It appears the error occurred because Vaught was searching for a drug using its brand name, but the cabinet was set to find drugs based on their generic names. Nearly one year after her sentencing, former Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse RaDonda Vaught appeared in Davidson County Chancery Court Tuesday asking a judge to overturn a Tennessee Board of Nursing decision that revoked her nursing license in 2021, Main Street Nashville reported. And dont let this defeat you, mentally, she said. All Rights Reserved. RaDonda Vaught enters the courtroom ahead of her sentencing in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday, May 13, 2022. Nurse RaDonda Vaught convicted of 2 felonies for fatal medical error Vaught's actions that night should be used as the dictionary definition of "egregious". RaDonda Vaught gets no jail time in medication error that led to death That should have been the end of the review, attorney Peter Strianse argued. Vaught then overlooked or bypassed at least five warnings or pop-ups saying she was withdrawing a paralyzing medication, documents state. The decision to prosecute her made history because it set a precedent for criminalizing medical errors. As a nurse faces prison for a deadly error, her colleagues worry: Could Minimum wage gets a mini increase in some states, In Beijing, Yellen aims to get U.S.-China relations back on an even keel, As extreme heat lingers, millions of U.S. households face a utility shutoff crisis. Many have accused prosecutors of criminalizing an honest mistake. A cover-up thats what it screams, said Charlene Murpheys grandson, Allen Murphey, who is not party to that settlement, in 2019. Although this information was not made public until this week, on September 27, 2019, the decision was reversed by the Tennessee Board of Nursing and RaDonda is now being criminally prosecuted and being charged with unprofessional conduct and abandoning or neglecting a patient that required care The new medical discipline charges, which accuse her of unprofessional conduct and neglecting a patient that required care, are separate from the prosecution and only impact her nursing license., Vaughts attorney was quoted in an email saying, , "It seems obvious that the District Attorneys Office and the Tennessee Department of Health are working in concert in the pending criminal/administrative matters, Strianse wrote in an email, adding later: The Board of Health likely feels some public pressure to reverse its position in light of the attention that has surrounded this unfortunate accident.. The CMS report and TBI report demonstrate just how negligent this act was. Vaughts former employer has not faced punishment, though Vaughts defense argued glitches with a new medication dispensing system were partly to blame. As to the rest of it, I'm pretty much still of the opinion that there is too much unchecked insanity going on in hospitals that affects patient care. ", "I think the whole world feels like I was a scapegoat," Vaught said. Regardless of what anybody says this was NOT a simple med error nor was she a victim of the system. Part of its mission is to help fund legal defense for nurses who, like Vaught, may face jail time for a medical error. Some nurses say they cant help but put themselves in Vaughts place, with many saying so publiclyon social media. The hearing that began Thursday is not that criminal trial. Well we all know that is true, but the override itself certainly caused enough outrage on its own and was portrayed as if she broke into the federal reserve vault by doing that. The DA's office points to this override as central to Vaught's reckless homicide charge. Shes just the first one to be thrown on the chopping block, Brady said. Related:Jury chosen in homicide trial of ex-Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught after fatal drug error. Nurses across the country continue to rally around RaDonda Vaught the former Vanderbilt. 6 Articles; RaDonda Vaught Update - State Health Officials Reverse Decision and File Medical Disciplinary Charges, Do you agree with the recent charges? As far as the criminal charges. Is it illegal to date a patient's family member (parent)? Tennessee nursing board pulls license of former Vanderbilt nurse over Davis said nurses are going to be more reluctant to jump into life-and-death situations. Supporters help pay fines RaDonda Vaught owed to state Has 18 years experience. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programsatKFF(Kaiser Family Foundation). No one is saying she did that intentionally. The health department initially declined to pursue a case against Vaught, then reversed course after the details of her case became public. Priorities are dangerously skewed. Our mission is to Empower, Unite, and Advance every nurse, student, and educator. 