A certified registered nurse anesthetist allegedly misappropriated patients' anesthesia or painkillers, resulting in patients leaving surgery awake and in pain, according to an Aug. 21 report from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
State regulators suspended the license of Benjamin Albert, RN, after the Iowa Board of Nursing made allegations that he diverted medications or supplies.
In January 2022, Mr. Albert was allegedly caught accessing an electronic medication-dispensing machine in an operating room he was not scheduled to work in, and all of the lights were turned off. The board additionally alleged that Mr. Albert was responsible for a total of 550 micrograms of narcotic medications that have gone missing.
The surgical patients under Mr. Albert's care were reported to be "more awake than was typical" and experiencing "high levels of pain" as they left the operating room, according to a statement from the board in the report. Additionally, these pain levels did not align with hospital records that reported abnormally high doses of narcotic pain medication.
Mr. Albert has agreed to a settlement with the Board of Nursing stating the indefinite suspension of his license, mandatory chemical dependency and mental health evaluations and the completion of any recommended treatments. If no recommendations are made, Mr. Albert's license will be reissued with three years of probation.
Mr. Albert is now located in Illinois, where his nursing license is valid with no public record of disciplinary action, according to the report.