Whistleblower Nurses Grateful for Peer Support During Trial

ADVANCE staff

Posted on: February 17, 2010

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The American Nurses Association (ANA) and the Texas Nurses Association (TNA) announced that more than $45,000 was donated by individuals and organizations across the country to the TNA Legal Defense Fund as a way to support the defense of Anne Mitchell, RN, whose criminal trial ended this week with an acquittal, and codefendant Vicki Galle, RN, whose trial was dismissed Feb. 1.

It took the jury less than an hour to return a not guilty verdict in the Mitchell case. She was charged with "misuse of official information" for reporting a physician to the Texas Medical Board for what she believed was unsafe patient care and encouraging patients to buy herbal supplements from him.

"I was just doing my job, but no one should have to go through this," a jubilant Mitchell said in a phone conversation with TNA immediately following the not guilty verdict, according to a joint press release from the nursing groups. "I would say to every nurse, if you witness bad care, you have a duty to your patient to report it, no matter the personal ramifications. This whole ordeal was really about patient care."

Since news of the criminal indictment -- and Mitchell's being fired from her hospital job -- first spread through the nursing community, nurses across the country have followed developments. An outpouring of support -- and financial contributions to the TNA Legal Defense Fund -- continues, according to TNA.

"We didn't have any support -- emotional or financial -- until TNA and ANA stepped in," said Galle, who attended Mitchell's trial. "We could never have gotten through this without nursing's support."

As the nation's largest nursing association, ANA joined forces with TNA, one of its constituent member associations, in July to strongly criticize and raise the alarm about the criminal charges and the fact that the results from this case could have a lasting and negative impact on future nurse whistleblowers.

"ANA is relieved and satisfied [Mitchell] was vindicated and found not guilty on these outrageous criminal charges -- [the] verdict is a resounding win on behalf of patient safety in the U.S.," said ANA President Rebecca M. Patton, RN.

"Nurses play a critical, duty-bound role in acting as patient safety watch guards in our nation's healthcare system. The message the jury sent is clear: The freedom for nurses to report a physician's unsafe medical practices is nonnegotiable," Patton continued. "However, ANA remains shocked and deeply disappointed that this sort of blatant retaliation was allowed to take place and reach the trial stage -- a different outcome could have endangered patient safety across the U.S., having a potential chilling effect that would make nurses think twice before reporting shoddy medical practice.

"Nurse whistleblowers should never be fired and criminally charged for reporting questionable medical care."

The silence of organized medicine throughout this prosecution speaks loudly. These nurses were left alone to twist in the wind.

The silence that failed to speak up for the nurses is the same silence that fails to stop the rampant medical errors that injure patients daily.

This silence kills.

If I am in error, and organized medicine did speak up, please let me know. In any case, organized medicine was still far too quiet while these brave nurses lost their careers and faced ten years of jail. In reality, the doctors should have long ago dealt with this problem.

That the physicians and hospitals did not speak loudly enough in this case.

This silence kills.

Lee Tilson
rethinkingpatientsafety@gmail.com
www.rethinkingpatientsafety.com

Lee Tilson	February 18, 2010
Detroit, MI

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