Maryland LPN License Defense

Maryland's Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) have dedicated years to extensive training, exams, and obtaining the education to practice in their field. Despite their large investments of time and money into their practice and career, all that stands between them and their license status of good standing is a single complaint or allegation of misconduct. Unfortunately, a first-time violation can be a slippery slope that leads to you being unable to keep the license you need to practice in the medical field.

We understand how the daily challenges LPNs face in the workplace can lead to situations leading to disciplinary action. With such an important job providing life-saving care and assistance, it's vital you have the defense necessary to keep your licensure intact. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team recognizes that governing authorities don't always take the time to comprehend a situation fully and may move quickly to impose sanctions that may include the following:

• Remediation and practice restrictions
• Punitive fines and restitution
• License suspension and revocation

Regardless of how LPNs find themselves facing complaint investigations and allegations of misconduct, if they fail to mount a challenge, they may suffer the end of their career. Fortunately, you have a helping hand with the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team to lead negotiations with Maryland licensing and regulatory authorities and ensure your credentials are in the best hands possible. Call us at 888-535-3686 now or submit your details online, and we will contact you.

Maryland State Board of Nursing Licensing Standards

LPNs must be licensed by the Maryland Board of Nursing (MBON), which monitors and disciplines licensees to ensure their fitness and competence in providing healthcare services in Maryland. The MBON also operates the Nurse Practice Act to hold all LPNs accountable to federal standards. Among other qualifications, LPNs are held to a code of conduct that promotes professional standards and patient care as part of their licensing agreement.

Some of the reasons Maryland LPNs may find themselves defending against disciplinary action can be the following:

• Unprofessional conduct: While discretion is left with the MBON, bad patient interactions, chronic tardiness, and failure to maintain a cohesive work environment are a few examples of unprofessional conduct, which can also include engaging in any patient care the licensee isn't qualified to carry out.
• Substance misuse: Licensees can face fierce repercussions for errors in administering medications to patients, handling controlled substances outside of a medical facility, or with the purpose of personal consumption or distribution.
• Sexual misconduct: Sexual misconduct in the practice of nursing constitutes a violation of the nurse-patient relationship, but attempts to engage in such with coworkers are also strictly prohibited.
• Criminal convictions: Many criminal convictions or even nolo contendere pleas can cause issues with LPN licenses. Typically, authorities must determine whether the crime relates directly to an LPN's practice or affects their ability to practice.
• Failing to report violations: Like other licensed professionals, LPNs must report any person they know who is violating Maryland regulatory standards.

Violation of licensure agreements can be wide-ranging, but a majority of allegations will come from the state's complaint system. Anyone may file a complaint—patients, coworkers, members of the public—but unlike in other states, the MBON doesn't accept anonymous complaints. Yet, if allegations involve the misuse or misappropriation of controlled substances, there is a separate process that can help licensees.

MBON Rehabilitation Program

The purpose of the Maryland Board of Nursing Rehabilitation program is to protect the public from unsafe or impaired nursing practices. LPNs with substance use disorder or mental health issues may be considered for participation in a monitoring program as an alternative to discipline and may occur through self-referral. However, licensees are ineligible if they have caused or engaged in a behavior that had the potential to cause patient harm or injury, have been arrested or convicted for diverting controlled substances for distribution, or have been unsuccessfully discharged or expelled from an alternative to discipline program.

LPNs agree to enter a consent agreement with the program for assessment, treatment, and monitoring, including continued therapy and employment restrictions to prevent relapse. In Maryland, consent agreements remain active for five years and may include random drug screens.

Participants demonstrating success and compliance with recovery can have monitoring restrictions gradually relaxed, evolving to the complete restoration of their practice. All program information and records are purged or destroyed two years following the participant's discharge. However, alternatives to discipline are never a guarantee, and LPNs may still face investigations and board hearings.

Maryland LPN Complaint Procedure and Adjudication

When the MBON receives a complaint, it assigns an investigator to the case. Among correspondence with the board investigator, LPNs will also fill out and return the MBON's complaint response form within 15 days of the receipt of the complaint. Licensees must explain the following in as much detail as possible:

• Their recollection of the events leading up to and including the incident that resulted in a complaint.
• The steps the licensee has taken to change or improve their practice since the alleged incident.
• Other information the MBON should consider in making their determination.

Following the investigation, the board reviews the complaint and all other relevant evidence collected, including testimony from the parties involved through investigator interviews. Then, the MBON can move forward in the following ways:

• Dismiss the complaint.
• Remand the licensee with informal disciplinary action.
• Pursue formal disciplinary action.

Informal disciplinary actions are confidential and are not available to the public. However, that doesn't mean they are considered minor, and may include the following:

• Formal letters of reprimand
• Fines and restitution
• Continuing education requirements
• Remediation and restriction of practice

If the board decides the allegations merit urgent action, licensees are sent an Order of Summary Suspension and Notice of Agency Action letter. LPNs can challenge the decision at a show cause hearing and present a case to the board as to why they should lift the summary suspension. The licensee and a state prosecutor are given 10 minutes each for oral arguments. The board may then list the summary suspension or schedule a full hearing to further investigate and adjudicate the allegations.

