My Mother (an LPN) is in need of advice!

Hi, everyone. I'm new here but I have a serious concern. Or rather, my family does.

My mother has been an LPN for 33 years and has never had a single blemish on her record or a complaint regarding her conduct. She's always worked hard to provide the best patient care she could.

Several months ago, she found herself swamped by workloads that were simply too much for a single nurse to complete in a single shift and they had cut everyone's overtime to ensure that no one stayed over unless it was at their own expense. She worked nights and there was always a lot of work to do. They rotated her halls randomly though, so there was no chance of her setting things up to make it easier on her the following night.

In order to make things easier for her, she made what she called "Cheat Sheets" for her patients. It was a nursing chart with their names and unchanging conditions pre-recorded. She would make copies of these, check the patients each night, fill in any changing conditions and sign the page. She'd also write a summary of the check on the back, as was standard procedure. In the event that an unchanging condition did change, she'd simply shred the documents and make new ones excluding that condition. Her signature was always in fresh ink, as were the summaries and changing conditions.

She kept these "cheat sheets" in her locker at work. This came to light and she was fired and her actions were reported to the board of nursing.

Her hearing was the other day and they gave her three choices: 1) Have a full formal hearing which may be better or worse for her, 2) Plead the Mercy of the Court (they never elaborated upon what this means) and 3) Sign a paper accepting an official reprimand for Nevada Revised Statues 632.320 (7) unprofessional conduct, and Nevada Administrative Code 632.890 (20) inaccurate recording, falsifying records and (27) failing to perform nursing functions in a manner consistent with established or customary standards.

The problem is with (20). She never falsified anything, nor did she inaccurately record anything. The case-manager insisted that her actions constitute this... but I don't see how. We're moving across the country in a year or so and she'll be looking for a job again. We don't want her record reflecting that she did something neglectful or malicious when she was, in fact, simply trying to save time to get all of her work done.

She hasn't signed the papers yet, as we're still weighing our options. I was hoping that perhaps some of you would have some insight that you could offer.

Thank you.