The Case of RaDonda Vaught
On today's episode I review the case of RaDonda Vaught with my fellow ICU nurse and friend, Laura Zaske. I wanted to really look at this case since it sets a legal precedent, but also because it felt like this error was too easy to make. We all could be RaDonda Vaught. RaDonda is the first nurse criminally charged with negligent homicide and abuse of an impaired adult. She made a fatal mistake in 2017 by accidentally giving her patient Charlene Murphey vecuronium, a paralytic.
My resources for this episode are from:
The Nurse Erica, Nurse Liz, The Tennessean, The CMS Report, and Institute of Patient Medication Practices
If you want to support RaDonda Vaught you can:
- Show up at her court date on 5/13/2022 in Nashville, Tennessee.
- Write a hand written letter to the Honorable Judge Jennifer L. Smith to request clemency. Please send it to RaDonda's PO Box.
RaDonda Vaught
PO Box 128
Bethpage, TN 37022
3.Sign this petition to grant RaDonda Vaught clemency.
Please stay hypervigilant. If there are things in your work environment that are not safe speak up, write incident reports, and help change the system. I know are we are fearful of this legal precedent, but I urge you to help make your work environment the safest as possible. We need to continue use just culture and have an open, non-punitive avenue for reporting.
We support you RaDonda!
Stay Safe and Stay Sane,
Nicole
