Mississippi Nurse Practitioners are a critical link in the state's health care system. The health outcomes of many Mississippians are determined in large part by the quality of care provided by the state's nurses. Knowing this, the Mississippi legislature created the Mississippi Board of Nursing to perform oversight of the profession. The Board manages several key aspects of the profession, from licensing nurse practitioners to investigating them for misconduct.
Are you a Mississippi nurse practitioner being investigated by the state Board of Nursing? They have a broad range of disciplinary powers, including public sanctions, suspensions, and even license revocation. Being subject to Board discipline is a red letter that will follow you throughout your career. That's why it's essential to defend yourself against any investigation. Call the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team at 888-535-3686 or contact us online immediately.
Do Not Delay in Defending Yourself from Board Investigations
The Mississippi Board of Nursing is a public health agency, and the Board's primary mission is to enforce the terms of the Mississippi Nurse Practice Act. They exist to protect the state's medical patients, not its Nurse Practitioners. The Board will not hesitate to sanction you if they have reason to believe you violated the Mississippi Nurse Practice Act. That means it's up to you to prove to them that you're not a risk if you're being investigated.
From the Board's perspective, it is preferable to err on the side of caution by removing a potentially dangerous nurse than it is to give you the benefit of the doubt and allow you to keep practicing. Because of this, it's not advisable to sit back and wait for an investigation to take its course. Do not make the mistake of assuming that Board investigators will clear you because you genuinely believe in your innocence.
Board investigators are bureaucrats, and more importantly, they are people. That means they can make mistakes, and your career will suffer if the Board makes a mistake while investigating an allegation against you. With that in mind, getting our Professional License Defense Team involved in your case as early as possible is one of the best proactive steps you can take to defend your due process rights and the license you worked a lifetime to attain.
Anyone Can Report You To the Board For Misconduct
The Board of Nursing does not function like the police or patrol the state's hospitals and medical facilities to sniff out misconduct. Instead, the Board relies on a reporting system that allows anyone in Mississippi to contact the Board and make allegations of misconduct. What that means for you as a Nurse Practitioner is that anyone you encounter on the job can report you for misconduct.
Examples of people who may file a complaint or make an allegation against you include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Current patients
- Former patients
- Doctors
- Nurses
- Insurance company representatives
- Family members of current or former patients
- Hospital staff
It's a long list, and the Board is required to take any allegation of misconduct seriously. Once an allegation is made, the Board is legally obligated to vet the complaint, investigate it, and sanction your license if necessary. It's an unfortunate reality, but a simple misunderstanding, a bad day on the job, or an adverse outcome of patient care can result in you being investigated and your license being placed in jeopardy.
What Types of Misconduct Can the Board of Nursing Investigate?
Nurse practitioners are trusted and have great responsibility in the discharge of their everyday duties, which is why the Mississippi Nurse Practice Act includes several potential violations that can result in sanctions or official discipline. Examples of those violations include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Incompetence- You could be charged with incompetence if the Board believes you have committed an egregious error that is born out of negligence or a gross lack of attention to your duties. An example of this would be failing to read a patient's charts before administering medication or failing to adhere to an established treatment plan.
- Theft of Medication, Like many medical professionals, Nurse Practitioners have access to a wide range of controlled substances and prescription medications. Removing these controlled substances from the medical facility without permission is strictly prohibited. This offense can also lead to criminal charges.
- Practicing Without a Valid License-Performing the normal duties of a Nurse Practitioner without a valid license is strictly prohibited and can expose you to sanctions regardless of whether the care you provided helped improve the patient's condition.
- Providing False Information to the Board-Concealing information such as criminal convictions, license discipline in other states, or providing erroneous credentials to the board (e.g., phony transcripts) on a license application or renewal application can result in Board sanctions
- Failure to Abide by the Mississippi Nurse Practice Act- Violating any provision of the Nurse Practice Act will also expose you to potential license discipline and sanctions.
- Lack of Fitness- The existence of any emotional, physical, or psychological condition that could reasonably prevent you from discharging your duties effectively or cause you to pose a danger to public health could lead the Board to sanction your license and keep you from practicing until the Board is sufficiently satisfied you have remedied the condition.
- Poor recordkeeping- Maintaining accurate medical records is an essential aspect of providing quality patient care. Failure to keep records and/or update them as needed is grounds for Board Sanctions.
