Radonda Vaught Trial

[tnbutterfly - Mary]

"Fourteen Nashvillians were chosen Monday, March 21, 2022 to sit as a jury in the case of RaDonda Vaught, a former Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse charged in the death of a patient. She faces charges of reckless homicide and impaired adult abuse in the 2017 death of Charlene Murphey."

For more on this story, see

Jury chosen in homicide trial of ex-Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught after fatal drug error

RaDonda Vaught’s Arraignment - Guilty or Not of Reckless Homicide and Patient Abuse?

Tennessee Nurse RaDonda Vaught - Legal Perspectives of Fatal Medication Error

What do you think the verdict should/will be?

[MunoRN, RN]

1 hour ago, Wuzzie said:

No, I admire nurses who instead of pissing and moaning are willing to take a look at themselves to see if they need improvement. How you can’t see that contributes to increased patient safety is beyond me. 

I feel like I was pretty clear on how reflecting on our own practice is beneficial; 

3 hours ago, MunoRN said:

I'm all for peer discussions and self-assessments about our own practice

 

1 hour ago, Wuzzie said:

 This is not the first case of a nurse being tried and found guilty for a medication error. In fact, I believe it is the 6th. Please show me even one article that lists the thousands of nurses who have been thrown in jail since the first one in the late 80s. 

FTR, the reason I wanted her found guilty is that so she can never, ever hold a nursing license (or an automatic weapon for that matter) again. If she wasn’t found guilty there would have been a chance that her license could be reinstated on appeal. Given the TBON’s initial action I’m not at all sure they are smart enough to uphold the revocation  

 

There have been cases where criminal acts occurred following a medication error, such as recognizing error yet failing to seek appropriate interventions for the patient, but if your claiming there have been nurses found guilty of felonies solely based on a medication error it might help to offer references.

[JKL33]

11 hours ago, MunoRN said:

list of acts and errors that the DA listed as being crimes

I will say, that guy could help a whole lot more if he made a detailed list like that about the institution in which this happened. Not sure how failing to use BCMS to scan a medication is a problem but failing to HAVE one in an area where patients are clearly being cared for is not. THAT is the exact thing that endangers nurses and patients more than anything--this idea that business people can determine the entire scene and its details and then it's left up to thousands and thousands of individual nurses to "do the right thing" and be "prudent" despite the fact that none of the other players want to participate in that level of responsibility. Same with having basic monitoring equipment in the areas where patient care happens. I mean, if the prosecutor wanted to serve the people he could work on the matter of an actual cover-up of a death and he could find endless examples to make into a list that proves the institution just doesn't even pretend to care until it's too late. These are the things that enrage me...not the idea that I could access vecuronium if I'm so busy running around the hospital with Darren that I can't do actual nursing.

[Putthefuinfun, ASN, RN]

I don't understand why you all are judging this poor woman by her personal life. I guarantee none of you have every part of your life together. Im sure some are *** shows. People make mistakes, especially in this profession. Safe guards are in place but fail, it comes down to human error. Most errors are simple and are either never caught, or cause no/minor issue. Most of you on here *** how overworked, overwhelmed, under staffed you are, and yet here you see someone in the midst of this *** dealing with everything you all are and you have no issue clamoring about her mistake. A mistake I'm sure she'll regret her entire life. You are the nurses I'd eat alive, and fire your ***. We are supposed to back eachother, not continue this high school clique ***. Shame on all of you ***.

[Emergent, RN]

6 minutes ago, Putthefuinfun said:

I don't understand why you all are judging this poor woman by her personal life. I guarantee none of you have every part of your life together. Im sure some are *** shows. People make mistakes, especially in this profession. Safe guards are in place but fail, it comes down to human error. Most errors are simple and are either never caught, or cause no/minor issue. Most of you on here *** how overworked, overwhelmed, under staffed you are, and yet here you see someone in the midst of this *** dealing with everything you all are and you have no issue clamoring about her mistake. A mistake I'm sure she'll regret her entire life. You are the nurses I'd eat alive, and fire your ***. We are supposed to back eachother, not continue this high school clique ***. Shame on all of you ***.

A great example of a non-judgmental approach to life! Thanks for being an excellent roll model ? 

