Updated: May 25, 2022 What hospitals can learn from the RaDonda Vaught case - KevinMD.com Former nurse RaDonda Vaught, whose medical error killed a patient If you, a family, or a friend are in healthcare, you have probably heard of RaDonda Vaught. The RaDonda Vaught Case: A Critical Conversation on Nursing Practice The RaDonda Vaught trial has been a major issue for the nursing community. She could still be alive, with her family. What is her family going to experience?". Choosing a specialty can be a daunting task and we made it easier. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. It really is the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak, Erica Daniels, a nurse based in Las Vegas, said. Vaught was subsequently stripped of her nursing license and charged and convicted in a criminal court. This was not a 'singular' or 'momentary' mistake. Fifth, by . Should RaDonda Vaught Have Her Nursing License Reinstated? "I allowed myself to split my focus into two different things at once.". 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 after a three-day trial. That threatensour ability to make sound, safe decisions. This caused Murphey to stop breathing and led to her death. After analyzing my reactions to the Vaught case, I have to rethink that. 1 Following the conviction, there was an avalanche of reactions from both within and outside of the nursing profession. It was a mistake that cost Vaught her career and her patient's life. Reach reporter Mariah Timms at mtimms@tennessean.com or 615-259-8344 and on Twitter @MariahTimms. I actually do understand that she caused the death of another person but didn't murder her. Now she can fulfill her true calling of advocating for her many followers. The case highlighted issues with medicalerrors and the concern of health care professionals nationwide over the unusual step to handle the case in criminal court. They have even taken to TikTok to make her name and story go viral. "This was a terrible, terrible mistake," Judge Jennifer Smith said during the sentencing hearing, "and there have been consequences to the defendant serious personal consequences, financial consequences, professional consequences and now public consequences in a criminal setting. Specializes in ER. Criminal Conviction of RaDonda Vaught sets Dangerous Precedent in The District Attorney's office confirmed a conviction of criminally negligent homicide can carry 1-2 years of incarceration, the gross neglect charge could stretch from 3-6 years. On March 25, RaDonda Vaught, a former nurse in Nashville, was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of a patient at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on December 27, 2017. The RaDonda Vaught Case: Implications on Health Care and the Law What are your thoughts about the trial, the conviction, and the sentencing? Vaught was sentenced last Friday to three years of probation. Vaught accidentally administered another medication, vecuronium, which is a paralytic. It is inevitable that mistakes will happen, and systems will fail. Nashville nurse conviction: Nashville DA says RaDonda Vaught case isn't against nursing community, nurses still worried, RaDonda Vaught timeline: The RaDonda Vaught trial is confusing. The patient,Charlene Murphey, died. RaDonda Vaught was working as a nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center when, on Dec. 26, 2017, she made a mistake that resulted in the death of her patient, Charlene Murphey. Note: this does not mean that I think there are never reasons to criminally charge either LEOs or healthcare providers. The diversion option allows first-time offenders to have charges dropped and their records expunged once they successfully complete probation. Hear more Tennessee Voices:Get the weekly opinion newsletter for insightful and thought provoking columns. Since Covid-19 first appeared, nurses have always been there for all of us. "What did I just do to this patient?" Vaught said she asked herself in an exclusive . RaDonda Vaught verdict disregarded the nurse experience | Opinion Also, I REALLY hate that she has become the poster-child for nurses. allnurses, LLC, 175 Pearl St Ste 355, Brooklyn NY 11201 Nope, she was an extra nurse on her very own unit. Vaught admitted in interviews with investigators that she was distracted that day because she was training a new nurse at the time. What are your thoughts about the trial, the conviction, and the sentencing? April 1, 2022, 8:45 AM PDT Five years ago, RaDonda Vaught made a mistake. In the wake of Murphey's death, Vaught was fired from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and stripped of her nursing licenses. Avoiding Medication Errors in Nursing | Nurse.com Vanderbilt University Medical Center negotiated a settlement with Murphey's family, and according to an investigation lead by The Tennessean newspaper, the hospital failed to report the medication error to state or federal officials, as required by law. I do think the hospital failed her, and I would like to hear that someone is being held accountable for the failure to tell the truth to the ME, the failure to report the death/sentinal event. