summoned by the Board for a hearing against your case if you ever did a minor mistake at work, it’s best to consult a nurse attorney first. For further information or if you wish to schedule a private consultation, Nurse Attorney Yong J. An can assist you by dialing his number at (832)-428-5679.