Pursuing an advanced nursing degree is difficult, competitive, and exhausting. The one thing that gets most students through is knowing that life on the other side will be considerably more comfortable. For example, most Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists in Indiana make around $200,000 a year. However, experienced and kind CRNAs are threatened with serious punishment all the time.
At the Lento Law Firm, our attorneys understand how important it is for CRNAs to protect their license to practice. Not only are they the only nurses qualified to administer anesthesia to patients, but they help to maintain certain checks and balances throughout the patient's procedure to ensure nothing goes wrong. So, when you are falsely accused of misconduct or unprofessionalism, or there's been a mistake of identity, you should not have to defend yourself alone. Our capable attorneys can help.
The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team will review your case, the accusations being made against you, and any other relevant evidence or witness testimony to help you create a strategic defense. The consequences of losing your CRNA license in Indiana can last a lifetime. Call 888-535-3686 today or schedule a consultation online.
Indiana Nursing Board License Proceedings
The Indiana Nursing Board has the right to sanction a CRNA if it believes it has legal grounds to do so. According to Indiana law, if a CRNA fails to meet the standards outlined in the Indiana Code, the Nursing Board can:
- Permanently revoke the CRNA's license.
- Suspend their license.
- Censure their license.
- Create a written reprimand of their license.
- Put the CRNA on probation.
- Serve the CRNA with a civil penalty of about $1,000.
While you may receive a warning for your misconduct at first, you should still take it seriously. Any kind of discipline can follow your nursing record from employer to employer, even state to state. If you are disciplined by the Nursing Board, it can:
- Add to your stress and mental health issues.
- Lower your earning power.
- Squash your dreams for your career.
- Reduce the number of future job opportunities.
- Cause you to get terminated for a mistake or misunderstanding in the future.
It does not matter if you are facing a warning or are having your license revoked permanently; you must work with an attorney to help mitigate the negative consequences you may experience. If you accept a disciplinary determination without fighting, it will affect your professional prospects and personal livelihood for a long time.
The Truth May Not Protect You from License-Related Sanctions in Maine
In our experience, there are many cases where CRNAs have done nothing wrong. Instead, they are being falsely accused out of malicious intent or common misunderstandings. In these cases, many of the CRNAs chose to defend themselves without any help from an attorney, believing that the truth alone would be enough to prove their innocence. Unfortunately, they end up being unsuccessful in their defense and experiencing harsh consequences that would likely have been avoided with an attorney's help.
Moreover, nursing boards make mistakes in their rulings all the time. For instance, they might:
- Fail to perform the necessary due diligence and thus not discover crucial facts, testimony, or evidence that could have changed the case's outcome.
- Have a bias for one party.
- Decide not to consider a particular piece of evidence or testimony during the hearing.
- Reach an unfitting conclusion based on all the information that was available to them.
The Indiana Nursing Board issues disciplinary actions against CRNAs all the time. When you are facing a misconduct allegation, the best thing you can do is hire a competent and competitive attorney. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team is comprised of knowledgeable attorneys who understand exactly what kind of obstacles you are up against. They will work diligently to ensure your nursing board does not let your case fall through the cracks.
Grounds for Sanctions Against CRNAs Practicing in Indiana
The most common reasons a CRNA will be sanctioned in Indiana include:
- Unprofessional conduct. While this term is defined differently from state to state, it typically encompasses things like being consistently late to work, failing to keep your work environment in the operating room sterile, treating patients unkindly, or misusing your seniority to abuse newer personnel.
- Incompetence. This term is also defined differently from state to state and board to board, but it usually includes issues like failing to provide a comprehensive pre-anesthetic evaluation or being unable to conduct post-anesthesia care for patients.
- Misrepresentation or fraud. CRNAs are typically accused of fraud, deception, or misrepresentation if the nursing board receives a complaint that the CRNA did not obtain their license properly or if they provided care to a patient inappropriately.
- Substance abuse. The Indiana Nursing Board will sanction CRNAs if they discover they are either working under the influence of drugs or alcohol or using either substance inappropriately (whether at work or on your personal time).
- Medication concerns. An Indiana CRNA can be disciplined for both under and over-administering anesthesia medications, taking these medications off the premises, or making errors with the medication in some other way.
- Violating rules. If the Nursing Board finds you responsible for violating an employer's rule or a rule specific to CRNAs in the state of Indiana, they will try to sanction your license.
- Criminal convictions. In Indiana, all professional licenses require criminal background checks prior to issuing the license. If you have a prior criminal conviction, it may affect your ability to get or renew your CRNA license. However, the Nursing Board has the discretion to decide if your conviction should prohibit you from getting or keeping your license.
All nurses have a professional responsibility to provide patients with a certain standard of care. And, because of the nature of their work, CRNAs are expected to provide an even higher standard of care. Any mistake or misunderstanding will be viewed under a microscope and could negatively affect your license and, thus, your livelihood.
