Being convicted of a crime can put your Alabama nursing license at risk. As a nurse, both the medical community and the general public have expectations regarding your conduct. The Alabama Board of Nursing (ABN) has standards of conduct with public safety in mind, and you may face disciplinary action by the ABN if they believe your criminal charges deem you unfit to practice.
If you are a nurse who is arrested or convicted of a crime in Alabama, it is crucial to arrange your defense. Criminal defense attorneys have the competency to tackle your criminal charges, but they frequently lack the nuanced and unique experience in professional license defense. The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team has several years of experience in representing nurses and making appeals to nursing boards. Tell us about your case via our online contact form or call 888-535-3686.
Are Alabama Nurses Required to Self-Report Arrests?
Per the ABN, Alabama nurses applying for a new license or a renewal must report all prior arrests, convictions, and criminal charges, even if they were dropped or resolved. You are also required to report disciplinary actions by other state nursing boards.
Other parties may also file a complaint against you with the ABN if they learn of your past charges. You will have 20 days' notice of your hearing to address the complaint. The ABN makes a decision on new licenses and renewals on a case-by-case basis, and it's best not to conceal prior legal troubles.
Enlisting a professional license defense attorney to assist you with your nursing license application or renewal can give you peace of mind that you are correctly reporting any charges and dismissals. The Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm can review your application and answer your questions regarding reporting prior legal troubles.
Types of Charges Nurses and Nursing Students Must Report to the ABN
The ABN mandates that you include all arrests, charges, and convictions on your application regardless of the nature. This includes felonies and misdemeanors, and cases where your charges were dropped pursuant to any of the following remedies:
- Pleading guilty
- Nolo contendre plea
- Trial
- Deferred prosecution or pre-trial agreement
The only crimes you do not need to report are minor traffic violations. DUIs are not considered minor traffic violations for ABN purposes.
In addition to criminal matters, you also need to report disciplinary actions against other professional licenses and certifications whether they occurred in Alabama or another state. For example, if you committed an infraction under an LPN license and are applying for your RN license, you need to report these infractions while you were an LPN on your Alabama RN application.
What Disciplinary Actions Can the ABN Take Against Alabama Nurses?
Under Alabama's Nurse Practice Act, the ABN has the authority to take disciplinary action against Alabama nurses for both legal violations and ABN infractions. This authority also extends to applicants of nursing licenses through the ABN and nurses who reside in other states but have multistate privileges.
The ABN can revoke your nursing license, place you on probation, deny a license, or levy fines of up to $1,000 depending on the nature of the charges. If you do not pay the fine, the ABN can take legal action to collect it.
These actions can be taken if you have been convicted of a felony, are deemed unfit to practice due to alcohol or drug use, violated federal or state laws regarding controlled substances, or are guilty of a crime involving "moral turpitude" or "gross immorality" that can harm the nursing profession.
If you have a criminal or disciplinary history, it is critical to include thorough information about charges, infractions, and incidents, as the ABN considers each applicant individually.
How Does the ABN Decide on the Severity of Disciplinary Action?
The ABN makes its decisions on a case-by-case basis. At your hearing, they will consider the following factors:
- Prior history of ABN infractions
- The nature of the charges
- Severity of the charges
- Date of the conviction or arrest
- General performance on the job and feedback from employers
- Rehabilitative efforts have been made since the arrest
- Substance abuse history and actions taken to address substance abuse issues, if your charges are drug or alcohol-related
For example, if you have a prior conviction for shoplifting when you were younger, the ABN is unlikely to issue a reprimand, suspend your license, or refuse to issue you a nursing license. However, the ABN is more apt to negatively regard more recent charges related to nursing practice, such as medication diversion. Generally, the ABN's scope in deciding to deny a license, renewal, or take disciplinary action is limited to identifying risk factors that would make you a threat to the public if you continue to practice.
ABN hearings and investigations are not criminal investigations, but it's wise to approach them with similar strategies. You may need to negotiate a less severe punitive action or build a case to get your license reinstated. The Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm can review your individual case and tailor our strategy to ABN procedures and the factors they consider the most.
Which Documents Can Build Your Defense with the ABN?
If you have prior criminal or disciplinary history, it can make your nursing license application or renewal more difficult but not impossible.
Thorough records pertaining to your history and the steps you took since those incidents will expedite the ABN review process. You ultimately have the burden of proof to demonstrate the facts and circumstances of your charges or infractions and any rehabilitative actions on your part.
