Leaving your nursing assignment while on duty without notification to the present RN/LVN is a violation. This may result in a great risk of harm to patients. It is also considered negligence of duty. An RN/LVN having such a violation will be summoned by the Board and will be sanctioned. Before facing the Board, an RN/LVN should come prepared by having a nurse attorney for the defense.
At the time of the incident, she was employed as an LVN at a hospital in San Antonio, Texas, and had been in that position for one (1) year and one (1) month.
On or about April 11, 2020, and April 12, 2020, while employed as an LVN at a hospital in San Antonio, Texas, and assigned to provide nursing care to a patient, LVN was accused of the following:
- LVN falsified the end times on her nursing visit notes by documenting that she left the patient’s home at 0600; however, LVN actually left the home at 0530. Additionally, LVN forged the patient’s caregiver’s signature on both nursing notes. Furthermore, LVN submitted a fraudulent timesheet for hours she did not work. LVN’s conduct was deceptive, created an inaccurate medical record, and was likely to defraud the facility of monies for hours she did not actually work.
- LVN abandoned her nursing assignment by leaving the patient’s home 30 minutes before the end of her scheduled shift, and without giving a hand-off report to another nurse or the patient’s caregiver. Additionally, LVN left her nursing assignment without notifying a supervisor. LVN’s conduct unnecessarily exposed her patient to a risk of harm from undetected changes in condition.
In response, LVN admits she signed the caregiver’s portion of the nursing note with the letter ‘M’ instead of having the caregiver sign it. LVN states the caregiver was asleep and she thought she was allowed to do this as per instruction she received during orientation. LVN admits she did not clarify this with her supervisor. LVN admits she left her shift 30 minutes early and states her intention was to submit her nursing note on time but failed to correct the time she left. LVN states she left early due to extreme fatigue and did not want to fall asleep on the drive home.
The above actions constitute grounds for disciplinary action in accordance with Section 301.452(b)(10)&(13), Texas Occupations Code, and is a violation of 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.11(1)(A),(1)(B),(1)(D)&(1)(I) and 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.12(1)(A),(1)(B),(1)(C),(4),(6)(A),(6)(H)&(12).
Unfortunately, the Texas Board of Nursing found her guilty of her deeds. Her LVN license was subjected to disciplinary action. She did not hire a skilled Texas BON attorney to fully defend her case which led to this decision by the Texas Board of Nursing.
Do you have questions about the Texas Board of Nursing disciplinary process? Contact The Law Office of Texas Nurse Attorney Yong J. An for a confidential consultation by calling or texting 24/7 at (832) 428-5679. Texas Nurse Attorney Yong J. An is an experienced nurse attorney who represented more than 300 nurse cases for RNs and LVNs for the past 16 years.
