What is Happening with the Nursing Boards During Covid?

June 18, 2020 by LORIE A BROWN, R.N., M.N., J.D. Leave a Comment

As a member and president elect of The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA.org), I have relationships with many nurse attorneys who practice before the various nursing boards throughout the country. In Indiana, where my office is located, the Board has filed very few cases against nurses so far and we had our first virtual hearing this week. Each state has taken a different approach on how to handle their cases against nurses. I did an informal survey and the answers were quite diverse.

Most states have found a way to function and continue filing complaints against nurses, having prehearing settlement conferences and hearings over the phone or virtually. However, many states are not lifting probation or suspensions during this time.

Not surprising, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and Washington are postponing hearings until the fall.

I was hoping that the Boards would see how valuable nurses are during this time and take that into consideration, but I am not sure this is going to be the case. At least in Indiana, they seem to be taking the same position they have always taken. Hopefully, you are not expecting anything from the Board but just know things can be delayed.

Privacy Is Everything

June 4, 2020 by LORIE A BROWN, R.N., M.N., J.D. 1 Comment

This past week, a Maryville, Tennessee, nurse was fired for allegedly posting racist and violent messages through her Facebook account.

It was later learned that she could not have made the comments because hospital security footage showed that she was in a patient’s room at the approximate time the comments were made.

Then it was learned that the horrible posts were composed by her fiancé on her social media account. He even went to the hospital to tell officials that it was he rather than the nurse who had written the posts. The fiancé claimed that he sent the messages because somebody sent the nurse a rude message first.

Nevertheless, the nurse was terminated from her position and referred to the Tennessee Board of Nursing for investigation.

The concern of the hospital was that comments made on a social media site by an employer reflected poorly on the organization and does not reflect the code of conduct and values for the hospital.

Now, the nurse is concerned not only about her ability to find another job but, due to the racial content of and backlash to the messages, for her personal safety as well as that of her own 2 children.

Since the incident, she and her fiancé have parted ways and she has sought protective orders against him. [Click here for article]

I can never stress enough how important it is to maintain your privacy and security by keeping your passwords private and share them with no one! If you share a computer at home, do not save your passwords as others might post on your behalf.

Your privacy is the one thing that is truly yours. Therefore, respect it and do not share passwords or allow people access to your computer, even your children. You never know what they might write on your wall and it could become a quite troublesome problem.

You are a professional and everything you do reflects on you. Unfortunately, this nurse paid the terrible price of losing her job and being reported to the Board.

As nurses we are caregivers and sometimes the personal relationships, we may find ourselves involved in are not the healthiest. We believe that the other person needs us so we continue the relationship.

Please, if you are in an unhealthy relationship, get the help you need to end it.

Trusted Nurses

January 23, 2020 by LORIE A BROWN, R.N., M.N., J.D. Leave a Comment

In a Gallup Poll, nursing has again been voted as the most trusted profession for the 18^th year in a row.

One of the reasons it has been so long acclaimed is because of nursing ethics. However, anything that nurses do that may not put our profession in the most favorable light, can be detrimental.

In an MTV reality TV show “Scrubbing In”, they portrayed nurses going to bars in their scrubs. This negatively portrayed the nursing profession. We are held to high standards, just like a physician. Because we are a nurse 24/7, If we go out and drink, we should not wear our hospital attire, nor should we get behind the wheel of a car.

Be careful of any behavior which could be negatively interpreted by the public. As stewards of health, let’s do our part to put our best foot forward in all situations whether or not we are at work.

Having a criminal matter can reflect negatively on the profession. Because we are nurses 24/7, having a positive urine test even with a valid prescription, the Board cannot tell when you took that medication, even if you did take it after work.

Just remember, as a nurse, we are under the public spotlight. Ask yourself if you would have judgement toward a nurse engaging in certain behaviors. If the answer is “Yes,” then don’t do it! For example, if you take controlled substances off work, and the same medication you took comes up missing or a patient says they never received it, it will be difficult to defend yourself.