1-917-426-3524, By using the site you agree to our Privacy, Cookies, and Terms of Service Policies. Radio Advisory episode: Supporting RNs by changing the structure of nursing. In court documents filed in October, Strianse argued that the Department of Health violated the doctrine of res judicata, which prevents a claim from being pursued further after it has been judged once on merits. She and her husbandown a farm and I see her weekly at the local farmer's market, selling their produce. Many have expressed opinions pro and con regarding the Tennessee Department of Healths decision that RaDondas error did not warrant professional discipline. In the RaDonda Vaught case, Vanderbilt did not document fatal drug error. As I've learned more, however, I've come to believe that both criminality and incompetency are present here, and I support both the charges and some sort of disciplinary action against her license, preferably revocation. The pandemic has already taken a toll on those in the nursing sector. Hi! The hospital previously has declined to discuss the details of the medication error or Vaughts case. The Nashville District Attorney's Office declined to discuss Vaught's trial. Or would they cover their tracks out of fear of becoming the next RaDonda Vaught? During the trial, Vaught's attorneys argued that her mistake occurred largely because of "systemic errors" at VUMC that allow nurses to override safeguards. Many opposed RaDonda Vaught being charged with a crime, including the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), the Institute of Safe Medicine Practice (ISMP), and the American Nurses Association (ANA). That incident did not result in a patient's death or criminal prosecution, Cohen said. RaDonda Vaught Update - State Health Officials Reverse - allnurses Nurses and other supporters raised. She did not act with evil intent and is a second victim of a fatal error. In their eyes, she was a disposable person, Strianse said, adding later: Ms. We are not going to stand for this.. She was sent to Radiology Services to administer VERSED (midazolam) to Charlene Murphey, a 75-year-old woman recovering from a brain injury and scheduled for a PET scan. Vanderbilt scapegoated RaDonda Vaught for 'systemic errors,' attorney says Understand how we got here and how to move forward. 5,918 Posts. However, neither VUMC nor anyone else involved was held responsible for Murphey's death, ABC News reports. That will overwhelm any good that I ever did in my career. RaDonda Vaught Sentenced to Three Years Probation After Injecting Patient with Wrong Drug. Ultimately, Vaught said, "[i]t is heart-wrenching to know that Ms. Murphey and her family were so horrifically let down. Marketplace is a division of MPR's 501 (c)(3). How do we take this event and tell a bunch of nurses, who are honestly overworked and underpaid, and tirelessly miserable right now after coming through the pandemic, that you can make a mistake and say something without being thrown under the bus and backed over for it? Vaught asked. I am currently a nurse writer with a background in Staff Development, Telemetry and ICU. Thinking Aloud: RaDonda Vaught, RN - American Council on Science and Health There was a problem with your request. Absolutely. allnurses is a Nursing Career & Support site for Nurses and Students. Two years later: What surprised us most about Covid-19, 2 free members-only resources remaining this month, free members-only resources remaining this month, Unlimited access to research and resources, Member-only access to events and trainings, The latest content delivered to your inbox. Instead, about a year later, the department reversed itself, charging Vaught with unprofessional conduct and eventually revoking her license. There was a problem saving your notification. American Nurses Association Responds to the Trial of Nurse RaDonda Vaught. Prosecutors, both in the criminal case and the medical discipline case, allege Vaught pulled the wrong medication from an electronic dispensing cabinet that required her to search for the drug by name. Former nurse sentenced for dosing error seeks license return But he said he had specifically requested to be trained by Vaught, who was"knowledgeable" and "passionate" about nursing. Vaught, 37, of Bethpage, is accused of inadvertently killing Charlene Murphey, 75, of Gallatin, with a drug mix-up in 2017. "There's a fine line between blame and responsibility, and in health care, we don't blame. ANA Responds to the Trial of Nurse RaDonda Vaught | ANA "There won't ever be a day that goes by that I don't think about what I did.". Not much additional information has been released about the caseuntil now. Healthcare professionals will then fail to self-report. Vaught was criminally indicted for the death, including a charge of reckless homicide, in 2019, and her court case has become a rallying