An allegation or complaint could be a serious case, which is why a nurse attorney is needed if you get accused of this kind of scenario. However, some who thought they were guilty of the charges failed to hire a nurse attorney just because they thought it was the doom for their license already. But that is not entirely the case as there is still hope.
At the time of the incident, an RN was employed as a Registered Nurse at a hospital in Texarkana, Texas, and had been in that position for four (4) years.
On or about January 20, 2020, while employed as a Registered Nurse, the RN exceeded the scope of her Practice when she administered a bolus of fentanyl to a patient without a physician’s order. In addition, the RN failed to document the administration of the fentanyl bolus. Subsequently, the aforementioned patient’s blood pressure dropped necessitating additional interventions, including the administration of vasopressor medications, fluid boluses, and albumin. The RN’s conduct could have contributed to the injury to the patient in that the administration of medication without a physician’s order resulted in non-efficacious treatment.
In addition, the RN’s conduct resulted in an inaccurate medical record, and could have contributed to the injury to the patient in that subsequent caregivers would not have accurate and complete information on which to base their decisions for further care.
In response to the incident, the RN states that she started her shift receiving a report on the patient from the off-going nurse at the nurse’s station, however, they moved to the patient’s bedside as the patient became agitated. The RN states that the patient did not seem to respond to the upward titration of fentanyl that the nurse had previously administered, so the RN titrated and increased the dose of versed. And also the RN states that the patient’s blood pressure was within normal limits. The RN states that she and the other nurse discussed increasing the dose of fentanyl, so she went to retrieve the key from the charge nurse’s desk where she explained the situation to both of the charge nurses present. The RN states that the other nurse called from the patient’s room to let her know that the key was still at the bedside. She said that she used the charge phone to call the hospitalist to obtain restraint orders and proceeded back to the patient’s room. The RN states that the other nurse proceeded to administer a versed bolus, however, the patient remained agitated. And then states that she verbalized to the other nurse that she intended to administer a bolus of fentanyl, rather than titrate the fentanyl drip any further at that time.
Furthermore, she states that she opened the syringe chamber, held it up to eye level, and pressed the plunger down until she had administered I ml or 50 mcg of fentanyl. The RN states that the patient calmed down, but her blood pressure began to rapidly drop. The RN states that since the patient was still hooked up to levophed, which the other nurse had turned off, she restarted the levophed and decreased the doses of fentanyl and versed. The Charge Nurse immediately assisted the RN in notifying medical providers and receiving additional orders to increase the patient’s blood pressure with IV fluid boluses and albumin.
As a result, the Texas Board of Nursing decided to sentence her LVN license to disciplinary action to ensure that she will never commit such acts again. It may be okay to get close to a patient or student. But make sure that it’s within the scope of your own practices, as it can cause problems and may cause further harm and issue to anyone.
If you also received a complaint regarding a case or complaint filed against you, you should hire a nurse attorney immediately before it’s too late. Texas nurse attorney Yong J. An is one of those dedicated lawyers who helped various LVNs in their cases since 2006. You may contact him 24/7 at (832) 428-5679 for more information or if you want to schedule a private consultation.