As nurses, we want to help. But sometimes, helping can mean crossing the line. One nurse went to the ATM for a patient across the street and the patient now claims she never received the money.

I am proud to be a member of the most trusted profession. Hopefully it offsets the reputation of some attorneys! Please join me in continuing to make nursing the most trusted profession and being professional even when you’re not at work.

Top 10 Blogs Of 2019

January 2, 2020 by LORIE A BROWN, R.N., M.N., J.D. Leave a Comment

This is one of my favorite things with each New Year. I look at my top 10 blogs to see which ones you really enjoyed. In 2018, the favorite ones were based on license protection so in 2019, I chose to do more articles on that same subject.

Just like with the New Year’s Eve countdown, let’s go down the list starting with number 10 and head to number 1. By the way, you can read the original blog by clicking on the bolded number for each one.

NUMBER 10: PYXIS AND YOUR NURSING LICENSE – Probably among the most important of my videos because day after day I see where nurses are not properly following policy with medication management which is of concern to administration due to our opiate crisis.

NUMBER 9: THE PERILS OF TRAVEL NURSING – This blog discussed the top 8 ways travel nurses can get into trouble and advises how they can protect themselves.

NUMBER 8: WILL NURSES BECOME OBSOLETE – Is new and advancing technology creating a more automated world that is taking the place of nurses?

NUMBER 7: MED ERRORS AND CRIMINAL CHARGES – Tennessee nurse RaDonda Vaught accidentally gave a patient vecuronium instead of Versed resulting in the patient’s death. Vecuronium is used to intubate patients by repressing respiration. While in a PET scan, the patient arrested and died. The issue was not identified until an audit by the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) was done over a year after the incident. After the investigation, nurse Vaught was charged criminally in this matter. While she did commit malpractice, it is my opinion that it should not have risen to the level of a crime albeit for making a horrible mistake.

NUMBER 6: REFUSAL TO DRAW BLOOD – Jonathan Moore was involved in an auto crash killing a former city council woman and her daughter. When Moore was hospitalized, police wanted the nurse to draw blood without an order and without patient consent. The nurse told the officer that a warrant would be needed to make the draw. Crystal clear policies should be in place so nurses know when they can do certain activities.

NUMBER 5: FATAL MEDICATION ERROR UPDATE – This was another article dealing with of nurse RaDonda Vaught who accidentally administered vecuronium to a patient [See NUMBER 7]. Criminal charges were filed against nurse Vaught and the Tennessee Board had initially excused her actions but then decided to take action against her license.

NUMBER 4: NURSES IN TROUBLE WHEN PHYSICIAN OVERPRESCRIBES – A physician was actually practicing “end of life” measures by prescribing 20 times the normal dosages of fentanyl. Nurses who carried out those orders were all fired and reported to the Board. There was one wrongful death lawsuit that settled for $4,500,000.

NUMBER 3: NURSES WITH ADDERALL – This item discusses a Louisiana Board’s concerns about nurses who take the controlled substance Adderall. In fact, it shows a statement by the Board about how Adderall is the most widely abused prescription drug in America and how Boards can take action if a nurse takes any controlled substance.

NUMBER 2: UNUSUAL NURSING BOARD CASE – A nurse received an unfavorable decision by the Delaware Division of Professional Regulations to the Supreme Court which overturned the Delaware agency’s ruling. Two nurses were on duty and required to count medications just as if they were controlled substances. During the count, the supply of hepatitis C medication, costing $1,000.00 per pill, was accidentally spilled to the floor. The nurse put the 12 pills in the sharps container, but the pharmacy ordered them to be retrieved for later distribution to this patient/prisoner. The nurse’s license was placed on probation for 90 days and required her to take continuing education. But she disagreed with the decision and took the matter to the Delaware Supreme Court … and WON! It is unusual for nurses to appeal a case, let alone be successful.

NUMBER 1: PATIENT KILLS NURSE – A nurse accosted by a patient who, before others could restrain him, violently slammed the nurse’s head onto a desk. Lynne Truxillo subsequently succumbed to blood clots in her leg leading to a pulmonary emboli. Though the patient was charged with manslaughter, the obvious truth was that the charge could never bring back nurse Truxillo.

