Getting arrested is upsetting for anyone, but it carries an extra element of catastrophe as it has potentially career-altering consequences for Texas nurses. Unfortunately, the time and effort they expended obtaining their professional licenses is at risk the moment it happens, even for arrests unrelated to their nursing duties.
The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) maintains rigorous ethical and professional standards to protect the public. Therefore, arrests or criminal convictions—whether from practice-related offenses like drug diversion or patient abuse or non-practice-related theft or sexual assault charges can trigger adverse action from the board, leading to the following consequences:
- Restricted or limited practice through probation
- License suspension with conditional requirements before reinstatement
- Permanent revocation of credentials and the end of a nursing career
Mitigating the effects of an arrest must begin immediately, as failure to report to the BON can escalate any situation. Regardless of why Texas nurses are arrested, the Lento Law Firm is dedicated to ensuring that they remain licensed professionals with a robust defense.
When the BON seeks discipline, our Professional License Defense Team stands prepared to respond to board inquiries and assert nurses' rights to keep them aligned with their practice. Whether working in busy Dallas-Fort Worth or Houston medical centers, community clinics in Austin or El Paso, or elsewhere throughout the great state, call the Lento Law Firm at 888-535-3686 now or fill out our confidential consultation form, and we will contact you.
Texas Nurse Non-Practice Related Arrests
Texas law enforcement officers can conduct arrests for numerous reasons, and licensed nurses are subject to apprehension like anyone else. Unfortunately, they can lose their license and livelihood for facing criminal convictions after arrest, but not in all cases.
In Texas, an officer can arrest an individual if:
- The officer establishes probable cause
- The officer has statutory authority under Texas law
If police arrest a Texas nurse for a Class C misdemeanor, such as a minor traffic violation, they do not have to report it to the board. However, they are required to report most other arrests of Class B and Class A misdemeanors, as well as felony offenses. Additionally, when licensees enter into plea agreements or receive a deferred adjudication or community supervision, nurses have 10 days to report to the board, and facilities may have their own separate rules.
However, if a non-reportable arrest doesn't lead to criminal prosecution, nurses shouldn't jump to conclusions that the BON will never find out. Texas nurses must renew their licenses every two years, and part of the process is listing, in detail, previous criminal activity, including arrests. While expunged or sealed arrests do not need to be disclosed, it's the nurse's responsibility to ensure it has, in fact, been expunged or sealed.
Practice-Related Arrests and Incidents
Critically, nurses do not have to report "minor incidents" under the Texas Nurse Practice Act (NPA). Such conduct means that the alleged incident may have been an NPA violation, but it "does not indicate the nurse's continued practice poses a risk of harm to a patient or another person."
The BON does this because it believes the "protection of the public is not enhanced by reporting every minor incident that may be a violation" of the NPA or further board rules. Additionally, the board asserts that it may not be necessary to report when there are mechanisms in place in the nurse's practice setting to identify errors, detect patterns of practice, and take corrective action to remediate deficits in a nurse's knowledge, skill, judgment, training, professional responsibility, or patient advocacy.
Although nothing prevents reporting a potential violation directly to the BON or the Nursing Peer Review Committee (PRC), nurses and others "are encouraged not to report minor incidents to the board unless required."
What Does the BON Consider Minor?
The PRC reviews a combination of factors to evaluate whether an incident or error is minor. These will likely include the nurse's conduct that leads to an arrest if those factors are viewed as beyond the nurse's control and the relationship between the incident and the potential for a nursing practice breakdown. Therefore, whether or not the arrest was conducted for a practice-related is significant.
Conduct subject to mandatory reporting includes:
- Incidents where the nurses ignore a substantial risk that exposed a patient or other person to significant (actual or potential) physical, emotional, or financial harm
- Practice-related violations involving impairment or suspected impairment by reason of chemical dependency, intemperate use, misuse, or abuse of drugs or alcohol, including mental illness
- Actions constituting abuse, exploitation, fraud, or a violation of professional boundaries
- Allegations that indicate the nurse poses a public risk because of a lack of knowledge, skill, judgment, or conscientiousness
The PRC will determine whether there are deficits in the nurses' knowledge, judgment, skills, professional responsibility, or patient advocacy that contributed to the incident. If remediation will address the deficit, a plan is developed to mitigate reoccurrence, but if not, the nurse must be reported to the BON. In any 12-month period, nurses in facilities with five or more minor incidents documented are subject to board reporting, too. However, major incidents and those substantially related to the practice—fraud, falsification, substance abuse, and sexual misconduct—are handled with less impunity.
In some instances, the BON could respond with an immediate intervention of the criminal activity that caused the arrest if it has an urgent and direct effect on the safety of the public or the licensee themselves. For example, if the nurse faces accusations of drug diversion or significant patient harm. In such a case, a three-member committee of board members renders the decision to suspend or revoke temporarily, subject to an initial hearing no more than 17 days later and a final hearing no more than 61 days after the temporary restriction or suspension date.
Regardless of the potential consequences of an arrest on a nurse's license, the BON must take the issue through its official grievance process. Board investigations typically take six months to one year to complete, depending on the circumstances. Since investigations are confidential, no NPA regulations or board rules require nurses to tell employers about any pending investigation. Licensees are afforded all due process rights and can continue to work until the BON issues a final order affecting employment.