You should have the following documents and information on hand when you are applying for your license, renewal, or ABN discipline appeals:
- Certified official court documents with the date and circumstances of your charges, clearly showing the sections of the law violated and the disposition of the case
- If you were placed on probation, the order of probation and the official court document that you completed probation
- Court-issued certificates of rehabilitation
- Proof of expungement
- Any other court orders relevant to prior arrests or convictions
- Certified documents from the ABN or other state nursing boards stating the actions taken against you
- A detailed write-up of the circumstances surrounding your criminal and/or disciplinary history and any rehabilitative actions taken since these incidents to avoid repeating them in the future
- If relevant to your charges or discipline, documented evidence of seeking professional counseling or rehabilitative treatment, such as admission and discharge summaries
- Supportive letters on official organizational letterhead from employers, nursing instructors, professional counselors, support group sponsors, probation officers, nursing program administrators, and other professionals in positions of authority who can vouch for your quality of work and rehabilitation efforts
- Proof of community service, further education, and other efforts to improve yourself and your life since the charges or incidents
When explaining prior criminal or disciplinary history, it is helpful to include additional context like the factors in your life that caused you to take the actions that you did. Include what you learned from the experience since the incident and the changes you made.
The ABN's decision to issue or renew your nursing license is a major responsibility since your profession entails serving the public. A criminal or disciplinary history can be an obstacle to ensuring you can obtain or retain an Alabama nursing license, but it is not an impossibility. The Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm can assist with your application or hearing to safeguard your career.
Addressing Drug Charges with the Voluntary Disciplinary Alternative Program (VDAP)
Nursing is a rewarding job, but it is also a stressful one that can cause nurses to turn to drugs or alcohol. The National Institute of Health found that up to 20% of nurses battle substance addiction, abuse, and misuse, but frequently do not seek rehabilitative treatment out of fear of professional repercussions.
The ABN created a program to address this issue, VDAP. The program is designed to ensure that you seek the care you need and find a path to recovery while retaining your nursing license. While it is intended to address the stressful realities of the nursing profession and offer a second chance for practitioners who made mistakes, some nurses choose not to participate in VDAP. Participation can come with a stigma at the personal and professional levels and be perceived as an admission of mistakes, guilt, or malpractice.
If your charges are drug or alcohol-related, VDAP may be a crucial part of your nursing license defense strategy. Participation also comes with conditions, like a requisite monitoring agreement that is tailored to your individual circumstances. There are also mandatory support meetings, rehabilitation care, and aftercare requirements, and restrictions on access to controlled substances at your workplace.
Because of these conditions and potential long-term impacts on your career and reputation, you should carefully consider whether participation in VDAP would help or hurt you in terms of both your health and your career. The Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm can advise you on whether VDAP participation would be in your best interest.
Alabama and Nursys
In most U.S. states, disciplinary actions against nurses become public record, and Alabama is no exception. Additionally, Alabama participates in Nursys, the only national database to verify nursing licensure and discipline records that is accessible to both employers and the general public.
If you are subject to ABN discipline and decide to leave Alabama, it may be difficult to obtain a new nursing job in another state when several prospective employers rely on Nursys to screen applicants. This is why forming a professional license defense strategy is critical to protect your career's future, no matter where you reside or practice.
Why Criminal Defense Is Not Ideal for Nursing License Issues
You may seek out an employment attorney if you have reasonable cause to believe you were not hired, or turned down for a promotion, due to prior criminal history. A criminal defense attorney may also seem like a good option if you need to report criminal charges or are facing disciplinary actions from a nursing authority like the ABN. However, professional license matters are a more nuanced practice area.
There are some commonalities with ABN actions and criminal matters, but they are not the same. Nursing boards utilize a vastly different standard of evidence than law enforcement and prosecutors. While you also need to report all of your criminal and disciplinary history to the ABN, with the exception of minor traffic violations, the ABN operates with a smaller investigative scope than a prosecutor. The ABN ultimately wants to determine whether you are a safe practitioner and if individual and public health would be put at risk, rather than examine your entire criminal history.
Criminal defense attorneys who frequently interact with prosecutors will not be able to translate their experience to ABN processes, which are very different. You will want an experienced professional license defense attorney who can navigate nursing boards and represent Alabama nurses at any healthcare facility in the state, such as:
- University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital - Birmingham
- Huntsville Hospital - Huntsville
- Mobile Infirmary Medical Center - Mobile
- Andalusia Health - Andalusia
- Ascension Providence Hospital-Mobile - Mobile
Whether you are a private-duty nurse or work for a large hospital in Alabama, the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team is equipped to assist you where criminal defense attorneys cannot.
Facing a board hearing or needing to disclose prior arrests to a nursing board is a monumentally stressful prospect. An experienced professional license defense attorney can ease the burden. Contact the Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm at 888-535-3686 or complete our online intake form to speak to one of our experienced professional license defense attorneys.
