What Is Remedial Education Required By The Nursing Board

Remedial education is often included as a stipulation to a disciplinary sanction that the Texas Board of Nursing (BON) imposes on a nurse.

Let’s take a look at why the nursing board requires remedial education and what it is.

All Nurses Make Mistakes

Every nurse makes a mistake now and then, but if the mistakes are recurring, frequent, and/or flagrant, one of those mistakes is bound to lead to a complaint being filed with the board of nursing.

The nursing board in Texas receives more than 16,000 complaints against nurses per year, filed by patients, patients’ families, co-workers, employers, and colleagues. Anyone can file a complaint with the board, and their identity will remain confidential. Some complaints are immediately dismissed because they don’t contain enough information, are minor incidents, and/or are outside of the nursing board’s purview. But if the nursing board investigates, finds that a nurse did indeed violate the Nurse Practice Act, and decides to discipline the nurse, remedial education is often part of the sanctions.

Reasons For Remedial Education

The board of nursing in Texas often requires remedial education if the nurse’s violation can be traced to a lack of knowledge, skill, ability, or judgement. The idea is that if the nurse gets a refresher on best practices, it could help the nurse practice more safely and competently and avoid errors.

Examples Of Remedial Education

Remedial education courses for nurses can cover a wide range of topics, including:

• professional ethics
• nursing documentation
• medication administration
• physical assessment of patients

Remedial Education Courses And Workshops In Texas

The Texas Board of Nursing offers remedial education workshops, and it also has a list of approved courses and instructors that will fulfill the requirements imposed in the board’s Agreed Orders (settlement). Some of these remedial education courses are offered 100% online, while others have an online portion that’s been approved by the nursing board.

It’s important to note that when you take remedial education courses, you’ll need to submit a “verification of completion” form to the Enforcement Department of the BON.

For more information about remedial education required by the board, or to schedule a free legal consultation, call (512) 584-8299, or e-mail contact@nursesattorneytexas.com. Note that the free consultation is ONLY for professional licensing matters.

Please note: Kevin Keaney has more than 30 years experience as an attorney and is a member of The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA). Before becoming an attorney, he earned his BSN from UT Austin and worked for four years as a nurse. He is licensed to practice law in Texas, Oregon, and Washington.

Located in the Austin area, our law office represents nurses from all across Texas, including: Houston, Dallas, El Paso, San Antonio, Lubbock, and Amarillo .