MY PERSONAL FAVORITE: My personal favorite blog was an interview with nurse Yolene Lofton who lost her license simply for recording the wrong date on some documents. It was sad that she lost her license over that error. But it does show just how important your license is and how even a minor error could result in loss of your license and livelihood.

My hope is that you can learn from these blogs and do everything you can to protect your most valuable asset: your license.

What was your favorite blog in 2019? Was it any of the above or perhaps a different one? Let me know in the comments below.

Privacy Matters To Patients

December 26, 2019 by LORIE A BROWN, R.N., M.N., J.D. Leave a Comment

I often hear of nurses who made HIPAA violations, none of whom intended to breach privacy but either curiosity or carelessness got the best of them.

Here are ten such examples:

EMR – If you forget to log out of a computer terminal, someone else can follow you to access anything under you log in. Computers are smart and everything you do on the device can be tracked. Every keystroke you make, every chart you look at, everything! Even if you accidentally pull up a wrong patient’s chart, that is a HIPAA violation. Should this occur, immediately notify your supervisor.
HANDWRITTEN NOTES – When I was practicing, I had a clipboard with all my patients’ names and what I was to do with each one. Many times, I forgot to throw away my sheets and brought them home where I discarded them in the trash. If these notes are thrown away rather than placed in a secure shred bin, you are violating patient privacy and HIPAA.
PROTECTED INFORMATION – If you have a coworker who has had a procedure and you want to find out how they are, you CANNOT access their records. In that position, you are just like everyone else who is not allowed access to this person’s information. If you want any information on the coworker, you will have to go through the normal way of finding out, just like any family member or friend.
PATIENT FAMILY AND FRIENDS – Be cautious about any information you give to a patient’s family member or well-meaning friend. Make sure the patient has signed a HIPAA release or authorization giving you permission to share information with that particular person.
SHARING INFORMATION – Be careful not to share information outside protected channels. If you text a doctor from your personal cell phone, you have violated HIPAA. Any such text or email must be secured through approved software and channels.
SELFIES – As much as you would love to be friends with your patients, anything you share on your Facebook page or other social media, such as a selfie with the patient, is a HIPAA violation. Frankly you should never take a picture with a patient, but a patient may take a picture with you. I would not even be friends on Facebook with a patient because that too is a HIPAA violation of boundaries. However, if the patient takes the selfie and they post it on their own social media, no violation has occurred. The violation occurs it YOU post it.
REPORTING HIPAA VIOLATIONS – You can self-report any HIPAA violation but that does not necessarily mean you will not get in trouble but to NOT self-report can make the situation worse. However, if you note another’s HIPAA violation and fail to report it, you can make the situation worse as you can be considered an accomplice in the violation.
PUNITIVE MEASURES – HIPAA violations can result in a variety of legal responses that go beyond just being terminated from your job. A UCLA surgeon was sentenced to 4 months in jail and fined $2,000 after he illegally accessed medical records over 300 times of his supervisor, coworkers and celebrities.
ELEVATOR CHATS – In one case, a nurse was trying to reach a physician about a patient but he had not called back when she ran into him in an elevator. She promptly began a discussion with the doctor to get an order. This is a violation of HIPAA because the disclosure of the patient’s situation was not in a secure place
FAXING – If you are extremely busy and need to fax medical information, take the few seconds to confirm it is going to the proper recipient. If you accidentally send medical information to the wrong place, you have violated HIPAA.

A HIPAA violation is an extremely serious offense and can result in huge fines and even imprisonment, as noted in No. 8 above.

In ABC’s reality show, NY MED, they inadvertently filmed two hospital patients without consent. The hospital paid a settlement of $2,200,000 and was instructed to implement a corrective action plan.

HIPAA violations are extreme and saying “it was an accident” is not an acceptable excuse. There is zero tolerance for such and 100% compliance of HIPAA regulations is required at all times.

Please careful to protect your patient’s confidentiality.

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