As any nursing professional will be aware, nursing positions are disparate in type, and the scope of responsibilities in any individual nursing practice can be remarkably diverse—from the first year of a nurse’s training through the various forms of advanced nursing. Yet from time to time, a nurse will be accused of exceeding the scope of their profession by performing a service that, by law, only a doctor or (in more limited instances) a nurse practitioner may perform. When such an accusation is made, the license of the nursing profession is at risk, and an experienced professional license defense attorney should be contacted as quickly as possible.
The Texas Nursing Practice Act sets down the rules and regulations—including the scope of legal activities—germane to the practice of a career in nursing. Professional nursing is a profoundly important profession, requiring significant skill and a great deal of specialized judgment. Nurses need to be well-versed in various sources of knowledge and must be able to apply principles of the physical, social, and biological sciences that they have learned about during an intensive and difficult course of education. They are the direct caretakers for the ill, injured, infirm, and so forth—often spending a great deal more time with those placed in their charge than any doctor ever does. And they administer medications as prescribed by a physician.
Yet they may not, in most cases, engage in medical diagnosis or prescribe either medications or other corrective or therapeutic measures (such as physical therapy) for patients.
The Board of Nursing has released its Scope of Practice Decision-Making Model to aid nurses in ensuring that the actions they take do not breach the bounds of their responsibilities.
When the Board of Nursing determines, following a complaint, that the scope of a nurse’s license to practice has been breached, then the nurse becomes subject to discipline up to and including revocation of their license to practice. Sometimes this occurs even when a nurse is quite certain they did not break the rules.
This is why, as soon as a nurse becomes aware that a complaint has been registered, they should contact an experienced professional license defense attorney like us here at BERTOLINO LLP. We provide aggressive advocacy for nurses who are facing disciplinary action before the Texas Board of Nursing. We have consistently won significant cases for nurses dealing with issues that could jeopardize their ability to work. We know how to build a strong case to protect your license—and your livelihood.
Call or text (512) 476-5757 or complete a Case Evaluation form
