RaDonda Vaught has warning
by Bobby Anderson, RN – staff writer
The recent successful criminal prosecution of a former nurse has sent shockwaves throughout the nursing profession.
A jury convicted former Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse RaDonda Vaught of criminally negligent homicide and impaired adult abuse after she mistakenly administered the wrong medication that killed a patient in 2017.
Days following the verdict, posts on nursing social media have been flooded with anger, support, and condemnation of the system that led to the verdict.
Multiple posts by travel nurses have noted a number of new, immediate contract positions at the hospital. There have also been posts regarding a potential town hall-type meeting at the facility and the possibility of a nursing walkout. (story continues below)
Leading the Market in Nursing Compensation | Visit OUHealth.com/Nursing
Nurse influencers have overwhelmingly come out in support of Vaught.
Nurse Erica (@the.nurse.erica on Instagram) said she was crowdfunded by nurses to go meet with Vaught after the trial.
Nurse Erica asked Vaught what her message would be to nursing students or those thinking of going into nursing following the decision.
“I would say that that’s a valid concern,” Vaught said in Nurse Erica’s post on Instagram. “Just remember why you entered this profession in the first place, why you decided you want to go to school to be a nurse. It’s a scary place we work in for a lot of reasons. More than just this … there are risks every day in that field. Be cognizant. Be diligent in your job. Trust your gut and be the voice for change. You are more powerful than you realize.”
The American Nurses Association and Tennessee Nurses Association released a joint statement following the verdict.
“We are deeply distressed by this verdict and the harmful ramifications of criminalizing the honest reporting of mistakes.
Health care delivery is highly complex. It is inevitable that mistakes will happen, and systems will fail. It is completely unrealistic to think otherwise. The criminalization of medical errors is unnerving, and this verdict sets into motion a dangerous precedent. There are more effective and just mechanisms to examine errors, establish system improvements and take corrective action. The non-intentional acts of individual nurses like RaDonda Vaught should not be criminalized to ensure patient safety.
The nursing profession is already extremely short-staffed, strained and facing immense pressure – an unfortunate multi-year trend that was further exacerbated by the effects of the pandemic. This ruling will have a long-lasting negative impact on the profession.
Like many nurses who have been monitoring this case closely, we were hopeful for a different outcome. It is a sad day for all of those who are involved, and the families impacted by this tragedy.
A scenario that plays out daily in U.S. hospitals – the override of an unverified medication – could send Vaught to jail for up to eight years, with formal sentencing scheduled May 13.
Oklahoma Nurses Association Executive Director Jane Nelson, CAE, indicated the ONA would not have a formal statement until its next board meeting but echoed the ANA and TNA stance.
“The complexity of health care systems has long been recognized by the Institute of Medicine,” Nelson said. “In the landmark study, To Err is Human, several recommendations outline strategies to make systems safer in a just culture. Without a culture that supports open transparency, silencing of errors may occur and create an environment where opportunities to mitigate or prevent harm are not identified.”
The decision comes at a time when Vanderbilt’s Magnet status is reportedly up for review.
Leading up to the verdict, the ANA predicted a guilty verdict could have a chilling effect on the profession for years to come:
ANA believes that the criminalization of medical errors could have a chilling effect on reporting and process improvement. The Code of Ethics for Nurses states that while ensuring that nurses are held accountable for individual practice, errors should be corrected or remediated, and disciplinary action taken only if warranted.
COVID-19 has already exhausted and overwhelmed the nursing workforce to a breaking point. Nurses are watching this case and are rightfully concerned that it will set a dangerous precedent. ANA cautions against accidental medical errors being tried in a court of law.
Health care is highly complex and ever-changing, resulting in a high risk and error-prone system. Organizational processes and structures must support a “just culture”, which recognizes that health care professionals can make mistakes and systems may fail. All nurses and other health care professionals must be treated fairly when errors occur. ANA supports a full and confidential peer-review process in which errors can be examined and system improvements and corrective action plans can be established. Swift and appropriate action should and must always be taken as the situation warrants.
Transparent, just, and timely reporting mechanisms of medical errors without the fear of criminalization preserve safe patient care environments. ANA maintains that this tragic incident must serve as a reminder that vigilance and open collaboration among regulators, administrators, and health care teams is critical at the patient and system level to continue to provide high-quality care.
Vaught began working at Vanderbilt in October 2015. In December 2017 she accidentally administered vecuronium – a paralytic – instead of the ordered Versed – a sedative – prior to a final scan in the hospital’s radiology department.
Federal investigators ruled the error left the patient brain dead.
Vaught admitted the error and was originally cleared by the hospital and the Tennessee Department of Health.
