The Lento Law Firm Defends Idaho LPNs
Idaho Board of Nursing disciplinary charges against your LPN license carry grave risks to your nursing employment and career. The Idaho Board of Nursing's stated mission is to “protect the public, health, safety, and welfare by regulating the licensure of nurses [and] the practice of nurses” in the state. Don't doubt the commitment of Idaho Board of Nursing disciplinary officials to pursue their charges against you. The Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team is available to help you defend your Idaho Board of Nursing disciplinary charges. Protect and preserve your valuable Idaho LPN license and practice. Call 888.535.3686 or chat with us now.
Idaho LPN Practice Rewards
You doubtless expect your Idaho LPN practice to gain you substantial rewards financially, personally, and professionally. You may already enjoy those rewards in practicing as an LPN in Boise City, Meridian, Nampa, Idaho Falls, Caldwell, Montpelier, Coeur d'Alene, Twin Falls, or another beautiful Idaho city, town, or region. You may also work for one of the many sophisticated healthcare entities retaining LPNs on beneficial terms for Idaho practice, including St. Luke's Health System, St. Alphonsus Health System, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Intermountain Health, Encompass Health, GHR Healthcare, Aya Healthcare, West Valley Medical Center, or St. Joseph Regional Medical Center. You are not the only one who can reap the rewards of your LPN practice in Idaho. Your patients, employer, colleagues, and family members also benefit from your LPN practice. Think of all those benefits when deciding how to address your Idaho Board of Nursing LPN disciplinary charges. Let us help you defend and defeat those charges.
Nationwide Stakes to Idaho LPN Discipline
The Idaho Board of Nursing is one of the many state nursing boards authorized by state legislation to participate in the Nurse Licensure Compact. Compact states offer licensing reciprocity by endorsement, saving you from having to repeat the education, certification, and examination requirements when moving from state to state. Your Idaho LPN license can get you an LPN license in nearly every other U.S. state. However, if you lose your Idaho LPN license due to misconduct charges, you will lose the opportunity to gain an LPN license in another state. You may also lose LPN licenses or other healthcare licenses you already hold in other states.
Idaho LPN Licensure
Idaho's legislature enacted the state's Nurse Practice Act to establish a comprehensive regulatory scheme governing nursing practice in the state. The first provision of the Idaho Nurse Practice Act, codified in Idaho Statutes Section 54-1401, expressly requires that you obtain and hold a current LPN license or other nursing license from the Idaho Board of Nursing if intending to practice nursing in the state. Idaho Statutes Section 54-1414 reiterates that practicing nursing in the state without an Idaho Board of Nursing license is unlawful, punishable as a criminal misdemeanor with a fine of up to $300 and up to six months in jail for each offense. You won't practice nursing in Idaho without keeping your LPN license current, both because your nursing employer won't let you and because you'll face fines and jail for doing so. Instead, let us help you defend your Idaho Board of Nursing LPN license.
Idaho LPN Qualifications
Idaho Statutes Section 54-1407 lists the strict qualifications requirements you met in Idaho or your other reciprocating state of first LPN licensure. Those qualifications included graduation from an accredited LPN program, taking years of study, and many thousands of dollars of tuition and other expenses. They also included passing the NCLEX LPN exam or an equivalent exam and proving your good moral character and capability to practice nursing. Don't overlook the very substantial investment you made in your LPN education, nursing exam, and nursing practice, when deciding how to treat your Idaho Board of Nursing misconduct charges. Treat those charges most seriously. Retain our highly skilled attorneys to help you defend and defeat those charges.
Idaho LPN Disciplinary Authority
While the above authority empowers the Idaho Board of Nursing to license you for LPN practice in the state, other authority empowers the Board to investigate your LPN practice and discipline your LPN license. Idaho Statutes Section 54-1413 expressly authorizes the Board of Nursing to discipline your license right up to suspension or revocation if your substandard nursing practice and patient, colleague, employer, or other complaints against you give the Board of Nursing the factual and legal grounds to do so. The Board of Nursing works closely with the Idaho Department of Inspections, Appeals, & Licensing staff, and the Department's Division of Occupational & Professional Licenses, to pursue those investigations and their disciplinary proceedings. The Board of Nursing and Department of Inspections have plenty of state resources and experienced staff members to pursue your LPN license misconduct charges. Don't underestimate the state's resources against you. Instead, let us help you level the playing field with our attorneys' own skills and experience.
Idaho LPN Disciplinary Decisions
As part of the Nurse Licensure Compact, the Idaho Board of Nursing posts its final orders of discipline to the national Nursys database, where anyone can look up your discipline at any time. You won't be able to hide your discipline from your employer, other licensing boards from which you hold an LPN license or other healthcare license, or your colleagues, friends, or family members. Even if you could hide your discipline, you generally would have duties to report your discipline to other licensing boards on your renewal applications and to your nursing employer as a condition of your employment. You generally cannot run and cannot hide from discipline. Instead, your far better course is to treat your Idaho Board of Nursing charges responsibly by retaining our highly skilled attorneys for effective defense.
