When your state's Board of Nursing investigates a nurse for suspected misconduct, it's safe to say that the board will consider all evidence that may be relevant to the question of whether the nurse poses a danger to patients. That's the number one concern in BON misconduct investigations – protecting the public from potential harm. That means that if the nurse has been disciplined by the board or by the BON of any other state, that information could be considered when the BON reviews the new case for that nurse.
If you're a nurse who has been notified that you're under investigation by your BON for alleged misconduct, or if formal charges have been brought against you, contact the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team for help. Our experienced attorneys understand the laws, rules, regulations, and procedures that apply in nursing misconduct cases, and will defend your rights and fight to protect your license. Call us today at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation to learn more about how we can help.
Why Are My Prior Disciplinary Cases Relevant to My New Disciplinary Case?
When a nurse has been investigated for alleged misconduct in the past, and particularly if the nurse has been disciplined for misconduct, that information is going to be considered by the BON (or whatever agency investigates nurse misconduct in your state) when new misconduct allegations are made against the nurse. There are several reasons for this.
First, the BON is concerned about protecting patients from nurses who do not meet the appropriate standard of care. When a nurse has been disciplined in the past, it means that at one point, the BON (or the BON in another state, if the discipline occurred there) has determined that the nurse violated one of the many standards that nurses are expected to uphold. Those standards are in place to protect patients. When a nurse has violated one or more of those standards in the past and is now being accused of one or more new violations, the BON is going to look even more carefully at the new case.
Second, if any of the reasons for the prior discipline are similar to the allegations made against the nurse in the present case, the board reviewing them is likely to be even more concerned about the nurse's ability to properly care for patients. When a nurse has been disciplined for misconduct once and repeats that misconduct again, the BON may conclude that the nurse poses a danger to patients. The result can be a more significant sanction. The board may suspend the nurse's license or even revoke it.
Third, in most states, there are few limits on the kinds of information that the BON can consider when determining whether to discipline a nurse for alleged misconduct. The fact that a nurse that has been accused of misconduct has been disciplined for misconduct in the past is one that is likely to be of significant interest to the board or panel that is reviewing or ruling on new allegations made against a nurse.
What if I Was Disciplined in Another State, Will the Board in My State Consider That?
States routinely require nurses to notify the BON when the nurse is disciplined by a BON in another state. This allows nursing boards to protect patients against nurses who have faced misconduct in another state and move to a new state, hoping to be able to “start fresh” and leave their prior misconduct behind them. In addition, a nationwide database called Nursys keeps records of nurse licenses and disciplinary records for multiple states, allowing employers to check on the record of any new or existing nursing hire. Not every state participates in Nursys, however, so the information in Nursys about past discipline for any particular nurse may be incomplete.
But because every state requires nurses to notify their BON when they are disciplined by the BON in another state, if you fail to do so you could face additional discipline. On top of the disciplinary action brought against you for nursing misconduct, you could also be disciplined if your BON learns that you failed to notify them about past misconduct sanctions that happened in another state.
Can I Get My Past Misconduct Records Expunged?
When a nurse has been publicly disciplined by their Board of Nursing, that discipline is typically meant to become part of the nurse's permanent record. It is almost never expunged. That said, some states will allow certain types of discipline to be expunged after a certain period of time. These are generally less serious penalties, such as reprimands or discipline, that were imposed based on an agreement between the nurse and the BON (such as a consent decree or agreed orders).
Even if an earlier disciplinary action against you has been expunged, you may still need to disclose that to a nursing board when applying for a license or if you're asked about it during a disciplinary investigation. The best way to protect yourself against committing another violation by refusing to disclose an expunged disciplinary action that you should have disclosed is to work with an experienced attorney from the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team. We can review your present case, your past discipline, and any expunged disciplinary records and determine whether you need to disclose that earlier discipline to your present BON.
What Information Will the Board of Nursing Consider in My Disciplinary Case?
The answer to this depends entirely on the type of misconduct you've been accused of. Typically, when misconduct allegations are made against a nurse, there will be an investigation of those allegations. The BON (or equivalent agency responsible for nurse discipline) will appoint an investigator who will likely interview the accused nurse as well as the nurse's accuser. Depending on the nature of the allegations, the investigator may also interview the nurse's co-workers, patients, and families of patients.
The investigator may also seek work records if they relate to the allegations made against the nurse. In addition, the investigator may either ask the nurse for information about past misconduct in other states, or review the Nursys database to search for information about past misconduct for that nurse. Sometimes the investigator will do both, not only to be thorough but to see whether the nurse is being truthful about their past.
If the disciplinary investigation is related to the nurse being convicted of a crime – certain crimes can disqualify a nurse from holding a license – the investigator may seek court records that relate to the nurse's arrest and conviction. Here too, crimes committed in other states can have an impact on the nurse's ability to hold a license in their new state, and can result in the nurse being disciplined in their new state, particularly if they failed to disclose the earlier convictions to the BON.
When you learn that your BON has opened a disciplinary investigation against you, one of the first things you should do is to contact the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team. Having an experienced attorney by your side from the beginning stages of the investigation against you can substantially increase the chances that you will be able to defend yourself against the allegations and protect your license and your ability to work as a nurse.
The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team Can Help
If you have been disciplined for nursing misconduct in the past and learn that new allegations of misconduct have been made against you, you need the help of an experienced professional license defense attorney. You will be going in to this new misconduct investigation with the shadow of your earlier sanctions looming over you. The Lento Law Firm can help you in these kinds of cases.
Our attorneys can be by your side from day one, helping you understand the allegations made against you, explaining the disciplinary process, and preparing you for your interview with the investigator. We can negotiate the resolution of your case with your BON and use our experience to work to resolve matters in a way that has the least impact on your ability to practice as a nurse. If your case goes to a hearing, we will prepare you for it and will defend you vigorously against the allegations you're facing.
At each step of your disciplinary case, you will have an experienced nurse license defense attorney you can turn to who can answer your questions, who can explain what's happening, and who you know will be there to protect your rights and defend you against the allegations you're facing.
Call the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team today at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation with one of our experienced attorneys. Your nursing license is the key to your career and your livelihood. Let us help you protect it!
