Connecticut licensing board disciplines nurse after testimony that she missed infusion instructions in fatal medication error

The Connecticut licensing board overseeing nursing practice sustained charges against Asia Dodwell, a registered nurse, after testimony that she failed to read and verify titration instructions for an intravenous morphine infusion tied to a patient death.

The Department of Public Health accused Dodwell of failing to properly read, review and verify a medication order given November 2024 and of other statutory violations; attorney Kataya, representing the department, asked the board to revoke Dodwell’s license.

Board members said the case matters because medication verification is a core safety duty for bedside nurses and because the error produced a catastrophic outcome. The board voted to find Proved on the department’s allegations and set a remedial order intended to limit immediate public risk while allowing structured remediation.

In sworn testimony, Dodwell described taking 41 hours of continuing medical education since the event, including a 30‑hour IV infusion course, and told the panel, “I will never make this mistake again.” Attorney Cahill, Dodwell’s counsel, urged the board to weigh the nurse’s record, the circumstances of a busy night and the post‑incident coursework and recommended a reprimand with probation instead of license revocation. Attorney Kataya told the board, “Her failure to review that order properly … ended up with a fatal result for the patient,” and requested revocation.

After closing arguments and board discussion, members voted to find in favor of the Department on the charged counts and then voted on remedy. The board’s final disciplinary order (motion passed by roll call) suspended Dodwell’s Connecticut nursing license pending successful completion of an in‑person RN refresher course that includes a clinical/skills component approved by the Department of Public Health. Once that condition is met, the board ordered a four‑year probation that includes a formal reprimand; employer monitoring reports (monthly during the first and third years, quarterly during the second and fourth years); and work limitations: no private‑duty/home‑care, no pool nursing, no assisted‑living or home‑health self‑employment, and restrictions on travel nursing assignments shorter than six months. The order also contains tolling language allowing the department to accept employer reports from out‑of‑state positions to reduce probation time if the department approves the out‑of‑state supervision.

Votes at a glance: The board’s motion to find on the department’s charges (including failure to verify the infusion rate and related duties) carried with 4 votes in favor and 2 abstentions. The subsequent remedy motion (suspension until completion of an in‑person RN refresher with clinical component; reprimand; four‑year probation with the monitoring and work‑restriction conditions above; tolling language for out‑of‑state monitoring) similarly carried on roll call with the same count of votes in favor and abstentions.

The board recorded as evidence the respondent’s admissions on some counts, multiple training certificates Dodwell produced, and department exhibits referenced in closing (identified in the hearing record as exhibits H and I, which the department said reflect timing and potentiation of medications). The panel noted that the license remains suspended while Dodwell completes the required in‑person refresher and that Department of Public Health staff will work with the nurse and any prospective employers to implement monitoring and to accept approved out‑of‑state supervision reports if applicable.

The decision follows a two‑plus hour adjudicative proceeding in which the board questioned the nurse and reviewed exhibits, and it frames the remedy as a combination of immediate restriction to prevent further risk and structured remediation aimed at restoring safe practice.

The board chair, Gina Reiner, said the department will provide a written memorandum of decision and that staff will contact Dodwell and her counsel with the specific conditions and approved course options. Dodwell’s counsel said she would explain the order to her client; the monitoring unit of the Department of Public Health will manage implementation and employer reporting.