Radonda Vaught is charging $10,000 per speaking engagement.

Published

Or, $7,500 if you just want her virtually. Good to know that negligent homicide is such a lucrative endeavor. 
 

https://www.executivespeakers.com/speaker/radonda-vaught

Specializes in Serious Illness, EOL, Death Care, Final Dispo.
Kisela M said:

Our class had to do a project on this. It is very sad what happened to the family and Radonda. Yes, she should have slowed down when grabbing the medication, she could have even let the student nurse who was shadowing her have a look at the medication to make sure they were pulling the right medication. I know student nurses may feel uncomfortable letting the nurse they are shadowing know that they are doing something unsafe. Was Radonda negligent, yes, but the facility is also to blame. For one they didn't have wristband barcoding or second nurse verification wasn't in place which possibly could have prevented this error. 

I'm glad to hear you covered this case in class, I hope that in the future folks who do so access primary materials like court testimony and attorneys arguments on YouTube  and exhibits like the report from her interview by TBI, whistleblower report and now even recent interviews where she provides additional details (she didn't testify at trial) 

the article you cited is crap as has been noted, and most of what I've come across is also crap so it's important to look at the facts objectively because that's what a just culture depends on

the crappy stuff is crappy because it ignores distorts deflects facts and instead goes for an emotional response

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Specializes in Serious Illness, EOL, Death Care, Final Dispo.
klone said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the person who was with her was not a student nurse, he was an orientee, yes?

yes - and it's always bugged me that none of this assignment was used for teaching, and she was considered a competent preceptor

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Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
Kisela M said:

Those are all facts, but I highly doubt every single nurse adheres to this. Unfortunately there will be times where someone has overlooked these rights. I was just on a med-surg floor last week and the nurses I saw never did the 5 rights. 

 

WOW!?  Why I want to die at home before I'd ever go to a hospital knowing that there were nurses as you describe.  I don't understand how you can say that the nurses your mention didn't do the 5 rights since it's something we do inside our heads.

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Specializes in ICU, trauma.
Kisela M said:

Our class had to do a project on this. It is very sad what happened to the family and Radonda. Yes, she should have slowed down when grabbing the medication, she could have even let the student nurse who was shadowing her have a look at the medication to make sure they were pulling the right medication. I know student nurses may feel uncomfortable letting the nurse they are shadowing know that they are doing something unsafe. Was Radonda negligent, yes, but the facility is also to blame. For one they didn't have wristband barcoding or second nurse verification wasn't in place which possibly could have prevented this error. 

"VUMC encouraged adherence to physician orders, even though they omitted patient monitoring in this case, which should be standard practice after midazolam administration. Overrides to the automatic dispensing cabinet (ADC) were encouraged to circumvent delays even though no effective systems were in place to prevent or detect the accidental selection, removal, and administration of medications obtained via override" 

"VUMC's fixes were only for case-relevant medications and departments despite prevalent issues throughout the organization. Despite evidence that administrators failed to implement safe medication practices, no administrators faced repercussions."

Have a little compassion for someone whose dream was to be a nurse and now for the rest of her life she has to live with the fact that someone died under her care. You do not know where the money she will be receiving is going. One of the family members forgave her and felt she didn't deserve jail time. 

Lusk, C., DeForest, E., Segarra, G., Neyens, D. M., Abernathy, J. H., 3rd, & Catchpole, K. (2022). Reconsidering the application of systems thinking in healthcare: the RaDonda Vaught case. British journal of anaesthesia, 129(3), e61–e62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bja.2022.05.023

It is, it's horribly sad what happened to Charlene Murphey and her family.  This did not "happen to" RaDonda... She DID IT to Mrs. Murphey. 

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Specializes in ICU, trauma.
FiremedicMike said:

Just to take this from another angle.  If some of you haven't seen 2mg of versed put an elderly patient out to the point of snoring respirations and requiring some supplemental oxygen, believe me it can happen.

Her final and truly fatal error is that she should have stuck around long enough to see if the desired sedation happened (the whole reason she was there) and to verify the patient didn't become too sedated.

Had she done this, she would have noticed the patient stop breathing/moving and could have easily fixed the situation with a BVM and a call to a doc for airway management and sedation until the vec wore off.

 

Exactly!!  Had she monitored her patient following an IVP drug, Mrs Murphey would be alive today.  It's for this reason why I cannot muster an ounce of sympathy for her, why I so strongly disagree that "it could happen to anyone,” "no nurse should be prosecuted for a med error" "but she did admit to giving vec" (but didn't plead guilty, so IS THAT taking accountability?) and "but but SYSTEMS FAILURE" 

Her failure to monitor (for the DUMBEST reason — its not like she ran to a code, she ran to do a bedside swallow eval) is what made prosecution and conviction for manslaughter THE ONLY JUST outcome.  (Her sentence not so much... I think it was too light.)

