Advocating for a fellow Nurse: Amanda Trujillo, MSN, RN, DNSc-NP(s)

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An open letter to the Arizona State Board of Nursing.

Disclaimer, I have not been directly contacted by Amanda Trujillo, nor do I know her personally or professionally. I am also writing to you based on the information that I have available to me.

To the Arizona State Board of Nursing:

To whom it may concern,

I am writing to you on behalf of Amanda Trujillo, MSN, RN, DNSc-NP(s) regarding the case attached below. I have not been contacted directly by Amanda Trujillo, and I have neither a personal or professional relationship other than that she is a fellow nurse in need of my support.

Based on the information I have (to my knowledge the same case documents that you also have), I would like to ask the board to carefully consider the information presented by both Ms. Trujillo and her legal team. From my understanding, it appears that Amanda Trujillo evaluated the health status of her patient based on her own clinical assessments and also data collected while being treated by the medical team at Ms. Trujillo’s place of employment during this time. It also appears from the information that Amanda Trujillo provided health teaching, counseling, and advocacy for her patient, which to my understanding of the Nurse Practice Act is well within her scope of practice.

As a nurse and patient advocate, I make certain that each and every patient I provide services to does in fact receive the highest quality nursing care while on my case. It should go without saying, but part of this care involves my ongoing support to ensure that my patient is knowledgeable about their diagnoses, medications, and ordered treatment plan. It is my job to protect the health and safety of each and every patient that I come into contact with, and to advocate for their needs based on my clinical judgement.

I am not in any way assuming that the treating physician was negligent, however considering that this is, and should have been a collaborative approach in the patient’s care, Amanda Trujillo was making her own nursing diagnosis based on her clinical assessment, which again to my knowledge is within her scope of practice as a registered nurse. She apparently discovered a deficit in her patient’s knowledge about their treatment options, and it appears that she acted ethically in supporting her patient’s wishes to seek additional information, and referred the patient to a case management specialist as per protocol.

I realize that these cases can carry with them a great deal of emotion due to the sensitive nature that our number one priority as licensed nurses is to protect our patient’s health and safety. It seems that Amanda’s duty to uphold the rights of her patient is being challenged, and the circumstances in which this transpired seems to have been initiated and fueled by emotion, and not based on facts. I just ask that you please consider all of the information presented to you, evaluate this case objectively, and if Amanda Trujillo is exonerated from these allegations, that she have the opportunity to continue to practice professional nursing.

Thank you in advance for your time and your consideration in this matter.

Sincerely,

Kevin Ross, R.N., BSN

Amanda, I wish you the best on January 24th, and I have personally marked this on my calendar as a day to not only advocate for you, but to all of my fellow nurses out there that are practicing with great integrity and upholding our responsibility to provide safe and ethical patient care. To my fellow nurses, and to you Amanda, I assure you of my undying commitment to this profession that lateral abuse and nurse retaliation will not be tolerated in my presence, and that my voice will be heard with yours. Nurses, one united voice can be very powerful. Let’s use it for something amazing; to elevate nursing to the highest level as one of the most honorable and respected professions.

Please review the information regarding Amanda’s case, make an informed decision, and if you’re in support then let’s help her win this fight. If you would, please e-mail the Arizona State Board of Nursing at arizona@azbn.gov in support of Amanda to let them know you’re following her case.  

[UPDATE: Her case has been postponed by the BON, and they’ve apparently recommended a psych evaluation due to Amanda’s “internet activity.” I reiterate that our community reached out to Amanda, and her crime is that she is publicly grateful? Listen in on Amanda’s interview on RN.FM Radio]

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