The Iowa Board of Nursing has suspended the license of a Cedar Rapids nurse accused of using methamphetamine and stealing patient medication or supplies.

State records indicate that in 2023, Trenton R. Buchanan was working in Iowa as a hospital nurse. On October 28, 2023, he was arrested at a campground in Altoona near Adventureland after police were called to the scene in response to a report of an assault and a dispute involving a weapon of some kind.

Buchanan was searched and police allegedly found two loaded hypodermic syringes, three hypodermic needles and two baggies of a substance believed to be methamphetamine. Police said Buchanan admitted to using meth for the past two days.

Buchanan later pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of methamphetamine and was sentenced to one year of probation. He was then granted a deferred judgment that could result in the conviction being expunged from court records.

In January 2024, the Board of Nursing charged Buchanan with committing an act likely to adversely affect a patient, misappropriation of patient supplies or medication, unauthorized possession of a controlled substance, and unauthorized use of medication likely to impair his ability to to practice.

According to the board, the charges stemmed from Buchanan’s arrest and the board’s determination that while working at an unspecified hospital in Iowa in April 2023, Buchanan stole needles and syringes from the hospital and left the facility without notifying anyone. The board says a patient of Buchanan’s “had an event that required an advanced response.”

Board records give no indication of the patient’s outcome.

In August, the board agreed to settle his case with Buchanan, dropping disciplinary charges of misappropriating patient supplies or drugs and unauthorized use of drugs that may impair his ability to practice.

As part of the settlement, Buchanan agreed to a 24-month suspension of his Iowa nursing license.