State nursing boards have the power not only to grant licenses but also to suspend and revoke licenses in disciplinary proceedings. If you’ve already suffered license suspension or revocation, you know the devastating impact on your nursing practice. Fortunately, in many instances, license reinstatement is possible after license suspension or revocation. Yet license reinstatement isn’t a given. License reinstatement generally depends on a strong showing that you have met all terms and conditions for reinstatement and that you are fit and competent for nursing practice.
If you need your nursing license reinstated, your best move is to retain the LLF National Law Firm’s premier Professional License Defense Team for our skilled and experienced advocacy. Let us help you make the best possible case for your license’s reinstatement, so that you can get back into a rewarding nursing practice. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now for the strategic and effective representation you need.
Nurse Licensing Authority
State legislatures adopt nursing practice acts to regulate the practice of nursing within their state through licensing. Nursing practice acts typically establish a state board of nursing, while granting the board the authority to license nurses. Nursing practice acts also typically prohibit the practice of nursing in the state without a license. Unauthorized nursing practice without a license or on a suspended or revoked license subjects the nurse to civil fines and injunctions and even criminal conviction with fines and incarceration. See, for example, the Ohio Nurse Practice Act authorizing the Ohio Board of Nursing to license nurses. The Ohio Nurse Practice Act expressly makes it unlawful to practice without a nursing license, while authorizing the Ohio Board of Nursing to obtain an injunction against unlicensed practice. Don’t doubt your state nursing board’s similar authority to prevent you from practicing nursing without a current license. Get our help with your nursing license issues.
Nursing License Suspension or Revocation
State nursing practice acts not only authorize state nursing boards to issue licenses but also to suspend or revoke licenses in a disciplinary proceeding. A license suspension means that you lose your license either for a defined period, such as one month, six months, or one year, or indefinitely until the state nursing board states otherwise. A license revocation means that you lose your license permanently unless the state nursing board later states otherwise. License suspension and revocation both mean that you must not practice nursing. You must immediately notify your employer, cease your nursing practice, stop using the nurse, RN, LPN, or other nursing title or designation, and relinquish your license. Your employer will also likely receive notice of your license suspension or revocation and must immediately comply by ending your nursing practice under employment. Get our help if you face license suspension or revocation. You won’t work as a nurse as long as your license remains suspended or revoked.
State Nursing Board Disciplinary Proceedings
The disciplinary process you face, though, is critical to your license outcome. Just because you face license suspension or revocation does not mean you’ll actually lose your license. State nursing boards have the authority to suspend or revoke licenses only through disciplinary proceedings that provide the accused nurse with due process. See, for example, the Texas Nurse Practice Act requiring the Texas Board of Nursing to give an accused nurse notice of the charges and a fair hearing before imposing a license suspension or revocation. Our attorneys can invoke those procedures on your behalf to fight your disciplinary charges. Even if you expect to lose to the charges, we may be able to negotiate alternative remedial relief to avoid license suspension or revocation. And even if you must face a license suspension or revocation, we may be able to negotiate terms that will allow for your license’s reinstatement.
Nursing License Reinstatement
Don’t give up if you have already lost your nursing license to suspension or revocation in a state nursing board disciplinary proceeding. You may well have an opportunity for your license’s reinstatement. Many state nursing practice acts expressly provide for nursing license reinstatement after suspension or revocation. See, for example, the Texas Nurse Practice Act just cited, stating expressly that the Texas Board of Nursing may reinstate a license after the nurse whose license the Board suspended or revoked applies for reinstatement. The Texas Nurse Practice Act states that the nurse must wait one year before applying in the manner that the Board requires. It also gives the Texas Board of Nursing the authority to set a longer waiting period after which the nurse may reapply for license reinstatement. The Texas Board of Nursing carries that authority into effect with its own Board rules for reinstatement, including completing all disciplinary terms and conditions. Your state may have similar laws and rules for nursing license reinstatement. Let us help you evaluate and pursue your opportunities. Your nursing career is worth it.
Process for Nursing License Reinstatement
State nursing practice acts authorizing license reinstatement, like the Texas laws just cited, generally refer to the state nursing board’s reinstatement methods, forms, and process. Whether your state nursing board publishes rules for license reinstatement or not, its process is likely to include waiting for a defined period, completing a form, providing documentation, and, in many cases, appearing at a hearing for reinstatement. Our attorneys can help make your best case for reinstatement in the following ways at each stage of the reinstatement process.
Waiting Periods for Reinstatement
Let our attorneys help you evaluate your waiting period, if any, for license reinstatement. If your state nursing board has no defined period, we can help you make your best case that you have completed your rehabilitation, such that waiting any longer for license reinstatement is unnecessary. Even if your state has a defined waiting period that has not yet expired, retain us to explore earlier reinstatement and to ensure that you are completing all terms and conditions for reinstatement. See, for example, the Michigan Board of Nursing’s elaborate rules regarding reinstatement after waiting periods provided in the order of discipline. Let us help you interpret and apply those waiting provisions in your state, for your earliest reinstatement.