Do I agree with the hospital NO.  But the hospital didn't commit involuntary manslaughter—RaDonda did.  

 

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Specializes in ICU, trauma.
Kisela M said:

Those are all facts, but I highly doubt every single nurse adheres to this. Unfortunately there will be times where someone has overlooked these rights. I was just on a med-surg floor last week and the nurses I saw never did the 5 rights. 

 

Other nurses' recklessness don't excuse hers — which resulted in the painful and 100% preventable death of a patient.  

Add to that when giving a drug that even when administered correctly can cause a negative reaction, such as oversedation or a drop in BP?  She should have stayed to monitor the patient after administering it.  

She would have noted the decrease in SpO2 and the fact that she wasn't breathing or even able to move; and she could have started bagging and called a code.  Mrs Murphey could have been saved.
 

Even if the nurses you observed didn't check their five rights (I say if bc you don't know what they were noting mentally), I think most would at least recognize "IVP versed, let's maybe watch the patient for a few minutes" 

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LlamaLlamaMamaJamaac said:

Other nurses' recklessness don't excuse hers — which resulted in the painful and 100% preventable death of a patient.  

Agreed and to add what I feel is an important point...if any, ANY of us find ourselves even considering taking unsafe shortcuts we should remember this case and Charlene Murphey. 

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Specializes in Tele, ICU, Staff Development.
Kisela M said:

Our class had to do a project on this. It is very sad what happened to the family and Radonda. Yes, she should have slowed down when grabbing the medication, she could have even let the student nurse who was shadowing her have a look at the medication to make sure they were pulling the right medication. 

Have a little compassion for someone whose dream was to be a nurse and now for the rest of her life she has to live with the fact that someone died under her care. You do not know where the money she will be receiving is going. One of the family members forgave her and felt she didn't deserve jail time. 

 

I would love to hear your thoughts on her culpability after you've graduated and practiced for a few years.

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Specializes in ICU, trauma.
NurseGerard said:

 

 

Screenshot 2024-05-20 11.31.12 AM.png

And this photo... does this woman have no shame??  Smiling really 

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
Kisela M said:

Our class had to do a project on this. It is very sad what happened to the family and Radonda. Yes, she should have slowed down when grabbing the medication, she could have even let the student nurse who was shadowing her have a look at the medication to make sure they were pulling the right medication. I know student nurses may feel uncomfortable letting the nurse they are shadowing know that they are doing something unsafe. Was Radonda negligent, yes, but the facility is also to blame. For one they didn't have wristband barcoding or second nurse verification wasn't in place which possibly could have prevented this error. 

This is a straw man argument. Other nurses' laziness and lack of conscientiousness does NOT negate that what she did was WRONG and goes against everything we are taught in nursing school.

Instead of excusing her and sloppy practice in general, use this as an object lesson to NEVER EVER be a nurse who does not do the 5 rights, EVERY SINGLE TIME.

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Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
klone said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the person who was with her was not a student nurse, he was an orientee, yes?

I believe so from what I've read

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Specializes in Critical care.

Nice to see some compassionate comments. I know last time I was in ER. I felt increased comfort with use of the band scanner. Radonda in my opinion really was still a new nurse. 3 years? I don't know if it all was critical care. I agree yes she should have stayed monitored her reaction/ tolerance to medication that was administered.  Let alone in front of an orientee. That's crazy. You know what they say.  CYA. Likely would have prevented Mrs Murphys death. Sad that policy wasn't hard. Do not administer without scanner. I thought it's common to monitor result and a monitor in general.  I don't feel anyone is excusing Radonda but it did happen.  She & patient yes paid the price.  Well the  Patient. Should Radonda hide in Shame forever? I know many hosp. I worked protocols etc..could always use improvement.  Would I ever administer IV Ativan and walk away with unmonitored pt. No way. What I'm saying is we can't go back & change this. Radonda deserves to share her experience. 10k alot sure. But that's not my call. I'm not hiring her. 

 We all must go on. Yes multiple errors were made.... I've seen alot in my nursing career. Many experienced nursing have made fatal or near fatal mistakes. It does happen... nature of the business . To clarify tired overworked nurses. I get what nurse is  saying the litany of multiple errors. No excuse I guess what I'm trying to express is.....let's not crucify her as all outcomes are now finished. She deserves to live without being whipped forever. .... 

 

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