Nursing Student Negotiates Clinical Reassignment to Avoid Dismissal
A nursing student at a prominent Southeast public university's nursing school retained the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team after the school threatened to dismiss the nurse over substandard clinical evaluations. The nurse's clinical supervisor maintained that the nursing student was so incompetent that she would never learn and was a danger to patients and an embarrassment to the nursing profession. The nursing student's school advisor confidentially informed the student that the clinical supervisor was arrogant and not fit to supervise nursing students but that the school could do nothing about it because of the supervisor's prominence. The nursing student and Student Defense Team decided on a strategy of seeking the student's reassignment through sensitive and coordinated communications and negotiations within the school and at the clinical site. Efforts at the clinical site got the clinical supervisor to agree to withdraw the critical evaluation in order to enable reassignment. Efforts with the school administration got the administration to encourage and allow the reassignment and not to pursue discipline and dismissal pending the student's completion of the reassigned clinical coursework. The nursing student completed the clinical coursework under the new supervisor without difficulty, meeting all standards. The nursing school did not pursue charges, and our client proceeded through the program without any record of having failed to meet benchmarks.
Nursing Student Avoids LPN Program Dismissal for Unprofessionalism
A nursing student in a licensed practical nurse program at a private school in an Atlantic Coast state retained the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team after the school charged the student with unprofessionalism. The charges arose out of a dispute the student had with the clinical site over the student's clinical assignments. The student maintained that she had completed her clinical assignments and hours by substituting for and swapping with other students at times when the students were unable to complete their scheduled assignments. The student maintained that the practice of swapping and substituting was common at the school and accepted by clinical supervisors. The clinical director maintained that swapping and substituting constituted a failure to appear for scheduled work, falsification of nursing records, and unprofessional conduct. The Student Defense Team obtained information from the school's disciplinary official that the clinical director was under new pressure to stop the practice so as to meet accreditation standards and audits over the accuracy of clinical records on student hours and assignments. The disciplinary charges demonstrated the director's commitment to accurate records and completed assignments. Our Team's lead defense attorney arranged an informal resolution conference at which the attorney proposed a consent resolution in which our client acknowledged the practice and committed to avoiding it in the future while the school withdrew the misconduct charges. The clinical director accepted the resolution as evidence supporting the program's commitment to the accreditation standards.
Graduate Nursing Student Avoids Discipline for Alleged Failure to Follow Physician Orders
A graduate nursing student at a West Coast private university retained the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team when the nursing program threatened the student with discipline for failing to follow a physician's orders. The charges arose out of a hospital-based clinical assignment in which a patient suffered a life-threatening adverse medication reaction. The graduate nursing student had rotated with two other registered nurses in the patient's care, each administering the medication. Our client's graduate nursing student was the last one to administer the medication, according to the physician's orders. The charges alleged that the student had administered an incorrect dose, causing the reaction and the patient's life-threatening injury. Our Student Defense Team retained an expert toxicology consultant's review of the medical records, which the hospital's counsel produced at our Defense Team's demand. The consultant opined that the adverse reaction did not require an excessive dose by the student but could just as well have occurred with the standard dose the treating physician had ordered from an accumulation of doses among the three nurses as ordered. Our Defense Team further requested that the hospital produce pharmacy records from which the Defense Team's forensics experts might reconstruct the dosage the student had actually administered. In response to the request and the Team's disclosure of the consultant's report as a basis for the request, the hospital withdrew the allegation that the student had over-medicated the patient. The nursing program then dismissed the complaint against the nursing student. Our strategy of close forensic review of the medical causation issue produced the desired resolution.
Nursing Student Successfully Defends Title IX Harassment Allegations
A nursing student at a Northern Plains state university retained the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team after receiving the university's notice of a Title IX proceeding. The notice included a no-contact order preventing our client's nursing student from being in the presence of or communicating with another nursing student who had complained of unwelcome sexual advances. The no-contact order effectively prevented our client from attending nursing classes and clinical assignments. Our Student Defense Team implemented a conciliation strategy aimed at maintaining our client's enrollment and nursing instruction while preparing for a contested hearing. We obtained our client's attested statement to submit to the Title IX coordinator with a request to modify the no-contact order to no communication, allowing our client to attend classes and clinical assignments. The complainant consented to the modification. A cooling-off period followed, after which the complainant withdrew the complaint after acknowledging to instructors and staff that the complainant was upset over a relationship breakup. The Title IX coordinator dismissed the proceeding after a meeting with our client, whom our Student Defense Team helped prepare with appropriate offers and assurances. The Title IX coordinator further agreed to remove the charges from our client's school record. Our strategy proved effective in achieving all of our client's objectives. Our client completed the program without further interruption.
