The line between professional life and personal life is blurry. This is never more apparent than when a licensed professional, like a nurse, is arrested or convicted of a crime. Even if an arrest has seemingly nothing to do with your nursing career, the legal issue could directly threaten your ability to continue practicing.
The truth is that what happens in a nurse’s personal life can disrupt their professional life, especially when the legal system gets involved. However, you may be able to avoid such disruption, or at least mitigate the harm that an arrest or conviction does to your career, if you are strategic in the aftermath of the legal entanglement.
Let us help. The LLF National Law Firm Professional License Defense Team has one mission, and it is to help professionals overcome the hurdles that threaten their careers. If you were arrested or have been convicted of a crime in Mississippi, we are the team to rely on.
Call the LLF National Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online. We are determined to help you overcome whatever challenges an arrest or conviction has presented. Your nursing career is worth saving, so don’t wait to reach out.
Do Nurses Have to Tell the Mississippi Board of Nursing About an Arrest?
Mississippi’s nurse-specific statutes, specifically § 73-15-29, explain that a nurse can be denied or deprived of a nursing license if they:
- Are convicted of a felony
- Are convicted of a crime of moral turpitude, which is a somewhat subjective category of offense that can include deceptive behavior
- Engages in certain other prohibited behavior, even if that behavior does not result in a criminal conviction (or even an arrest)
The important note is that the code does not explicitly refer to a nurse’s arrest as grounds for potential license sanctions. The LLF National Law Firm Team will help you evaluate the unique circumstances of your arrest and determine if you should, or have to, report the arrest to the board.
Are Convictions Something Nurses in Mississippi Must Report?
Nursing boards, including Mississippi’s, generally expect nurses to report felony convictions. Some reasons why you might be wise to report a felony conviction are:
- The board is likely to find out about the felony conviction on its own, whether through direct reporting from the court or the board’s monitoring of court logs
- Nurse-specific statutes may require you to do so, and defying those statutes could cause even more trouble
- By reporting the felony conviction proactively, you may garner mercy from the board during the disciplinary process
Our Professional License Defense Team will compare your current circumstances to the state nursing statutes. If it’s the right decision to report a felony conviction, we will encourage you to do so.
The Mississippi Nurse Voluntary Program (MnVP) May Be Relevant to Whether You Report an Arrest or Conviction
The Mississippi Nurse Voluntary Program is “A confidential and non-disciplinary program for eligible nurse applicants designed to promote early identification of substance use/abuse; removal from nursing practice and entry into treatment; and for monitoring of compliance upon re-entry into nursing practice.”
This program may be relevant if you are:
- Currently seeking a new type of nursing license, or are in the process of renewing your license
- Struggling with one or more substances (particularly if an arrest is related to those struggles)
- Facing mental health difficulties that are related to an arrest
One of the stated purposes of this program is to “Facilitate nurse applicants to enter and maintain an ongoing recovery consistent with patient safety and the overall health and wellbeing of nurses.” If your arrest is related to substance use or mental health struggles, we will evaluate whether applying to the MnVP could be a worthwhile course of action.
This Program Comes with Conditions, and We Will Help You Evaluate Your Candidacy
The board notes that an applicant will generally be denied admission to the MnVP if they:
- Has distributed controlled substances to others
- Has harmed a patient
- Put a patient at risk of harm, even if the harm did not occur
- Is not currently eligible to be a nurse in Mississippi
- Has been discharged from this or a similar alternative program in the past five years for non-compliance
The LLF National Law Firm Professional License Defense Team will help you understand your options. If applying to the MnVP could be the right course of action for you, we will help you:
- Identify whether you are an eligible applicant
- Weigh the potential risks and benefits of applying
- Lay out the steps for the application, and help you as much as we can with the application process
We are compassionate to the stress, trauma, and long-term selflessness that can contribute to substance abuse and mental health disorders. If you need the kind of help that the MnVP can provide, we will fight to ensure you get that compassionate assistance.
How We May Help You Determine Whether to Report an Arrest or Conviction to the Mississippi Board of Nursing
Because nursing statutes often contain a gray area regarding the reporting of arrests and certain convictions, we help clients decide whether they should proactively report a brush with law enforcement. This evaluative process requires us to consider:
The Potential Benefits of Reporting
There can be value in reporting an arrest or conviction, though we must consider the specific details of your arrest or conviction to weigh whether these benefits apply to you.
Some potential benefits of reporting your legal circumstances are:
- Getting ahead of the board finding out about it: If it appears likely that the Mississippi Board of Nursing is going to find out about an arrest or conviction anyway, it generally makes sense to tell the board before it finds out on its own.
- Fostering goodwill with the board: Reporting an arrest can be a strategic decision with the hope that the board will be more merciful. You might be more inclined to think about this if you believe the board is going to find out about your legal matter.
- Complying with mandatory reporting rules: If you are required to report, you should almost certainly do so. The benefit of complying is that you avoid facing further sanctions due to a failure to report.
