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

[klone]

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

[klone, MSN, RN]

Okay, one thing I will say that the facility could have done differently to have prevented this from happening - they could have required 3 letters before pulling up the override list, instead of just 2. The facility I most recently came from required 3 letters. I'm assuming that's a facility-dependent thing. If so, then VUH could have required that. 

That's not to say that I believe VUH bears any culpability in Charlene Murphey's death.

[NurseGerard]

Aliareza said:

I don't think there's anything simple about it. She made a mistake that killed a patient. There were many factors involved, her own negligence and poor practice included. There is no questioning that. My question to you was this: "Will you claim that Vanderbilt had no hand in this patient's death?"

I'm not clear what your question means or its relevance to the discussion 

If someone is charged with a crime and they plead guilty, what happens next? Does the judge say thanks for admitting your guilt you can go home now?

The facts of the case are available from primary sources, and 'just culture' is based on objective assessments of facts

So too for a jury trial, and in criminal cases the burden of proof is very high - beyond a reasonable doubt and unanimous decision is required

It took the jury 4 hours 

fwiw Vanderbilt did what any system in its position would do, and frankly I've got questions about the nursing department there because by accounts RaDonda was well regarded and had been a regular preceptor - including during this whole event, which should have been a great collaborative learning opportunity but that's a whole other story

also too they're magnet(tm) 

[NurseGerard]

Aliareza said:

Now working in a teaching hospital with a process improvement mindset vs a mindset that blames staff for any mistake and is punitive towards them, 

so anyway Vanderbilt University Medical Center is a multiple time ancc certified magnet(tm) major teaching hospital with a process improvement mindset

also too "blamelessness" is not a feature of 'just culture'

[Tenebrae, BSN, RN]

Aliareza said:

Will you claim that Vanderbilt had no hand in this patient's death? 

RV didn't read the label on the vercuronium. 

Systemic issues aside, they are not responsible for a nurse failing to adhere to the five rights. 

 

[Tenebrae, BSN, RN]

I've worked in unsafe nursing environment think clinical responsibility for 75 residents. 

(I left because nothing was ever going to change)

However the responsibility for ensuring the patients got the correct meds remained mine. 

[LlamaLlamaMamaJamaac]

Aliareza said:

Will you claim that Vanderbilt had no hand in this patient's death? 

Unequivocally.  The hospital didn't kill Charlene Murphey.  The former RN did.  

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

Aliareza said:

Eh. I have mixed feelings on it myself. She was truly thrown under the bus. She was incredibly remorseful from the very start and showed that in every action she took. She immediately admitted her mistake and reported herself to the hospital and the BON as well if I remember correctly. Vanderbilt did everything they could to cover it up and it was only when the DA forcefully brought charges (because the patient's family did not want criminal charges brought against Radonda, stating that their mother was an understanding and forgiving person who would not have wanted to press charges) that the incident was re-looked into and punitive action was taken. It set an absolutely appalling precedent for all nurses when she was found guilty. 

Given all of the things that happened, I'm not surprised she wants to share her story. It's going to be an important one for many of us in healthcare. The very high speaker fee is what gives me pause, but I don't know much about speaker's fees. Is it high enough to be considered profiting from the dead? I'm not sure; I think that comes down to how much she actually makes from it. And what is the intent behind being a speaker? Will she advocate for nurses and safety and try to use this event for good? There are so many aspects she could choose to speak on which all contributed to this debacle; unsafe practices in hospitals, lack of support from peers even when asked, the cover-up Vanderbilt attempted after the fact, her own shortcomings, the battle with the BON to keep her license, etc. 

I'm left with more questions than answers. 

If you still have more questions, go through this entire thread and nurses here have generously shared the facts of the case.  It's not appropriate for her to be making money off of what almost became a crime except for the willingless of the BON to remove her license.

[CWS RN]

JKL33 said:

I think there's another take-away from this case that deserves mention—especially for those concerned that this could happen to them:

How you choose to operate as a nurse-employee matters. 

While I do not advocate being unnecessarily  contentious, we are indeed faced, almost daily, with tasks and requests that are made urgent on the basis of business principles or customer satisfaction or some other thing that is not directly related to the excellent care of patients. We have to know how to handle these, how to prioritize and when to put our foot down, even when doing so earns eye-rolls and snide comments and frustration from administration. 

One of the more tragic aspects of this case, IMO, is that the testing that required sedation was NOT emergent; it wasn't even an urgent matter as far as patient treatment and well-being is concerned. The patient was otherwise just about ready for discharge. 
 

That means that if the hospital's system for verifying meds and moving them to the profile doesn't appear to be working (as is what RV supposedly believed) there's plenty of time for THEM to figure that out, or at least actively help troubleshoot.  It doesn't mean that the RN has to keep everything rolling by using less-safe procedures so that a random non-urgent matter can still get done as if it were an emergency. Healthcare corporations decided that THEY wanted to operate on car manufacturing principles. So? STOP THE LINE.

Same for the swallow study to be done in the ED. That, too, was neither an emergency nor an urgent matter of patient well-being. Were this me, at the point that I knew I needed to be involved in this other task of administering IV sedation in the basement, that swallow study would've been off my list of things to care about for the time being. Completely. I really don't care if someone has to wait another 2 hours to be granted their usual diet in the grand scheme of things. And I 100% don't care if prompt ED swallow screens by someone tasking in another department is what admins think is best. 

Along with performing the 5 Rights ALWAYS, EVERY TIME, I think this is another issue that all should reflect upon. At the end of the day, the patient's safety and well-being must remain at the top of our list always. 

THERE IS ALWAYS TIME TO DO THINGS THE RIGHT WAY, with the appropriate due diligence.  

Very well said. Thank you. 

[CWS RN]

Wuzzie said:

If they were actual errors. In this case it was a cascade of poor decisions by an incompetent nurse who disregarded all she had been taught regarding safe nursing practice. She knew better but she didn't care.

 based off medical error deaths per annum...

Then we have at least 200,000 PLUS  physicians,  surgeons,  nurses etc to criminalize every year.

Our legal system will capsize with the strain. Let's see what happens .

Yikes. 

[FiremedicMike, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

CWS RN said:

 based off medical error deaths per annum...

Then we have at least 200,000 PLUS  physicians,  surgeons,  nurses etc to criminalize every year.

Our legal system will capsize with the strain. Let's see what happens .

Yikes. 

The egregious ones generally are criminalized, this one met that threshold. 

[toomuchbaloney]

CWS RN said:

 based off medical error deaths per annum...

Then we have at least 200,000 PLUS  physicians,  surgeons,  nurses etc to criminalize every year.

Our legal system will capsize with the strain. Let's see what happens .

Yikes. 

Error =/= criminal negligence

The facts and details of her case don't reflect medical error, they reflect criminal negligence that resulted in the death of a patient. 

Which part of her conduct was a simple error, in your opinion? 

[CWS RN]

FiremedicMike said:

The egregious ones generally are criminalized, this one met that threshold. 

Actually,  no. They are not.

That's why this one has set a dangerous precedent. 

toomuchbaloney said:

Error =/= criminal negligence

The facts and details of her case don't reflect medical error, they reflect criminal negligence that resulted in the death of a patient. 

Which part of her conduct was a simple error, in your opinion? 

You speak in error. I never said simple.