Applications for Reinstatement
State nursing practice acts and nursing board rules also generally provide for completing an application for reinstatement. See, for example, the Michigan Board of Nursing’s reinstatement application form with elaborate instructions and rules. But completing an application isn’t simply an administrative act. Just because you check all the right boxes doesn’t mean that you’ll win license reinstatement. As the Michigan form explains, the burden of proving your fitness for license reinstatement is on you. Your license application is thus a piece of legal advocacy, best completed with the representation of our skilled and experienced attorneys. Not only would errors or omissions on your reinstatement form put you at risk of reinstatement denial for credential fraud, but an unconvincing showing could also lead to denial. Don’t waste your attempt at license reinstatement. Instead, let us make your best case by making your application an accurate, complete, and skilled presentation of your best case.
Documentation for Reinstatement
Gaining a nursing license reinstatement, though, typically requires more than completing a form. Your license suspension or revocation likely imposed various terms and conditions, whether for evaluation, treatment, counseling, mentoring, monitoring, or the like. If so, your application for reinstatement should include verified documentation that you met those terms and conditions. Our attorneys know how to obtain and present that documentation. Even if your license suspension or revocation included no terms or conditions, we may wish to present documentation of your additional nursing education, training, qualifications, references, and other remedial actions to convince your state nursing board that you are fit and competent and that you deserve license reinstatement.
Hearing for Reinstatement
Your state nursing practice act likely grants or implies your state nursing board’s authority to hold a hearing to decide whether to reinstate your suspended or revoked nursing license. Your state nursing board granting you a license reinstatement hearing would be a good thing, meaning that the board is willing to hear your case. But you will need our skilled and experienced representation at that hearing. A hearing generally requires witness testimony and presentation of documentary exhibits. Our attorneys know how to make your best case for license reinstatement at the hearing. Don’t go it alone, and don’t retain unqualified representation. Get our strategic and effective representation.
Reinstatement’s Effect on Other Nursing Licenses
Reinstatement may be critical to your ability to practice anywhere across the U.S., not just in your current state. License discipline generally goes into the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), meaning that state nursing board officials across the country can readily learn of your license’s suspension or revocation in your current state. You won’t likely be able to get a license in another state until you gain license reinstatement in your current state. And if you already have a nursing license in another state, your discipline in your current state puts that other license at risk. All the more reason to get our help obtaining your current license’s reinstatement. Don’t let license discipline in your current state ruin your nursing career in all states across the country.
License Reinstatement Factors
While state nursing practice acts and state nursing board rules generally refer only to completing terms and conditions and waiting the defined period, reinstatement may also depend on other factors. Those factors may include your nursing disciplinary record before your license suspension or revocation, how much time has elapsed since you completed the disciplinary period, and what remedial steps you have taken, such as additional education, training, evaluation, counseling, or mentoring. Professional references and character witnesses may also help. Your employment record and attestations from your employer and patients could also be a factor. Our attorneys can evaluate your individual case to see what may be the most important factors to address with your state nursing board. We can also help you discern the remedial measures you should take to increase your likelihood of license reinstatement.
Consequences of License Reinstatement
You should recognize the potential positive consequences of license reinstatement. Obviously, you would once again have the opportunity and privilege to practice nursing in your state of licensure. That privilege means that you may be able to resume your prior employment, including once again caring for your patients who valued your nursing services. If your prior employer does not offer you re-employment, or you would prefer to work somewhere else, you may gain new employment with your reinstated license. As you know, nurses are generally in high demand. Your license reinstatement reassures nurse employers of your fitness and competence in the eyes of state nursing board officials. You should be able to resume rewarding nursing employment. You also get your professional reputation, relationships, and network back in place to aid you in resuming your nursing practice and once again advancing your nursing career.
Qualifications of License Defense Counsel
It is most important that you not retain unqualified local criminal defense counsel or civil litigation attorneys who do not know the necessary administrative procedures and who lack the skill and experience. Our attorneys have the reputation and relationships among state nursing board officials to achieve your best possible outcome. Get the skilled and experienced help you need.
Premier Nursing License Defense Available
If you face state nursing board disciplinary charges threatening license suspension or revocation, or you have already lost your license to suspension or revocation and want to gain license reinstatement, retain the LLF National Law Firm’s premier Professional License Defense Team to help you achieve your best possible outcome. Our highly qualified attorneys have helped hundreds of nurses and other healthcare professionals favorably resolve, defend, and defeat license board disciplinary charges and gain license reinstatement. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now for the skilled representation you need.