A former Vanderbilt nurse, Radonda Vaught, is on trial in Nashville over a patient’s death that prosecutors say was caused by a drug mistake. Her case has sparked national interest from nurses worried about what the legal ramifications could be for open reporting guidelines.
Vaught is on trial for reckless homicide and abuse of an impaired adult. She’s accused of injecting Charlene Murphey with a deadly dose of a paralyzing drug.
Patient’s History
In December 2017, RaDonda Vaught was working as a nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center when she made an error that would alter the course of her patient’s life and end her own. She was responsible for injecting a 75-year-old patient named Charlene Murphey with an anxiety medication and a paralytic drug, which caused her to become unconscious and unable to breathe.
As a result of this error, Murphey became intubated and eventually died in the hospital. Her mistake occurred when Vaught was bringing her for a PET scan, which requires a patient to be injected with a radioactive medication and then images taken via a CT or MRI machine.
After an anonymous tip led to a hospitalwide investigation, both criminal charges and a professional discipline hearing were filed against Vaught. She was convicted in March on two charges of criminally negligent homicide and abuse of an impaired adult.
Patient’s Physical Examination
The physical examination is a diagnostic tool used by physicians and nurses to assess the patient’s health. It involves inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation.
The physician should explain the purpose of the examination and make sure that the patient is comfortable. The physician may also ask the patient for their assistance.
During the exam, the doctor should observe the patient’s breathing pattern, posture, and gestures. This information can provide clues about any abnormalities that may indicate a problem.
Normal results of the examination include appropriate reflexes, no suspicious lumps or lesions, and normal vital signs. Any abnormal findings, such as fever, muscle weakness or loss of tone, poor response to stimuli, heart arhythmia, or swelling of lymph nodes, point to a health problem.
RaDonda Vaught was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and gross neglect of an impaired adult on two charges in the 2017 death of 75-year-old Charlene Murphey. She was sentenced to three years of supervised probation.
Patient’s Medication Record
The medication record is an important part of the patient’s medical record and provides information about the medications a patient is taking. It will include information about any medications the patient is currently prescribed as well as information about all of their previous prescriptions.
Medication history is a very important part of the patient’s medical record that helps your healthcare professionals make decisions about the best treatments for your patients. It should include all of the current and past medicines a patient is taking, as well as any herbs or illegal substances they are using.
A former nurse named RaDonda Vaught was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after she wrongly administered the wrong drug to a 75-year-old patient at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Her conviction has sparked debate about when it’s appropriate to prosecute health care workers for medical errors. The American Nurses Association and the American Hospital Association have both voiced their concerns about the case.
Patient’s Final Statement
When RaDonda Vaught injected 75-year-old Charlene Murphey with vecuronium, a powerful paralyzing agent, instead of Versed, a drug she had intended to give to calm her before a CT scan, it killed her. It stopped her breathing and left her brain dead.
Vaught, a nurse, was found guilty of criminally negligent murder and gross neglect of an impaired adult in her trial last week. She faces up to eight years in prison.
Many nurses worry that the verdict will deter them from coming forward when they make mistakes and will worsen the nursing shortage. “The whole point of hospitals is to have a just culture, which is if you’re a nurse and you feel like you made a mistake, you come forward and they look at it,” said Hahnah Williams, a former nurse-turned-attorney who now represents healthcare practitioners.