Nurses Call the Governor of Tennessee

RNNPICU, BSN, RN · Feb 11, 2019

28 minutes ago, juan de la cruz said:
I’ve tried to be very objective around this case and really, the only reason I can come up with as to why I don’t want her to face criminal trial is out of solidarity for the profession, personal bias at past decisions of our legal system, and the fact that the BON is perfectly tasked to handle the case.

I think this does come into play here on a certain level. The only exception is, many of us have made errors and realized the events that lead up to the error. However, those of us who have made errord likely did not bypass multiple multiple system checks that can keep us safe. I too want to think that WE, the collective WE as nurses, want to keep our patient safe.

/username, BSN, RN · Feb 11, 2019

This was not an unintentional error. Based on the publicly available facts, this was extreme negligence AT BEST. We should not be lining up to defend this nurse who did not even check the medication she was giving once!

RNNPICU, BSN, RN · Feb 11, 2019

7 minutes ago, TriciaJ said:
She did not behave as a reasonably prudent nurse would, and her actions were too extreme to be a momentary lapse.
eNow it's a balancing act for the rest of us to decide, as individuals, where to draw the line between supporting a colleague and requiring accountability of ourselves and each other.

These two statements are where that line is,, at least for me

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Feb 11, 2019

34 minutes ago, Emergent said:
I'm not sure the BON or the justice system is well tasked to deal with this type of incompetence. Apparently, over a year after this egregious error, this woman still has an unencumbered license and is working as a nurse. Is this true, as people here have said?

I don’t know why there is no word from the Tennessee BON. I cringe at the fact that she sought and found employment after the event but that is a personal bias. I would need months of therapy before I can muster the ability to care for a patient if I committed this same mistake.

TriciaJ, RN · Feb 11, 2019

10 minutes ago, juan de la cruz said:
I don’t know why there is no word from the Tennessee BON. I cringe at the fact that she sought and found employment after the event but that is a personal bias. I would need months of therapy before I can muster the ability to care for a patient if I committed this same mistake.

I always thought I would turn in my license on the spot. I don't know if I would have had the confidence to ever practice nursing again.

mtmkjr, BSN · Feb 11, 2019

I've read many comments from people who are concerned that criminal charges for a med error set a dangerous precedent.

While I disagree, due to the nature of this "error", I am also thinking of the public trust. Isn't nursing the "most trusted profession"? What happens to that trust when people see that we are not willing to accept legal consequences when someone lost their life due to the reckless actions of one of our own?

Some of the reasoning has even compared nursing errors to doctor errors. Yes. Often there is no justice when careless doctors make fatal mistakes, but when that happens, we are outraged aren't we? We should be. Our response should not be to protect our own in the same way when the error is so grave.

Reckless homicide cases always fill me with sadness and are troublesome to me because I hate seeing people's lives ruined for what looks like a moment of horrifically poor judgement. But there is a need for justice. This was someone's beloved family member and it should never have happened.

I do think at minimum she should lose her license. But I highly doubt she will serve any time. These types of charges are usually pled down as low as probation. That would be fine with me I have no desire to see her go to prison.

Bottom line is people need to keep their trust and see that we do not take the expectation of a high standard of care lightly.

Daisy4RN · Feb 11, 2019

46 minutes ago, juan de la cruz said:
I don’t know why there is no word from the Tennessee BON. I cringe at the fact that she sought and found employment after the event but that is a personal bias. I would need months of therapy before I can muster the ability to care for a patient if I committed this same mistake.

Yea, I was wondering what is going on with the board as well. You read others here who have had an extremely hard time with BON's for taking a Benadryl on off time.

Emergent, RN · Feb 11, 2019

27 minutes ago, Daisy4RN said:
Yea, I was wondering what is going on with the board as well. You read others here who have had an extremely hard time with BON's for taking a Benadryl on off time.

BONs seem very inconsistent. They'll dish out equal punishment to a diverter (thief) of opiates and someone who got a DUI 10 years ago, who hasn't had a drink for years.

They wait over a year or more to sanction someone who caused a sentinal event, but nail someone who improperly charted something.

Asystole RN · Feb 11, 2019

31 minutes ago, Daisy4RN said:
Yea, I was wondering what is going on with the board as well. You read others here who have had an extremely hard time with BON's for taking a Benadryl on off time.

Depends on when the board was notified and how long their investigations usually take. For something like this since a criminal charge was levied I would imagine it would complicate things for them.