Reporting can be the right decision for many nurses. We will help you determine if it is the right decision for you.
The Potential Downsides of Reporting
Reporting can also have detrimental effects. The primary downside is that you might initiate a disciplinary process that you would have avoided by simply keeping the arrest to yourself.
You might be inclined not to report an arrest if:
- The offense for which you were arrested was minor: If you were arrested for a misdemeanor and your behavior did not endanger anyone, you might be less inclined to report the arrest than if you were arrested for a felony that endangered someone.
- You believe the arrest will not lead to formal charges: Not every arrest leads to formal charges. For instance, if you believe you were arrested on false grounds and will not be formally charged, this could influence your decision on whether to report the arrest.
- You believe the offense for which you were arrested would not trigger discipline from the Mississippi Board of Nursing: If you do not believe that the offense for which you were arrested would expose you to discipline from the board, you might choose not to report the arrest, or even any formal criminal charges filed against you.
We must keep in mind that, when you renew your nursing license or apply for a new one, you might be required to report any arrest or conviction you have experienced in the recent past. This fact could also inform our decision of whether to notify the board of your legal circumstances proactively.
Will the Board Find Out About My Arrest If I Don’t Report It?
The board explains that law enforcement representatives are among those who “most commonly” submit complaints against nurses. This means that, yes, there is a possibility the board will find out about an arrest or conviction even if you don’t report it. The Mississippi Board of Nursing might also find out about your legal circumstances if:
- A member of the general public finds out about the circumstances and reports them
- The board monitors arrest and conviction records and discovers your case
- The board monitors nurses’ social media and sees an allusion to your arrest or conviction
As we identify and craft the right strategy for your license defense, we will consider the possibility that the board could learn of your arrest or conviction through these channels.
What’s Next If the Board Finds Out About My Arrest
When a nurse is arrested, they are often most concerned about any legal process that could follow. It’s an understandable reaction, as visions of a marred criminal record, hefty fines, and even potentially jail or prison can keep you up at night. At the same time, the potential for professional sanctions deserves just as much of your attention.
If you voluntarily report a legal entanglement or the board finds out about it through other channels, the professional disciplinary process may be unavoidable. The Mississippi Board of Nursing’s process for adjudicating complaints against nurses goes as follows:
The Board’s Investigations Division Reviews the Complaint
When reviewing the complaint (which you may have self-filed), the Board will consider:
- Whether the board has jurisdiction over the matter
- Whether there is sufficient evidence to support further investigation of the complaint
If the board has jurisdiction and there is sufficient evidence to support an investigation, expect to hear from a board-appointed investigator.
The Investigator Interviews the Nurse and Completes Their Investigation
Even if there is sufficient evidence to support an investigation, it does not mean you will be found responsible for the complaint against you. The investigation is necessary to determine if you’ve committed a violation, and this process typically includes:
- The investigator speaking with you is the nurse who has been accused of committing a violation
- Witnesses giving all relevant statements related to the complaint
- The investigator speaking with the complainant (who, in cases of self-reporting, is the nurse who is the subject of the complaint)
The investigator will also gather and weigh any evidence related to the complaint, which could include arrest reports, work records, and court records.
The Nursing Board Staff Reviews “Investigative Data”
The investigator will likely synthesize interview transcripts, evidence, and witness testimony to form a conclusion about whether the nurse is responsible for the wrongdoing they have been accused of.
The board’s core representatives—not the investigator—will make the final call, determining whether or not you have violated the behavioral guidelines for nurses in Mississippi.
The Board Closes the Case or, Instead, Conducts Informal Proceedings
If the board believes there is insufficient evidence to find you responsible for a violation, the case should be closed. If the board does find you responsible, it may then:
- Inform you of the findings of responsibility
- Propose sanctions
- Offer a deal (known as a consent agreement), which would require you to accept the proposed sanctions
The board may grant you the opportunity to negotiate more favorable terms. The LLF National Law Firm Team has an extensive history negotiating nurse-friendly consent agreements, and you will want us representing you if these circumstances arise.
In the Absence of a Settlement, the Board Files Charges and Conducts a Hearing
If you do not agree to a disciplinary agreement with the board, you will face formal charges and a formal hearing. This is a trial-like proceeding that we will prepare you for.
You Make an Appeal, If Necessary
If you suffer an unfair or unfavorable decision after a hearing, your attorney will promptly file an appeal on your behalf.
The LLF National Law Firm: A Professional License Defense Team Fighting for Nurses in Mississippi (and Nationwide)
The LLF National Law Firm Professional License Defense Team makes nurses’ fights our own. We have many years’ experience in the area of license defense, and our refined focus on defending professionals makes us a potent force working on behalf of nurses like you.
Every decision you make right now could prove critical. This is why your first decision should be to retain us as your unwavering, aggressive advocates. Call the LLF National Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online to discuss your license defense.