Nursing Student Avoids Dismissal on Charges of Intoxication
A nurse in an online licensed practical nursing program of a for-profit university retained the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team when the clinical program director notified our client of her program suspension. The notice alleged that our client had attended her hospital-based clinical assignment in her Lower Midwest metropolitan area home while intoxicated. The notice alleged that patients and hospital staff had reported our client's alleged intoxication after observing our client slurring words, walking unsteadily, with unfocused eyes, and other indications of alcohol or drug abuse. The observations covered two occasions a day apart. Our Student Defense Team helped our client schedule a prompt informal conference at which to request reinstatement on conditions. At the conference, our lead defense attorney helped the client present documentation that her physician had changed her anti-anxiety medication shortly before the incident. Our client's documentation further showed that our client had returned to her physician for a new prescription the following day after the incidents due to her own recognition of the new medication's inappropriate effects. The physician further provided a written statement of the circumstances, crediting our client's claim that she was not a drinker or drug abuser and was unaware of the new medication's effect until hospital staff had brought it to her attention on the second day of the two-day incident. The clinical director promptly reinstated our client under observation and assurances of continued medical management of the medication and mental health condition.
Graduate Nursing Student Preserves Program Enrollment Against Failure to Progress Charges
A graduate nursing student in a specialty program at Central Atlantic state's public university retained the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team after the program notified our client of her dismissal. The notice alleged that our client had exceeded the time allowed for her to complete the program under the university's satisfactory academic progress (SAP) requirements. Our client had indeed withdrawn from courses and taken term leaves, extending her program beyond the university's published SAP guidelines. But our client maintained that she had consistently informed the university of the necessary grounds for the leave. Our client had an adult disabled child at home whose condition required frequent medical interventions. Our client ordinarily managed those conditions well with the help of her spouse and others but faced unusual difficulty when her spouse suffered a long-term debilitating illness. Our Student Defense Team helped our client prepare an SAP appeal documenting not only the adult child's special intervention needs and the medical illness and recovery of our client's spouse but also that our client had retained in-home care for the adult child and made other adjustments so as to be able to diligently pursue and promptly complete her graduate specialty program. The university granted our client's SAP appeal, and our client completed the program the following term, receiving a promotion at her long-term workplace that enabled her to periodically work from home for more-consistent care of her adult special needs child.
Nursing Student Regains Good Academic Standing After Multiple Course Incompletes and Grade Appeals
A nursing student in a registered nurse program at a large public university in an Upper Midwest state retained the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team to help her regain good academic standing, get off of academic probation, and avoid failure-to-progress dismissal. Our client had a full-time job as a licensed practical nurse and physical custody and primary care responsibility for two minor children. Our client had left two courses incomplete and received failing or poor grades in three other courses after a combination of work, family, and personal circumstances had interfered with her heroic efforts to continue. Our client had no time or energy and inadequate administrative knowledge and skills for the grade appeals and other tasks she needed to complete to regain her good academic standing and avoid failure-to-progress dismissal. Our Student Defense Team helped our client timely complete the grade appeals, which the instructors granted. The successful grade appeals and our client's completion of the incomplete courses removed our client from academic probation. We also helped our client implement a plan to reduce her workload, courseload, and home responsibilities for the relatively short time she needed to complete her registered nurse program. With her school situation stabilized, our client was able to resume productive studies and complete all coursework the following term with adequate grades to maintain her good standing. Our strategy of not only completing the technical administrative tasks but also providing life-management plans and counsel set our client up for success in completing a heroic effort to improve her life and the lives of her children.
Nursing Student Facing Domestic Violence Allegations Avoids Program Dismissal
A nursing student in an RN-to-MSN program of a Central Atlantic state's private university retained the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team to fight program dismissal. Our client had received the program's notice of a hearing to determine whether to dismiss our client over domestic violence allegations. The notice explained that the allegations indicated that our client might be unsafe and unfit for clinical nursing assignments and nursing practice due to patient and public endangerment. The notice further alleged that domestic violence casts the nursing profession in public disrepute and that our client would not qualify for nursing licensure. Our Student Defense Team helped the nursing student assemble, organize, and present evidence that the allegations arose out of a domestic dispute. While police had, in fact, removed our client from the home, resulting in domestic violence charges, our client had not committed domestic violence, for which police had no evidence. The prosecution had filed the charges as a matter of course consistent with state law and local practice. Our Team's lead defense attorney used our client's presentation to obtain an adjournment of the university's hearing pending further developments in the criminal case while our client continued with nursing program studies. The prosecution subsequently dismissed the criminal case. We helped our client obtain an attested statement from our client's significant other, the putative complainant, that no domestic violence had occurred. On that evidence, the university dismissed the charges without a hearing. Our strategy of delaying the university proceeding pending other developments succeeded in preserving our client's enrollment.