Asystole RN · Feb 11, 2019

1 minute ago, Emergent said:
BONs seem very inconsistent. They'll dish out equal punishment to a diverter (thief) of opiates and someone who got a DUI 10 years ago, who hasn't had a drink for years.
They wait over a year or more to sanction someone who caused a sentinal event, but nail someone who improperly charted something.

Unfortunately boards and their advisory panels are comprised of nurses like you and I. Complicating things are the various statutes, regulations, and other rules set forth in that state. They are additionally confusing to us in that they are not there to help us, they are there to protect the public from us. This often times places them at odds with the common nurse.

HomeBound · Feb 11, 2019

4 hours ago, juan de la cruz said:
I know you're passionate about this but could we try to avoid calling opposing views as "childish" and "immature". It's just as bad if we can't have a conversation about a polarizing issue without resorting to labels.

ad hominem attacks are for those who cannot or will not see the logic behind decisions that are made. shouting down the opposition is a tactic for those who cannot make their case logically, with method and evidence.

i've said it ad nauseum (**cough Wuzzie! cough**)....emotion has NO PLACE IN THE LAW.

Crying at the sentencing hearing, and support statements by families of murderers and rapists happen all the time. "If not for when he was bounced on his head as a baby, this would not have happened, please have mercy" or "if she had not grown up in poverty, she would not have chosen to rob that bank and pistol whip the teller, please forgive her and be lenient! she doesn't belong in a jail cell!"

Happens all the time.

What I think is happening, is that people seem to believe, for some reason, that by being a Nurse or a Doctor or a Priest or some other respected, trusted profession---that confers upon you good judgement, good character, trustworthy actions as well as intentions.

The truth is, every single profession has it's share of dishonest, morally bankrupt, sociopathic, and otherwise distasteful and dishonorable people. It just so happens that this time---it's a nurse and what happens to HER, will effect the way that the populace and employers see us.

I'm fine defending myself and my actions, because I know I am a conscientious nurse and try every day to deny the baser impulses that any one of us could feel---I don't want to answer that call light, the pt is an orifice. I don't want to pass meds in that room because she stinks and has c.diff and maybe the plague, i'll just scan those meds and throw them away. I have an addiction problem and I feel that pt X doesn't really need all of that pain medication, some for me, some for him.

Just because you all haven't HEARD about nurses killing patients because of negligence, doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

LOOK AT THIS CASE. Ms. Vaught was turfed to a different hospital---and no one was to be the wiser. SHE HAD NO PROBLEM WITH THIS. None. Zippo.

I would be a friggin' basket case. A literal, puddle of mushy goo that would be hosed off the sidewalk. I would not be able to function after doing what she did.

She walked off, with a recommendation from Vandy---and picked right up at another ICU. Didn't blink an eye. Did she self report to the TBON? Nope.

She not only broke all of the basic nursing rules and killed someone, she broke the rules that we all sign up for---the thing that MAKES US NURSES and the most trusted profession in the world----she lied and obfuscated her culpability for this "med error" to the TBON, which, is in place to protect the public FROM NURSES LIKE HER.

She's a human being, and she is just as eligible as the plumber and the accountant and the CEO and the dog walker down the street is---to have serious personality disorders or criminal tendencies or what have you.

You guys who are defending her---you don't know her. You simply cannot defend someone's "intent" when you've never met them.

You're defending her because of the effect that her conviction will have on YOU. That's not a defense. That's not what the law is set up to do. Each crime, as it should be, is considered on an individual basis, with the surrounding circumstances in play.

YOU DO NOT KNOW RADONDA VAUGHT. You have no idea what kind of person she is, what her criminal record might be (you do know you can be a nurse with a criminal record, right?).

The grand jury indicted her based on what information they were provided. You don't have that. There is one legal eagle here who has weighed in---and her argument is much like others---

"But what about US? If she's held responsible, what does that mean for ME??"

That should not be the question, and thankfully, the legal systems sees it that way too---the law is blind. Present evidence, apply the law---gray areas exist and yes, there are "always" extenuating circumstances---everybody's sorry when they get caught.

Redonda Vaught was not sorry, by her actions of skipping off to Centennial without a backwards glance or a self report to the TBON (because she KNEW she would face repercussions. Why do it, if Vandy would be in collusion with her to cover up her crime?)

THAT speaks volumes as to her character.

As to her ACTIONS....well, those speak for themselves.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Feb 11, 2019

To those who are supportive of Nurse Vaught, she has a gofundme page. Her statement is remarkable in its honesty given the limits of what she can divulge:

https://www.gofundme.com/radonda-vaught?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fb_dn_cpgnstaticsmall_r