California Governor Gavin Newsom proposes that nurses be trained in ICU care in just 48 hours.  Maybe they can be trained in 2 days but certainly not sufficiently enough to do things safely or within the standard of care. A nurse with only 48 hours of ICU training may end up being more of a danger to a COVID 19 patient than the virus itself. But what difference does that make when hospitals cannot be sued for malpractice involving COVID related cases? I would like to be standing … [Read more...]

A Minnesota emergency room nurse was concerned about having to wear his own scrubs to work during COVID and returning home to his wife and children wearing those potentially contaminated scrubs.  He worried about bringing the virus home and passing it on to his family. Scrubs were available in the emergency department and healthcare workers at other hospitals in the same system were allowed to wear the scrubs provided by the hospital. However, at this particular hospital, he was told he … [Read more...]

An Oregon oncology nurse posted a video on Tik Tok saying that she does not wear masks in public, continues to travel and allows her children to have playdates. Someone who viewed the video reported her to her employer.  She was placed on administrative leave. In the video, this nurse apparently is in the break room at work and wearing scrubs with a stethoscope around her neck.  The hospital felt the nurse displayed “cavalier disregard for the seriousness of this pandemic and her indifference … [Read more...]

Every nurse I have ever represented said, “I am a good nurse.  I never thought I would have to appear before the Board.”  But here they are caught in the administrative quagmire.  There are a myriad of ways a nurse can get in trouble with the Board. I wanted to share common ways I have seen in my practice to put you on alert so you can avoid these issues.  Here are ten possible ways, in no particular order, that might get you in trouble with the Nursing Board. DRUG DIVERSION AND/OR … [Read more...]

A couple of weeks ago, I shared about a scam taking place against nurses in Idaho and which now has spread to Missouri.  What is happening is that nurses are alerted by a phone call and letter purportedly from the state Board of Nursing telling the nurse that they are being investigated and required them to provide a payment in the form of a bond to keep their license active during the investigation. The premise on this scam is that someone had used an advanced practice nurse’s NPI number to … [Read more...]