cry for nurses who worry about the criminalization of medical errors. And the second kind are the ones who know this could happen, any day, no matter how careful they are. Of those 400,000 somewhere between seven and 9,000 [1] of those errors result in the death of a patient. The casualty in all this is RaDonda Vaught.. Dismiss. ET RaDonda Vaught, a former nurse criminally prosecuted for a fatal drug error in 2017, was convicted of gross neglect of an impaired adult and negligent homicide on Friday. Fatal errors are generally handled by licensing boards and civil courts. The patient was supposed to get Versed, a sedative intended to calm her before being scanned in a large, MRI-like machine. "Do what you do. Do what you do. Sign up for Black Tennessee Voices newsletter:Read compelling columns by Black writers from across Tennessee. Scapegoat is defined as being blamed for the fault of others. Them covering it up is their own problem, Vaught didn't get disciplined or charged for their cover up, she got in trouble for her own role in this. At the very least, subpar nursing should have resulted in some disciplinary action and required remediation. On March 25, about 2,400 miles away in a Tennessee courtroom, former nurse RaDonda Vaught was convicted of two felonies and now faces eight years in prison for a fatal medication mistake.. I could be RaDonda.. The criminal trial of RaDonda Vaught, charged with homicide and elderly . Its going to become us-versus-them when it has to be for the safety of the patient all for one and one for all, she said. Dana S. Kellis, M.D., Ph.D., is a physician and recently retired chief medical officer for a large health system in Florida. I've had about enough of her being called a scapegoat. Follow him on Twitter at @brettkelman. So I think nurses get very concerned because they know this could be them.". Fourth, by stripping a nurse of her professional means of support and then prosecuting her for being the unfortunate victim of a faulty system which predictably was going to cause this event, the district attorney and Boards of Health and Nursing critically undermine one of the key pillars of a culture of safety, which is self-reporting. Jury chosen in homicide trial of ex-Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught after fatal drug error. During the investigation, Vanderbilt failed to uphold evidence-based practice and was deceitful. She also joined fellow nurses in Ohio establishing a nonprofit calledNurse Guardians. Updated: Apr 21 Heres a hint: Its no longer about a computer glitch that could have made the world go haywire at the end of 1999. Rather than feeling satisfaction over the destruction of a single nurses career and life, the district attorney and Boards of Health and Nursing should instead focus their attention on actually addressing the systemic defects which caused this tragic event by holding the hospital leadership andboard of directors to account for their institutions failure to establish a culture of safety, and subsequently ensure that these individuals and VUMC put appropriate processes and safeguards in place to keep such egregious events as this from recurring. Every year there are approximately 400,000 medication errors involving hospitalized patients. Vaughts trial will be followed by nurses nationwide, many of whom worry a conviction may set a precedent even as the coronavirus pandemic leaves countless nurses exhausted, demoralized, and likely more prone to error. And when mistakes happen, theyll have every reason to clam up. Do I agree with the original change and the TN BON finally getting around to doing something beside irrevocably damaging the public faith in that entity? Vaught's trial will be watched by nurses nationwide, many of whom worry a conviction may set a precedent as the coronavirus pandemic leaves countless nurses exhausted, demoralized and likely more prone to error. Published Mar 29. RaDonda Vaught speaks publicly for the first time since her - Advisory Surely the point is that the "override" function is to be used along with the Five Rights and other medication administration safety checks. 11,480 Posts. Nurses are the true heroes of healthcare. I don't hope for a prison sentence, but she should never be allowed to work as a nurse again. It is an editorially independent operating program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). This timeline will help. As the trial begins, Nashville prosecutors will argue that Vaught's error was anything but a common mistake any nurse could make. Read compelling stories for and with the Latino community in Tennessee. After the guilty verdict, prosecutor Chad Jackson was pressed about whether other nurses could expect criminal charges. Vaught was also charged and ultimately found guilty of gross neglect of an impaired adult and negligent homicide.