The Adjudication Process for CRNA Licensing Issues in Indiana
To start the adjudication process for a CRNA license, someone must file a complaint against the CRNA. While complaints can be made for a number of reasons, they usually arise from issues surrounding:
- Your CRNA license application, including you presented your qualifications and background.
- How you interact with patients, colleagues, and superiors.
- Your conduct outside of your work environment.
- Your nursing history in Indiana and other states.
- Other issues that relate to your nursing career.
The individual making the complaint (“complainant”) must send it to the Indiana Nursing Board, either by mail or through the Attorney General's online form. The complaint must include the following:
- The alleged conduct the CRNA committed.
- The standards of practice the CRNA has supposedly violated unless it is a complaint for summer suspension.
Once the Indiana Nursing Board has received the complaint, they will likely begin a preliminary investigation into the matter. During this time, they usually reach out to the complainant or the accused CRNA and discuss the allegations. They might also try to vet the alleged facts from the complaint to establish whether the complaint has any merit to continue.
Once they have made their decision, the complaint will either go to a disciplinary hearing before the Nursing Board or an administrative law judge the board has appointed. Administrative law judges are individuals or a panel of individuals that oversee the administrative proceeding, review the evidence, hear the parties' arguments, and determine if the CRNA is responsible for the accused misconduct.
There are instances where, prior to the disciplinary hearing, the parties will decide to pursue a settlement agreement. If the case is resolved with such an agreement, there will be no evidentiary hearing. However, if there is an evidentiary hearing and the Nursing Board or the administrative law judge decides, based on the facts presented, that the CRNA is responsible, they will also determine which disciplinary sanctions are appropriate to impose on the CRNA's license.
Sanctions in Indiana can include anything from:
- Revocation – which would prevent the CRNA from practicing and prohibit them from applying for a new license for seven years.
- Suspension – prevents the CRNA from practicing during the suspension period. Usually, the board sets a minimum amount of time for a suspension. Once that minimum is met, the CRNA can apply for reinstatement of their suspended license. If the license is reinstated, the CRNA will likely be placed on probation for a period of time.
- Probation – CRNAs can continue to work during probation, but they will be subject to certain restrictions (like the hours they can work, which patients they can oversee, and whether they need to check in with their superiors).
- Censure or reprimand – an official record that states that the CRNA has been disciplined. It does not affect the status of the CRNA's license, but it can be combined with other sanctions.
Further, the Indiana Nursing Board also has the right to impose a fine of up to $1,000 on each violation a CRNA is found responsible for unless the CRNA is also found incompetent because of a physical or mental disability.
Summary Suspension Process
If the original complaint is for summary suspension (or an emergency suspension), it does not follow the same procedures as above. Typically, the complaint will only include the claim that the CRNA represents a clear and immediate danger to public health and safety and any relevant facts associated with the incident.
Once this complaint is received, the Indiana Nursing Board will review it and conclude whether the CRNA presents a clear and immediate danger to public health and safety if they are allowed to continue practicing. When the CRNA falls within this classification, the board can issue a 90-day suspension of their license.
It is important to remember that after the nursing board or the administrative law judge delivers their decision, you have the right to appeal it. While the exact appeals process is not listed online, the Indiana Administrative Procedures Act likely oversees the nursing board's appeals process.
To pursue an appeal, you usually need to submit a petition for appeal to the Office of Administrative Law Proceedings (OALP). The OALP will review the appeal and assign an administrative law judge to oversee it. The administrative law judge's decision must be delivered within 90 days.
You have the right to file an objection to the administrative law judge's decision. The Indiana Nursing Board will then review it and either affirm, modify, or dissolve it. Whatever decision they make, it must be done within 60 days of receiving the objection.
We Serve Indiana CRNAs Employed by Medical Providers Throughout Indiana
Any disciplinary action on your CRNA license can negatively impact your entire life. To ensure CRNAs aren't being taken advantage of by the nursing board, our attorneys serve nurses employed through the state of Indiana, including:
- Indiana University Health University Hospital (Indianapolis)
- Ascension St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital
- Parkview Regional Medical Center (Fort Wayne)
- Deaconess Midtown Hospital (Evansville)
- Memorial Hospital of South Bend
This list, of course, is just an example of the facilities we are familiar with. If your employer is not listed above, we can still help.
Call the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team Today to Discuss How We Can Prevent Your CRNA License Sanctions in Indiana
When you are accused of misconduct by the Indiana Nursing Board, it can be incredibly overwhelming. You may not know how to defend yourself or even where to start. Moreover, if you decide to defend yourself and are unsuccessful, your license can be revoked or suspended. Revoked or suspended licenses will prevent you from working as a CRNA, which can cause employers to let you go, which may force you to relocate, take a different job, or even go back to school for a different degree. All of which takes time and money that you may not have.
This is where the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team comes in. They will review the allegations made against you and begin identifying relevant evidence and witness testimony to support your argument at the hearing. Their competitive attitude and fighting spirit, as well as their sophisticated legal knowledge and experience, will surely get you the best possible result for your case. Call the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or schedule a consultation online.