[mtmkjr, BSN]

16 minutes ago, Putthefuinfun said:

I don't understand why you all are judging this poor woman by her personal life. I guarantee none of you have every part of your life together. Im sure some are *** shows. People make mistakes, especially in this profession. Safe guards are in place but fail, it comes down to human error. Most errors are simple and are either never caught, or cause no/minor issue. Most of you on here *** how overworked, overwhelmed, under staffed you are, and yet here you see someone in the midst of this *** dealing with everything you all are and you have no issue clamoring about her mistake. A mistake I'm sure she'll regret her entire life. You are the nurses I'd eat alive, and fire your ***. We are supposed to back eachother, not continue this high school clique ***. Shame on all of you ***.

I would love for you to tell me what the facts of the case are as you know them. All of them.

Because my hunch is that you are missing something important

[sistrmoon, BSN, RN]

59 minutes ago, Putthefuinfun said:

I don't understand why you all are judging this poor woman by her personal life. I guarantee none of you have every part of your life together. Im sure some are *** shows. People make mistakes, especially in this profession. Safe guards are in place but fail, it comes down to human error. Most errors are simple and are either never caught, or cause no/minor issue. Most of you on here *** how overworked, overwhelmed, under staffed you are, and yet here you see someone in the midst of this *** dealing with everything you all are and you have no issue clamoring about her mistake. A mistake I'm sure she'll regret her entire life. You are the nurses I'd eat alive, and fire your ***. We are supposed to back eachother, not continue this high school clique ***. Shame on all of you ***.

Radonda herself said she was not overtired or understaffed, and was comfortable in her role. Go read the TBI/CMS reports and listen to the BON hearing. 

[Wuzzie]

2 hours ago, Emergent said:

A great example of a non-judgmental approach to life! Thanks for being an excellent roll model ? 

I find it supremely ironic that the only people spewing profanities, name calling and judging people with literally no actual knowledge about them are the RV apologists. 

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

3 hours ago, Putthefuinfun said:

I don't understand why you all are judging this poor woman by her personal life

I've seen no discussion of her personal life beyond someone mentioning her lying on a firearms application, so no judgment there. In fact, you're the one who seems judgmental

[Emergent, RN]

It seems like a simple case to me. A nurse ignored basic nursing principles of safe care and recklessly gave the wrong medication, and a woman died a horrifying death, alone, and unable to breathe or move. 

The Tennessee Board of Nursing was too busy censoring students who were behind on their student loans, and denying them licensure, to be troubled with a woman who recklessly gave the medication and caused a woman to die a horrifying death.

If this had happened to me I would have voluntarily left nursing.

Of course the hospital engaged in a cover-up and may have been instrumental in escalating this to a criminal case. As I have said before, that should be vigorously investigated as well

[Tenebrae, BSN, RN]

6 hours ago, Putthefuinfun said:

I don't understand why you all are judging this poor woman by her personal life. I guarantee none of you have every part of your life together. 

My judgement of RV is based solely on the facts of the case

- She totally ignored the 5+ rights of med administration. I mean it takes less than five seconds to read the label of the vial. 'Patient charted versed, oh heck, I have vercuronium'

- She overode multiple other safety checks.

- she slammed an IV medication, walked off and didn't look back. Now it can be argued that the versed order didn't require observation. IMO a responsible nurse doesnt push an IV med and either stay for a short while to monitor efficacy, or go back and check a short while later. I mean hell I will do that when ever I give midaz subcut

- The patient died fully conscious and aware that she was suffocating to death. Pretty much one of the worst ways possible to die IMOce 

 

There is enough in the publically avaliable case that suggests RV should never be allowed to practice nursing again, ever

[sideshowstarlet, BSN, RN]

16 hours ago, Emergent said:

It seems like a simple case to me. A nurse ignored basic nursing principles of safe care and recklessly gave the wrong medication, and a woman died a horrifying death, alone, and unable to breathe or move. 

The Tennessee Board of Nursing was too busy censoring students who were behind on their student loans, and denying them licensure, to be troubled with a woman who recklessly gave the medication and caused a woman to die a horrifying death.

If this had happened to me I would have voluntarily left nursing.

Of course the hospital engaged in a cover-up and may have been instrumental in escalating this to a criminal case. As I have said before, that should be vigorously investigated as well

Exactly. RV failed, the BON failed, and the hospital failed. 

Did the BON give a reason as to why it took so long for them to actually investigate this? They need to held accountable as well.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Wow, even ISMP is jumping on the RaDonda Vaught bandwagon. Seriously, the Institute for Safe Medical Practice is saying that she should not have had her nursing license revoked. I have no words.

https://www.ismp.org/resources/tn-board-nursings-unjust-decision-revoke-nurses-license-travesty-top-tragedy