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? The incident took place at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2017. Vaught said she asked herself in an exclusive interview with ABC News' Eva Pilgrim for "Good Morning America." Ex-Vanderbilt nurse Radonda Vaught loses license for fatal error She is now set for sentencing. . J. Stephen Jones, MD, is president and CEO of Inova, the leading nonprofit health care system in the Washington, D.C.,region. Kevin Quinitchett Published: 14:55 ET, Mar 24 2022 Updated: 16:21 ET, Mar 24 2022 Kevin Quinitchett Published: Invalid Date, A HOSPITAL nurse is standing trial for charges brought against her due to her alleged involvement in the death of a patient. Former ICU nurse whose patient died from drug mixup speaks out in Please complete the survey. "It's really hard to be happy about something without immediately feeling guilty. The jury found Vaught, a former nurse, guilty of . "She wasn't familiar with Versed". When RaDonda Vaught, 38, a former ICU nurse, saw her patient's condition she knew she had made a mistake. Nurses and other caregivers around the country have openly expressed fear that an honest mistake now threatens not only their livelihood but their freedom. RaDonda Vaught sentenced to three years' supervised probation. Nurses all over the world should know how much doctors appreciate them. RaDonda Vaught - What is she doing now? - General Nursing Talk - allnurses Michael Brisman, M.D. On December 26, 2017, Vaught worked as the unit's "help-all" nurse while also precepting a trainee. Nope, she states she had given it in the last 24 hours. But fear ofcriminal prosecution discourages team members from reporting errors. On March 25, RaDonda Vaught, a former nurse in Nashville, was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of a patient at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on December 27,. On Friday, news came that will undoubtedly discourage future generations of health care workers from embarking on a career in the field. Daniels believed that this case shows how nurses have been abandoned by all major organizations that are supposed to be protecting them. This is a huge step backward. She should get her license reinstated upon completion of 3 - year probation. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Criminalizing human error in the medical field makes patients less safe. 3 years supervised probation and judicial diversion dismissing the conviction following probation, preserving a clean record with it expunged or completely removed. Neither the medical center nor anyone else involved in Murphey's death faced punishment. RaDonda Vaught - What is she doing now? They also claimed that Vaught ignored four warnings about the medication, including the label, "Warning: paralyzing agent.". Tools The RaDonda Vaught homicide case was an American legal trial in which former Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse RaDonda Vaught was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and impaired adult abuse after she mistakenly administered the wrong medication that killed a patient in 2017. Vaught's attorneys argued that the former nurse's mistake was made by "systemic errors" at the hospital's pharmacy that allows nurses to override the safeguards. RaDonda Vaught and her attorney Peter Strianse listen as verdicts are read at the end of her trial in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 25 . RaDonda Vaught homicide case - Wikipedia I would have been okay with her nursing license forever taken away. Vaught's sentencing also completely disregards the state of health care we face today. In 2018, the hospital filed a 300-page plan of correction with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to address the cited deficiencies outlined in the previous report, which included enhancing safety measures when administering paralytic drugs. 14 Best Stethoscopes for Nurses (Plus 7 Best Accessories), Pediatric Nurse: Job Description, Salary, and How to Become One. Have you ever made a mistake at your job after plugging in extra hours and not being well-rested? Former Vanderbilt University Medical Center ICU nurse RaDonda Vaught speaks out in an exclusive interview with ABC News. They work nights, weekends, and holidays, caring for the sickest people, even at risk to their own health. Lessons would not be learned, and errors would be repeated. Watch the video below to see what Radonda Vaught is doing now. At Inova, we will stand up for our staff who report errors because we know that self-reporting and learning from error is exactly what makes patients safer. But human errors like this occur in our field. She wasnt charged with murder. Again, no excuses for what she did but I would like to highlight what Ms. Vinsant said in the video and these are facts: "We'll spend an entire 12 hour shift not going to the bathroom, not eating, not drinking enough wateryou get to the end of the day and you're just mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted. My initial take on this was that it was a tragedy, and I had sympathy for her, but that I thought the charge and the conviction were appropriate. Former Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) nurse RaDonda Vaught was found guilty on March 25 of criminally negligent homicide and gross neglect of an impaired adult in the 2017 death of 75-year-old Gallatin resident Charlene Murphey. 