DYERSBURG, Tenn. — A Tennessee nurse had her license suspended and was ordered to cease and desist practicing due to alleged misconduct involving patients.
According to the Tennessee Board of Nursing, Kelly McCallum left blank, pre-signed prescription forms in the clinic and told her staff that they could treat and prescribe controlled substances to patients. The state noted six times this happened in November 2020 and said the list was non-exhaustive.
On her return to the clinic, she would then fill in patient charts and submit the appointments to billing under her own name, indicating she had seen them. The practice appears to have become so out of control that her collaborating physician quit in a letter dated January 2021, in which she claimed McCallum “did not make the recommended changes to her controlled substance prescribing.”
McCallum was also noted as being unprofessional while in the workplace. Court documents stated she was accused of being impaired while on duty, leading to her allegedly pounding the walls until her knuckles bled. She allegedly ripped a clinic door off its hinges and brought sex toys to work. Documents noted affidavits had been presented for the allegations.
She also allegedly told staff she was having a sexual relationship with one of her patients. She told her staff to withdraw $8,000 from the clinic’s bank account so she could buy the man a car and instructed them to give him $500 a week.
The Tennessee Board of Nursing found that the misconduct was “so severe that it imperatively requires emergency action in order to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.” They eventually decided to suspend her license and order her to stop practicing pending official proceedings.
McCallum worked at Convenient Care Clinic in Dyersburg, according to documents from the state board of nursing. The order from the board was in effect until formal disciplinary procedures were issued.
