Press Release: Texas Nurses Association Echoes American Nurses Association Cautionary Statement

For Immediate Release

March 28, 2022

Contact: Lisa Maxwell
Texas Nurses Association
lmaxwell@texasnurses.org
512.452.0648 x 130

Download PDF

Note: A previous version of this press release was posted with an incorrectly dated header. It has since been updated. 

Texas Nurses Association Echoes American Nurses Association Cautionary Statement Regarding RaDonda Vaught Trial and Verdict

Potential for far-reaching negative consequences for patient safety

Austin, TX — As Tennessee nurse RaDonda Vaught faced criminal charges for a medication error which resulted in the death of a patient, the American Nurses Association (ANA) opposed the situation. In a statement dated March 23, 2022, ANA warned that “the criminalization of medical errors could have a chilling effect on reporting and process improvement.”

Instead, ANA advocates for “just culture” which recognizes that health care is highly complex and ever-changing, and that health care professionals may make mistakes, and that systems may fail. “All nurses and other health care professionals must be treated fairly when errors occur,” said the ANA statement. “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.”

The Texas Nurses Association strongly agrees with the ANA statement and encourages Texas health care organizations to create safe patient care environments where honest mistakes can be reported, addressed and corrected systematically, rather than forcing nurses and other health care professionals to hide problems for fear of criminal prosecution.