2 Articles; Vaught was found guilty in March of criminally negligent homicide and gross . Since the start of Vaught's trial, hundreds of nurses across the country have come together to support Vaught. What are your thoughts? The hearing date is set forMay 13. I do think that it's an important message for the public to hear though. Ex-Vanderbilt nurse speaks out ahead of verdict in homicide case, RaDonda Vaught, an ex-Vanderbilt nurse charged with homicide related to the death of a patient, speaks about what this means for the victim's family and the healthcare community at large, Nashville DA says RaDonda Vaught case isn't against nursing community, nurses still worried, The RaDonda Vaught trial is confusing. Vaught was found guilty in March of criminally negligent homicide and gross neglect of an impaired adult after she accidentally administered the wrong medication. Was intravenous Versed, which can also cause a person to stop breathing, the best choice of sedative in this case? The patient, Charlene Murphey . No way, no how is there any excuse other than negligence for what Ms. Vaught did, but a criminal charge of murder and jail time doesn't sit right with me. Vaught then overlooked or bypassed at least five warnings or pop-ups saying she was withdrawing a paralyzing medication, documents state. "She is representative of how awful things are in nursing and how we are victimized" Nope, she doesn't represent me or my colleagues who daily face the challenges that caring for other humans presents but somehow we manage to read the label on the vials of medication we are about to push. RaDonda Vaught verdict: Vanderbilt ex-nurse found guilty on 2 charges "She bravely self-reported" Nope, the error was discovered by another nurse and brought to her attention. However, although Vaught made a tragic mistake, I do not believe that Vaught's case warrants reckless homicide on the basis of her using the override function. Charlene Murphey was a 75-year-old patient admitted in 2017 to VUMC with a bleed in the brain. But I'm glad she didn't go to prison, and I'm glad she'll be able to have her record expunged. "RaDonda Vaught probably did not intend to kill Ms. Murphey, but she made a knowing choice," Assistant District Attorney Brittani Flatt said Thursday during the state's closing arguments. Has 18 years experience. Fourth, she did not do a blind count of the medication inventory after receiving the medication from the ADC. It will prompt some from our current workforce to abandon their jobs altogether. Analyzing Abuse of Prosecutorial Discretion in the RaDonda Vaught While I think the husband apparentlythe children were forgiving saying their mother wouldn't want her to go to jail. is CEO of NSPC Brain and Spine Surgery in Rockville Centre, New York. The conviction is in connection with the 2017 death of 75-year-old. Nope, she denied this. A 56-page federal investigative report written by the Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services also found deficiencies at the hospital. We stand with them always. RaDonda Vaught apologizes to the family of Charlene Murphey during her sentencing in Nashville, Tenn., May 13, 2022. The impact of this case on health care is chilling. Vanderbilt is responsible for what they failed to do.". Even under the conditions of the person I quoted which is many a shift I work, that's still not an excuse for making medication errors. "She was tired from 12 hour shifts". Did Murphey even need a PET scan? RaDonda Vaught, a former nurse in Tennessee who was convicted on felony charges for fatally injecting a patient with an incorrect drug, was sentenced to probation Friday in a case that became a. "There's a fine line between blame and responsibility, and in health care, we don't blame. Is it illegal to date a patient's family member (parent)? Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development. She had no way to conceal it. He further said that bad facts make bad law. As the CEO of Inova Health System, the leading nonprofit health care provider in the Washington, D.C., region,with 20,000team members across five hospitals, I am deeply concerned about what Vaughts case means to our workforce. Crime Former Tennessee nurse RaDonda Vaught found guilty in woman's death after accidentally injecting her with wrong drug March 29, 2022 / 7:57 AM / AP A former Tennessee nurse has been found. until I met RaDonda Vaught and the nurses that do the kind of work that she does." To put it simply, attorneys cannot fully understand the nature of the . We've followed the Radonda Vaught case from beginning to end including the trial and the recent sentencing. GOP: Why do immigrant babies get to eat? Has 21 years experience. We cannot control the criminal justice system,but we will stand beside any team member making an honest mistake. It is completely unrealistic to think otherwise," according to the ANA's statement.