Idaho LPN Disciplinary Sanctions
Idaho Statutes Section 54-1413 authorizes a wider range of sanctions against your LPN license than you may expect. The statute gives the Board of Nursing the authority “to refuse to issue, renew or reinstate” your LPN license, to “revoke, suspend, place on probation, reprimand, limit, restrict, [or] condition” your LPN license, and even to “take other disciplinary action against the licensee as it deems proper.” While this Board of Nursing's authority to discipline your LPN license pretty much as the Board sees fit may appear daunting, the Board's sanctions discretion also gives our attorneys the opportunity to advocate for your remedial relief instead of harsh punitive sanctions. Remedial relief, like additional education or training or mental or physical exam and treatment, may not only be things you can complete readily before a sanctions hearing or other determination. They may also be actions you can take to avoid any discipline and, therefore, to preserve your employment. Let us help present a case in the mitigation of sanctions.
Idaho LPN License Reinstatement
Idaho Statutes Section 54.1411 authorizes the Idaho Board of Nursing to reinstate your LPN license after suspension or revocation. The statute expressly requires you to make a written application with supporting documentation. The statute also implies that your reinstatement is not automatic but is instead discretionary with Board officials, who may hold hearings or require you to make other showings and may also impose conditions on your reinstatement. If you have already lost your Idaho LPN license, let us help you make a convincing application for its reinstatement. We can also appear at the reinstatement hearing on your behalf and otherwise provide the appropriate documentation, while crafting attractive terms that the Board of Nursing will accept and that you can complete without undue burden.
Grounds for Idaho LPN Discipline
Idaho Statutes Section 54.1413 states the many grounds on which the Board of Nursing may discipline your LPN license. Those grounds are numerous and broad enough to give the disciplinary officials substantial discretion in how to charge and what to charge in order to suspend or revoke your license. Below are some of the more common grounds on which the Idaho Board of Nursing may charge its LPN licensees and how we may be able to defend you against those charges.
Credential Fraud as Ground for Idaho LPN Discipline
Idaho Statutes Section 54.1413 includes that the LPN “made a false, fraudulent, or forged statement or representation in procuring or attempting to procure a license” as grounds for discipline. Credential fraud examples include using an impersonator to take the NCLEX exam or otherwise cheating on the exam, lying about your LPN education or degree on your LPN application, or concealing criminal convictions on your original or renewal application. We may be able to defend those charges by showing that your representations were all accurate, any omissions were accidental and immaterial, and you did not cheat or use an impersonator when passing the licensing exam.
Incompetence as Ground for Idaho LPN Discipline
Idaho Statutes Section 54.1413 includes that the LPN “is or has been grossly negligent or reckless in performing nursing functions” as grounds for discipline. Examples of incompetence include not following physician orders for bedrails or medications, administering medications in improper doses, or using injurious methods for turning, lifting, or moving patients. We may be able to defend those charges by showing that your actions met all nursing standards, that others were responsible for the errors or omissions, or that you followed your supervisor's reasonable instructions.
Substance Abuse as Ground for Idaho LPN Discipline
Idaho Statutes Section 54.1413 includes that the LPN “habitually uses alcoholic beverages or drugs” as a ground for discipline. We may be able to defend those charges by showing that the complainant misidentified you, that the complainant misconstrued your demeanor as if intoxicated or impaired, or that you had a prescription medication reaction or have corrected your substance issue. Beware offers of the state's drug diversion program. You may suffer discipline for program non-compliance even if you have addressed your substance issues.
Unfitness as Ground for Idaho LPN Discipline
Idaho Statutes Section 54.1413 includes the fact that the LPN is “physically or mentally unfit to practice nursing” as grounds for discipline. Examples include back conditions preventing safe lifting or mental conditions producing forgetfulness or inattention. We may be able to defend those charges by showing that you are physically and mentally fit, that your condition was temporary and corrected, or that your employer owes you an ADA accommodation.
Idaho LPN Disciplinary Procedures
Idaho state disciplinary officials owe you constitutional due process when pursuing charges that may result in the suspension or revocation of your LPN license. The Idaho Board of Nursing indicates on its website that it follows the state attorney general's rules of administrative procedure for contested disciplinary cases. Those rules satisfy the contours of constitutional due process by guaranteeing that you have fair notice of the misconduct charges and a hearing before an impartial administrative law judge. We can help you invoke those procedures, appearing at the hearing on your behalf to cross-examine adverse witnesses while presenting your own exonerating and mitigating evidence. We can also take appeals and seek court review and reversal if you have already lost your formal hearing.
Premier Idaho LPN Defense Services
The Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team is available across Idaho, including in Boise City, Meridian, Nampa, Idaho Falls, Caldwell, Montpelier, Coeur d'Alene, Twin Falls, and other cities and towns, to defend your LPN license against Idaho Board of Nursing disciplinary charges. We effectively defend hundreds of nurses and other professionals in Idaho and across the nation in license proceedings. Call 888.535.3686 or chat with us now.
