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But she didn't do the right thing right

Comment a comment by Barry (Occams), published on 08 February 2010
Navigate to the top level to view all replies to the link Nurse Does "Right Thing", Goes To Jail
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From a quick reading of the link, it looks like the nurse made a huge mistake in making her report anonymous.

If she has any responsibility to report malpractice, it is due to her capacity as a registered nurse. By properly signing the complaint she would have made it official and impossible to ignore.

Making it anonymous had the effect of making it look malicious, personal, and having no credibility. It also probably removes her from whistle-blower law protection and opens her to the charge of misusing official information. It definitely was a misuse because it was not the proper way for her to report.

Clearly she is not a fool, and so must have had a reason for doing it this way. This makes me feel that there must be much more to this story.

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Nursing Question by Jackson :: NR7

Is the only reason you think she didn’t do the right thing because she filed it anonymously?

From what I read here, here and here, the only requirement is that the nurse report the problem in good faith. The original article I posted basically said the same thing… that she is safe as long as the jury believes it wasn’t done maliciously (and if you read his history, I would lean more toward him being at fault than her). I mean, look at the documented errors he has made:

  • a failed skin graft that Dr. Arafiles performed in the emergency room, without surgical privileges
  • He also sutured a rubber tip to a patient’s crushed finger for protection, an unconventional remedy that was later flagged as inappropriate by the Texas Department of State Health Services

Based on the fallout of what happened, I think she made it anonymous because she knew it would devolve into some kind of shenanigans. I did see that they did report him internally and that nothing was done. I haven’t found any documentation saying that it is improper to report things this way. But then again, I am not a nurse and am not well versed in their procedures.

JyroBritanniac, what do you know about that?

At any rate, I don’t think she should be on trial. But maybe you are right and their is “more to this story.” I just have no reason to believe that based on a report filed to “inform state regulators that a doctor at her rural hospital was practicing bad medicine” that happened to filed anonymously. I really agree with the executive director of the Texas Medical Board who said this would have a “chilling effect” on the reporting of malpractice. It isn’t like she mailed the anonymous letter to a newspaper or media outlet. She informed a state regulator with six examples of malpractice. As long as those six instances really show malpractice and he really was the doctor on those cases, that seems enough like good faith to me.

Posted 09 February 2010, Hide, Parent, Reply
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RE: But she didn't do the right thing right by Jackson :: NR7

I just realized that I totally misread the title of your post.

I thought it was “But she didn’t do the right thing.” Reading it with that slant makes everything you say have a different feel to it. Upon rereading it and rethinking what you said, pretty much my entire previous response was kind of ridiculous. If there was a retract button, I would.

Posted 09 February 2010, Hide, Parent, Reply

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