- Addiction- Mississippi Nurse Practitioners are required to maintain high professional standards while on duty and in their private life. Addiction to controlled substances of any kind makes it impossible for Nurse Practitioners to maintain those standards. Accordingly, your license can be suspended if the Board finds conclusive evidence that you are suffering from any kind of addiction.
Mississippi is a Nurse Licensure Compact State
Qualified and licensed nursing professionals are in short supply in almost every state in the country. Accordingly, many states have joined the Nurse Licensure Compact, which
allows Nurse Practitioners who are licensed in other states to practice their profession in participating states. Mississippi joined the Nurse Licensure Compact in July 2001.
That means your Mississippi license authorizes you to practice in other states in addition to allowing licensed Nurse Practitioners from other Nurse Licensure Compact states to practice in Mississippi. However, it also means that a sanction issued against your license by the Mississippi Board of Nursing could prevent you from working in other Nurse Licensure Compact states.
This is another advantage of working with the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team. We offer Nurse Practitioner License defense nationwide, which means we can help you fight for your license against multiple Nursing Boards if necessary. We will do everything we can to help keep your license in unrestricted status and continue doing your life's work.
How the Mississippi Nursing Board's Investigation and Disciplinary Process Works
The Nursing Board can institute disciplinary proceedings by filing a sworn affidavit against the licensee who is named in a misconduct allegation. Once this affidavit is filed, the Executive Director of the Nursing Board will schedule a formal hearing and inform you via certified mail or process server of the hearing date. This notice must give you at least 15 days advance notice of the impending hearing.
The written notice from the Board will also spell out the nature of the allegations against you. You have the right to defend yourself at this hearing, and you should contact the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team as soon as you receive this written notice. The earlier we can begin working on your case, the more likely it is we can mount a successful defense of your license.
The hearing will be administered by a three-person panel comprised of Board of Nursing members who serve on a rotating basis. The board has the power to subpoena any records or witnesses it deems relevant to the proceedings, and all parties must testify under oath.
How The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team Can Help
The Mississippi Nurse Practice Act gives you the right to appear at the hearing and make a case for why you should be able to keep your license. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Team has successfully represented clients at disciplinary hearings all over the country.
When you bring your case to us, our team will gather as much evidence as we can in support of your position and craft the most powerful case possible in your defense. We will address the specific charges in the affidavit and do everything we can to achieve a positive result at the hearing. This is an important opportunity that we will help you make the most of.
We are licensed professionals, and we understand how much work goes into attaining professional licenses. Our team will fight as hard for you to keep your license as you did to earn it, and that's important because the Board is not on your side. They represent the people of Mississippi, but we represent you! You against the Board is not a fair fight. We can help level the playing field.
Hearing Results and Appeals
If the hearing panel decides that you did not violate the Nurse Practice Act, they will dismiss the case against you and take no further action. If, on the other hand, they decide the evidence supports the allegation and you did commit a violation, they can suspend or revoke your Nurse Practitioner license. One thing to keep in mind is that the hearing panel does not need evidence of malice or intent to find you guilty of the allegation.
If your license is suspended or revoked, you will be ineligible to practice for at least one year before you can apply to have your license reinstated. However, you do have other options for appeal. You can appeal an adverse decision to the Executive Director of the Nursing Board by filing a written notice and posting a $50 administrative fee within 30 days of the hearing board's final decision.
If the Executive Director rejects your appeal, you also have the right to appeal your case directly to the chancery court that has jurisdiction over the Mississippi county where you reside. This appeal must be filed within 30 days of the Executive Director's ruling, and you must pay a $100 fee to cover court costs. Our team has extensive experience filing successful appeals, and we will make sure to meet the deadline(s).
The Lento Law Firm Team is There When You Need Us
Discovering you are being hauled in front of a Mississippi Board of Nursing disciplinary panel is every Nurse Practitioner's worst nightmare. Although it may feel like a bad dream where you have no control over your circumstances, the truth is you do have options. Your best option is to exercise your right to due process and contest the charges as soon as you find out about the hearing. Don't delay. Every second counts.
The Professional License Defense Team stands ready to fight for your license and your reputation. You worked all your life to get your Nurse Practitioner license. That's why you owe it to yourself to get skilled and experienced legal representation who will fight with you every step of the way. The sooner you call us, the sooner you will have a team on your side.
Never forget that the Board of Nursing is not acting as a neutral party in any disciplinary hearing. They won't serve you with a hearing notice unless they believe you've done something wrong. A misunderstanding or an allegation doesn't have to cost your career, and having quality representation can make a world of difference. Call the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team at 888-535-3686 or contact us online today!
