Crazy nurse

Terry Lee Smith, a nurse in Richmond, has been declared crazy… The problem is, Smith knows it.

Smith has been diagnosed with Impulse Control Disorder (huh?) and Axis II personality disorder. She admitted to the board that she was on meds but stopped taking them about eight months ago.

The consent order, which is dated January 1, 2006, states that during her employment at Seven Hills Nursing Home, Smith threatened to kill other staff members. And better yet, she told those folks that she could get away with it because she was “certified crazy” and taking medicine for a psychiatric problem.

About 15 years ago, Smith was convicted of petty larceny, a felony. In 2004, she was convicted of making obscene phone calls. Smiths’ rap sheet at other nursing homes is even longer. She was fired from ManorCare in Richmond for verbally abusing a resident. She was fired from Ruxton, also in Richmond, after she was overheard talking about a dream she had about killing someone but hoped she did not follow through with it that day. She was put on administrative leave but continued to show up at work and told her boss “you don’t know what you’re messing with!” Smith was also fired from Lexington Court for abusing a patient.

Dang. The only question that pops up in my head is what type of screening process do these nursing homes have? Smith worked at four nursing homes, despite evidence of mental illness.

The board, after revealing all the deficiencies in Smith’s ability to give proper care, indefinitely suspended her license, but the terms were STAYED. This meant that if Smith complied with the board’s wishes, her license would not be suspended. Smith was to enter into a Recovery Monitoring Contract with the Health Practitioners’ Intervention Program.

Today, a search for Smith in the database reveals a suspension notice that was filed August 2. This leads me to believe that Smith did something more in the past year. The documents are not yet available for viewing – but it will be interesting to see if this most recent case results in revocation. Stick around…

Upcoming cases

I’ve been searching through documents and it appears that, thus far, August has been a bust month for the board. There have been a few revocations and suspensions in a number of different medical fields already. Those documents, however, have not yet been posted. Just as soon as they are, I will have an update. I just wanted to give you guys a heads up… Until then, enjoy the next entry!