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

dsaprog said:

I'm trying to put myself in her shoes and I can kind of see how that label didn't stop her.

 

dsaprog said:

 She intended to pull versed, a sedative medication that could potentially have a paralyzing effect when combined with another substance, or at least it's often administered before a paralytic agent. 

Benzodiazepines do not have a paralyzing effect. They can suppress respirations and blood pressure but they do not paralyze. Full stop

 

dsaprog said:

I'm trying to put myself in her shoes and I can kind of see how that label didn't stop her.

Putting  ourselves in other's shoes is always a good thing but...

Would the following things have stopped you:

1. Warning on MDS screen that medication requires patient to be on resp support

2. Orange sticker on medication bin stating the same warning + paralytic action

3. Med needed reconstituted (which Versed does not and she admitted knowing that)

4. Different colored vial

Would any of these things have made you stop and think "hmmm this is weird, I'd better verify this"? 
If not, and I hope that isn't the case, would you ever push an IV medication with known side effects such as respiratory depression and immediately walk away without reassessing the patient or actually looking at the vial?

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I'm actually surprised and pretty disturbed that so many have said "this could have been me". 

Like, no - I don't agree with that statement. 

Critical thinking is the key to safety. Radonda was operating like a robot that day, not mindful of what she was trying to accomplish for the patient. More than just pushing a med and leaving, the patient needed time and attention to soothe her anxiety while at the same time assessing her response to the medication.  It's not like Radonda didn't have the time to do that. She didn't have any urgent need to be somewhere else. 

If she can be of any help to the nursing profession it is in fully acknowledging her errors and speaking specifically to what she should have done differently. If any compensation it should be modest. The $10,000 per speaking engagement is on another level and I do believe it's profiting off of the tragic death that she caused. No one owes her anything.

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Specializes in LTC.

For some reason this reminds me of Casey Anthony when she got out and started doing things to make money. 

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This women will never work again as an RN and I think earning a living with sharing on her experience "lessons learned, ect" would be helpful encouraging awareness around preventing sentinel events. I doubt she is getting rich plus she has to live with this error everyday. 

Tara Barker said:

This women will never work again as an RN and I think earning a living with sharing on her experience "lessons learned, ect" would be helpful encouraging awareness around preventing sentinel events. I doubt she is getting rich plus she has to live with this error everyday. 

 

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Specializes in Psychiatric nursing.

Has anyone actually paid her for this service? Because who would? I can't see crowds of people clamoring to hear what she has to say. 

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Specializes in school nurse, many past specialties in nursing..

If you read the case and the trial, anyone can see that this could happen to ANY ONE of US! Why wasn't the hospital called to task? They reached a private settlement w/the family w/a non disclosure type of agreement not to speak of the details of Mrs Murphey's death. The hospital did not report the circumstances of the death to the proper authorities. Passing off the death to the medical examiner that it was natural causes. Overriding an electronic medication delivery system is fairly common practice, trusting the system without double checking is a mistake often made daily. Ms Vaught readily admitted and reported the error once discovered. If prosecution of medical error, not done w/mal-intent, is allowed to be tried and punishable then who in their right mind is going to willingly go into this field. So much for "just culture" that has been promoted over the past 20+ years. The verdict may hinder others coming forward w/their medical errors. Don't be so quick to throw her under the bus. I think she should go and speak to her experience. And even better if she gets paid for it.

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Nurse Judi said:

If you read the case and the trial, anyone can see that this could happen to ANY ONE of US! ...

Seriously?  You would type in the first two letters of the medication and take the only medication on the list.  Then reconstitute your selection, which would not have been necessary had she actually retrieved the proper medication.  And, after administering a medication that could suppress respiratory status, you would walk off and leave the patient without assessing the patient's response?

I'm sorry, but I don't see this as something that "could happen to ANY ONE of US!"

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Nurse Judi said:

Overriding an electronic medication delivery system is fairly common practice, trusting the system without double checking is a mistake often made daily. Ms Vaught readily admitted and reported the error once discovered. If prosecution of medical error, not done w/mal-intent, is allowed to be tried and punishable then who in their right mind is going to willingly go into this field. So much for "just culture" that has been promoted over the past 20+ years. The verdict may hinder others coming forward w/their medical errors. Don't be so quick to throw her under the bus. I think she should go and speak to her experience. And even better if she gets paid for it.

This has been discussed at length in multiple other posts. This was not a simple medication error and nobody is faulting her for overriding the ADS (although she wouldn't have had to if she had input the correct drug name as it was already in the patient profile). She did not "readily admit" her error. It was discovered by another nurse and she had no choice but to report it. I highly recommend you read the TBI report so you have an accurate account of what exactly happened including every single thing she did that violates good nursing practice. Spoiler alert...there were at least 10. Unless you are a grossly incompetent nurse I highly, highly doubt what happened in this situation would ever happen to you. 

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Specializes in Critical care.

Absolutely..

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Specializes in Serious Illness, EOL, Death Care, Final Dispo.
maggie0 said:

Has anyone actually paid her for this service? Because who would? I can't see crowds of people clamoring to hear what she has to say. 

absolutely, including the California hospital association, the OR nurses org, legal nurse consultants org, Texas ANA affiliate, at least one patient safety (!) org, etc

she's the conference equivalent of click bait -  enticement for voyeurs not sure about attending, it's grotesque exploitation 

I've listened to her standard speech along with interviews from the last 18 months where she adds new details (she didn't take the stand at her trial because she admitted guilt to TBI), as well as court proceedings and legal analysis (from objective lawyers, not most nurse-lawyers) along with webinars, journal articles, blog posts, tiktok stuff etc

this is a rehab tour in full swing 

folks here and elsewhere have joked about books and movies - it's no joke

this is an important case for nurses to understand, and also the public

the facts of the case with evidence went to a jury and they came back 4 hours later with guilty verdicts for negligence and abuse

it's also important for nurses and the public to understand why so many nurses including those with platforms and positions of responsibility, and especially nursing orgs, are still so eager to avoid, minimize, distort and deceive about what happened

Kentucky passed legislation treating nurses like cops with blamelessness and qualified immunity

which makes sense, since nursing school is police academy for white women

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Specializes in school nurse, many past specialties in nursing..
chare said:

Seriously?  You would type in the first two letters of the medication and take the only medication on the list.  Then reconstitute your selection, which would not have been necessary had she actually retrieved the proper medication.  And, after administering a medication that could suppress respiratory status, you would walk off and leave the patient without assessing the patient's response?

I'm sorry, but I don't see this as something that "could happen to ANY ONE of US!"

In reading all the reports she made many, many errors. None that many of us would have made, but every situation is different. I would not agree w/a jail sentence.  I think it is good that she talk about the experience. If people choose to pay her that is up to them. I know that during my career part of the reprimand was to go to other care facilities and talk about their incident. That was ordered by the state BON>

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Nurse Judi said:

In reading all the reports she made many, many errors. None that many of us would have made, but every situation is different. I would not agree w/a jail sentence.  I think it is good that she talk about the experience. If people choose to pay her that is up to them. I know that during my career part of the reprimand was to go to other care facilities and talk about their incident. That was ordered by the state BON>

Most of us, myself included, agree that jail time would have been pointless. The problem with her talking about the event, and profiting from it, is she continues to put the blame on everyone else and identifies as a victim of the system. She is not a victim of any system, she is a victim of her own carelessness and hubris.

 

And, lest we forget. The real victim was Charlene Murphey. 

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