Improper administration of medication can cause harm to patients. The accusation of such negligence is common in nursing care. You just need a nurse attorney before dealing with accusation cases.
At the time of the initial incident, an RN was employed as a Staff Nurse at a hospital in Harlingen, Texas, and had been in that position for approximately one (1) year and ten (10) months.
On or about June 16, 2016, through August 8, 2016, while employed as a Staff Nurse, the RN withdrew Fentanyl and/or Dilaudid from the medication dispensing system for patients without a valid physician’s order. The RN’s conduct was likely to injure the patients, in that the administration of medications without a valid physician’s order could result in the patient suffering from adverse reactions, and the RN’s conduct placed the hospital in violation of Chapter 481 (Controlled Substances Act).
On or about June 16, 2016, through August 8, 2016, while employed as a Staff Nurse, the RN withdrew Fentanyl and Dilaudid from the medication dispensing system for patients, in excess frequency and/or dosage of the physician’s order. The RN’s conduct was likely to injure the patient in that the administration of medication in excess frequency and/or dosage of the physicians’ orders could result in the patient suffering from adverse reactions. Additionally, the RN’s conduct placed the hospital in violation of Chapter 481 (Controlled Substances Act) of the Texas Health and Safety Code.
On or about June 16, 2016, through August 8, 2016, while employed as a Staff Nurse, the RN withdrew Fentanyl and Dilaudid from the medication dispensing system for patients but failed to document and/or completely and accurately document the administration of the medications in the patients’ Medication Administration Records and/or nurses’ notes. The RN’s conduct was likely to injure the patients, in that subsequent caregivers would rely on his documentation to further medicate the patients, which could result in an overdose. Additionally, the RN’s conduct placed the hospital in violation of Chapter 481 (Controlled Substances Act) of the Texas Health and Safety Code.
On or about June 16, 2016, through August 8, 2016, while employed as a Staff Nurse, the RN withdrew Fentanyl and Dilaudid from the medication dispensing system for patients but failed to follow the facility’s policy and procedures for wastage of the unused portions of the medications. The RN’s conduct left medications unaccounted for, was likely to deceive the hospital pharmacy, and placed the pharmacy in violation of Chapter 481 (Controlled Substances Act) of the Texas Health and Safety Code.
On or about June 16, 2016, through August 8, 2016, while employed as a Staff Nurse, the RN misappropriated Fentanyl and Dilaudid belonging to the facility or patients thereof or failed to take precautions to prevent such misappropriation. The RN’s conduct was likely to defraud the facility and patients thereof of the cost of the medications.
On or about August 15, 2016, while employed as a Staff Nurse, the RN administered a total of 200mcg of Fentanyl and 2mg of Dilaudid to a patient within a forty-four (44) minute time frame, and with one (1) dose of Fentanyl and one (1) dose of Dilaudid in the excess frequency of the physician’s order. Subsequently, the patient had a decrease in oxygen saturation resulting in the patient stopping ventilating, which required resuscitative action and the administration of Narcan for the patient to return to breathing on their own. The RN’s conduct was likely to injure the patient in that the administration of medication in excess frequency and/or dosage of the physicians’ orders could result in the patient suffering from adverse reactions.
In response to the incidents, the RN states that because of the busy unit of the PACU, he failed to properly waste the medications as it was often difficult to find another nurse to waste the medication with. The RN states that it is also possible that at times he may have pulled medications under an incorrect patient’s name. The RN states that he understands that this is not best practice and takes responsibility for this shortcoming. In addition, the RN states that the patient’s 02 alarm had just gone off when he entered the room. The RN states that prior to that point, there was no need for intervention. The RN states that he was about to ventilate the patient with the Ambu bag when the CRNA entered the room and took over.
The evidence against the RN was strong. At the same time, she was not able to properly defend her case in court. As a result, her nursing license was placed under disciplinary action.
Avoid a similar thing from happening on your end. Make sure to find the right defense attorney in case a complaint will be filed against you before the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). For more details or for a confidential consultation regarding accusations, it’s best to contact an experienced Texas nurse attorney. Texas Nurse Attorney Yong J. An is an experienced nurse attorney who represented more than 200 nurse cases for RNs and LVNs over the past 16 years. You can call him at (832)-428-5679 to get started or to inquire for more information regarding nursing license case defenses.