Hearings will determine whether formal disciplinary action is justified through a change in license status, and LPNs will receive a Notice of Agency Action from the MBON. Licensees wishing to challenge the board's determination can submit a written request for a hearing to the board's director of discipline and compliance within 30 days.

The MBON schedules a settlement conference as an informal fact-finding conference with a board committee. It is an opportunity to resolve a case with stipulation agreements without going to a formal evidentiary hearing. Under Maryland Department of Health rules, a presiding officer will maintain order over an evidentiary hearing who may also be called a reviewer. The presiding officer will establish a schedule for the timeline of proceedings, including guidelines on submitting materials to be heard during the hearing. The presiding officer may also schedule a pre-hearing conference in another attempt to settle matters before proceedings begin.

At the hearing, both parties will convene and have the right to submit testimony, but only in written form, including the same for witnesses. Anyone submitting written testimony must file before the hearing and be available for oral cross-examination. There are no closing arguments, but rebuttals are permitted on any issue specified by the presiding officer, which can be written or oral. Therefore, a final decision is not made until after the presiding officer reviews post-hearing briefs.

Sanctions for LPNs and Compliance

Formal sanctions will include changing the status of an LPN's license. Final actions from the MBON are mailed and can consist of the following punishments:

• Reprimanding the licensee at the board's discretion.
• Placing the licensee on probation.
• Suspending or revoking the licensee's credentials

All sanctions—informal and formal—need to be taken seriously. Discipline, even first-time written reprimands, are part of your license record. While there are processes to purge or expunge various forms of discipline, it's not immediate and may lead to the following:

• Become a basis for future inquiries or disputes with your employer.
• Develop into a barrier keeping you from promotion.
• Weaken your earning power and professional opportunities.
• Increase stress and enhance personal issues.

Maryland, like all other states in the U.S., is a signatory of the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC). The purpose of the NLC is to combine nursing standards and practices across the U.S. so that LPNs and other healthcare professionals can practice in multiple states without needing supplementary licensing. While the NLC is meaningful for LPNs to find work everywhere in the country, it means that any disciplinary action taken on an individual's license in Maryland is available to view in all other states. If an individual's license to practice is suspended or revoked in Maryland, they won't be able to work as an LPN in another NLC-compliant state until their license is permitted to be reinstated.

As a second layer of accountability, employers can also rely on the National Council of State Boards of Nursing's (NCSBN) Nursys database. As a primary source for LPN licensing information, it provides an individual's license status and disciplinary history, meaning employers can make hiring decisions and licensing authorities can call other credentials into question.

There's no way to forecast how sanctions will affect you, even minor ones. Each case before the MBON is different, but you can guarantee that your chances to defend yourself won't improve if you don't retain professional help.

How the Lento Law Firm Can Help Maryland LPNs

LPNs facing administrative sanctions from Maryland state authorities may believe an attorney is too aggressive an option to exercise with the MBON. However, the Lento Law Firm will be a valuable resource for the following reasons:

• Gather evidence and testimony: We conduct our own investigation, and even if you must give a written response, we will help you present it to the board.
• Seek pre-hearing settlements: We will negotiate with any authority to settle your case and explore options outside formal proceedings.
• Guidance and representation: If your case must proceed through traditional channels, we'll be prepared to defend you at every step.
• Initiate further legal steps: All options will be exercised when your LPN license is on the line. If we need to appeal your case to the state superior court, we will.

We are a nationwide team well-known for negotiating with state authorities, professional licensing boards, and their attorneys. While each client has unique circumstances, our firm always pushes for a beneficial resolution.

We Serve Nurses Employed by Medical Providers Throughout Maryland

No matter where you work or your duties as an LPN, action against your license will negatively affect your career. Understand that regardless of the misconduct or complaints alleged against you, we serve all LPNs practicing in Maryland. Our team is particularly familiar with prominent employers in the medical industry, including:

• Johns Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore)
• HealthAmerica (Bethesda)
• Shady Grove Fertility (Rockville)
• National Cancer Institute (Bethesda)
• Doctors Community Medical Center (Lanham)
• Atlantic General Hospital (Berlin)
• Holy Cross Hospital (Silver Spring)
• Chesapeake Urology Associates (Owings Mills)
• Ashley Addiction Treatment (Havre de Grace)
• University of Maryland (Baltimore)
• Maxim Healthcare Services (Columbia)
• Memorial Hospital (Easton)
• Springfield Hospital Center (Sykesville)
• Life Bridge Health (Pikesville)
• Lorien Health Services (Ellicott City)
• University of Maryland Prince George's Hospital Center (Cheverly)
• MedStar Health (Glencoe)
• Northwest Hospital (Randallstown)
• Sinai Hospital (Baltimore)
• Baltimore Washington Medical Center (Glen Burnie)
• Ascension Agnes Hospital (Baltimore)

Those listed above are just a few examples of high-volume employers of LPNs in Maryland. But even if your employer is not on the list, we can still bring you valuable assistance with guidance and full representation through the disciplinary process.

Contact the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team

Defending your Maryland LPN license is a priority. Before you can plan on how to respond to complaints and allegations, our team is ready to start on your case today.

Don't settle for local lawyers who advertise shock-and-awe tactics to defend your credentials; trust the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team. Call our team at 888-535-3686 today to learn how we will defend your Maryland LPN license, or visit us online.