Substantially Related Conduct
Not all complaints involving a nurse's ability to practice safely will require the same amount of board intervention or will result in disciplinary action. Each outcome depends on the particular facts of each case.
The board believes arrests caused by substance abuse disorders are "treatable conditions," and nurses who achieve stable recovery may be able to safely provide care to patients under certain conditions. Licensees will undergo a psychological evaluation to determine the most appropriate resolution. Tests may determine that an individual's participation in a board-approved peer assistance program will minimize patient risk and may even be accomplished through a confidential, non-public BON order.
Crimes that involve fraudulent, dishonest, and deceitful behavior indicate a lack of good professional character to the BON. Prior to criminal proceedings, the board may rely solely on the disposition of a crime, with or without an adjudication of guilt, to initiate disciplinary action, from probation to revocation. Nurses may be able to retain credentials under an encumbered license (with conditions and/or restrictions). However, since patients in autonomous healthcare settings are particularly vulnerable, nurses with previous dishonest conduct will likely be precluded from working in a home health or independent practice setting for a period of time. The BON applies the same standards to arrests involving theft or deception as it places vulnerable populations under care at risk.
Sexual misconduct, even when occurring outside the nursing practice, raises board concerns that it will affect the ability to render care. Outside of violent sexual crimes and those involving children, the board considers those that involve conduct between consenting adults as serious offenses but not necessarily a disqualification for licensure. Therefore, the board's decision on the nurse's status to practice will depend on conviction versus deferred adjudication in the criminal process, as well as psychological evaluations and polygraphs performed by an approved expert in evaluating sexual offenders.
Arrest Consequences for Texas Nurses
Following an investigation, the BON uses its Disciplinary Matrix to determine the appropriate disciplinary action. Each offense—sexual misconduct, fraud, substance abuse, etc.—is placed in a tiered system, with the first tier corresponding to less severe punishment and the third tier relegated to separation from practice.
While the BON has the discretion to punish a nurse through its tiered system, there are many instances where a license will be suspended regardless, or they will refuse to renew one. Upon proof of conviction, Texas nurses will lose their license if they are arrested for:
- Murder and manslaughter
- Kidnapping or unlawful restraint
- Any offense with mandatory registration as a sex offender
- Aggravated assault
- Reckless injury to or abandonment of a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual
- Aided suicide
- Violating court orders or bond conditions
- Abductions, purchase, or sale of a child
- Robbery
Critically, nurses aren't only subject to license suspension for offenses committed in Texas. It's the case if they occur anywhere under the law of another state, federal law, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Since the BON's disciplinary process can occur before or during the adjacent criminal process, an initially suspended license could be sanctioned further. Upon a final conviction, guilty plea, or plea or nolo contendere, the board "shall" revoke a license. Even when licensees are directed to undergo evaluation and a board-approved program for substance abuse and other misconduct, any departure from program conditions is subject to additional discipline and criminal penalties—likely to be charged as a felony.
Reinstating a Texas Nursing License
To reinstate credentials in Texas, the licensee bears the burden of proving rehabilitation, and they normally demonstrate it through a series of evaluations. For instance, nurses must complete criminal probation and have compelling evidence of rehabilitation verified through the board's evaluation protocols. Yet, it's not a guarantee. Completion of board-imposed or court-ordered programs, such as alcohol or drug counseling, does not prohibit the BON from denying reinstatement.
Moreover, in serious criminal cases, nurses are not eligible for reinstatement before the fifth anniversary of the date the licensee successfully completed and was dismissed from community supervision or parole. The same applies to those seeking a license in other professions in Texas.
Since an arrest is an immense obstacle to overcome in many cases, the best way to mitigate its effects is to retain professional assistance early in the process. The resource for keeping your credentials and the ability to practice in Texas is a dedicated, knowledgeable team that is well-versed in how the BON handles nurses arrested for practice-related and non-practice-related incidents. With the Lento Law Firm, nurses can keep their focus on patient care while a successful defense is built for them.
Protect Your Nursing Practice With the Lento Law Firm
Texas nurses face significant and potentially career-ending implications when arrested, regardless of whether the incident is practice-related or not. Arrests directly related to nursing duties—such as drug diversion, practicing under the influence, patient abuse, or fraud—are viewed as threats to patient safety and professional integrity by the BON. Arrests trigger swift disciplinary actions, and even if the board allows a nurse to keep their license, it's at the cost of stringent probation measures that can tarnish a professional reputation moving forward.
The Lento Law Firm is well-known from West Texas to the Piney Woods and the Panhandle to the Gulf Coast, helping nurses continue rendering life-affirming and life-saving care. Our Professional License Defense Team understands the complexities of arrests and subsequent criminal changes on medical professionals, such as the difference between practice-related and non-practice-related crimes, how the BON disciplines licensees, and how to petition for reinstatement.
Regardless of the situation surrounding an arrest, we begin by building a strategy to mitigate the effects on the authority to practice. Our team will look to negotiate with the BON and emphasize reconstructive measures taken to address practice concerns to protect good standing. To start your road toward clearing your name, call the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team at 888-535-3686 today or fill out our consultation form, and we will contact you.
