Las Vegas Valley is the name given to the three largest incorporated cities in Nevada: Las Vegas, Henderson, and North Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Valley is also home to the following towns: Paradise, Spring Valley, Sunrise Manor, Enterprise, Winchester, and Whitney. Boulder City, Nellis Air Force Base, and Pahrump are also in its boundaries. The Las Vegas Valley areas are contained in Clark County and Nye County.
The largest healthcare system in the Las Vegas Valley is The Valley Health System, which has six acute hospitals, seven freestanding emergency departments, and numerous primary and specialty care facilities. The outstanding nurses who work in The Valley Health System form a collaborative team dedicated to providing for the health and wellness of their patients.
The largest acute care hospital in Las Vegas, employing hundreds of nurses, is Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas. It is also a Level II Trauma Center. A level I trauma center in Las Vegas is the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, affiliated with the School of Medicine at the University of Nevada. A well-known surgical care center located in Henderson is the St. Rose Dominican Hospital.
Nurses are caring professionals who face real challenges, such as long working hours, staff shortages, pathogen exposure, and psychological burnout. As a nurse, you may be asked to do more on your job with less support, and you may even face threats to your professional license. You have spent years of training to become a licensed nurse. You met all the requirements of the Nevada State Board of Nursing and the Nevada Nurse Practice Act to work as a nurse, and your professional license is the key to your livelihood.
A Nevada license is also complicated by the fact that Nevada is not a Nurse Compact State, which means that a Nevada nursing license does not have reciprocity for practice within any other state.
If you face any allegations of professional or personal misconduct that threaten your hard-earned professional license in the Las Vegas Valley, the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team is here to help you. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team has extensive experience in the license defense of nurses throughout the country and throughout the state of Nevada. Contact the Lento Law Firm at (888) 535-3686 or use our online form today for your consultation.
What To Know About the Nevada Nurse Practice Act: Personal and Professional Misconduct
The Nevada Nurse Practice Act has a specific section covering the personal or professional misconduct of nurses. All alleged violations of conduct are then investigated and enforced by the Nevada State Board of Nursing.
Possible denial, revocation, or suspension of a nurse's license include some of the following grounds:
- Fraud or deceit in attempting to procure a license
- Conviction for criminal offenses of moral turpitude
- Gross negligence or recklessness in carrying out nursing functions
- Substance abuse or abuse of alcohol; conviction for drug/substance abuse
- Mental incompetence
- Unprofessional conduct in practicing medicine without a license or impersonating an applicant in a license application or exam
- Repeated malpractice claims settled against the licensee
- Abuse of a patient (includes verbal and psychological}
- Falsification of patient records
- Procured, administered, or diverted a controlled substance not approved by the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) or not recommended by the State Board of Pharmacy. Exceptions are made for medical use of Cannabis.
- Disciplinary action in another state that would be a violation in Nevada
- Deceiving, defrauding, or endangering a patient or the general public
- Failure to comply with a regulation, subpoena, or order of the Nevada State Board of Nursing.
Understanding the Nevada State Board of Nursing
The Nevada State Board of Nursing also details the grounds for professional misconduct in its Administrative Code. Unfortunately, some of these grounds for professional misconduct may trigger a complaint against a nurse based on the broad nature of the unprofessional conduct offense. Misunderstandings between co-workers, complaints filed by mentally impaired patients, and even temporary lapses in judgment can lead to severe consequences when it comes to your professional license. The Nevada State Board of Nursing has broad discretion in the investigation and enforcement of its administrative authority. It is focused on protecting the practice of safe nursing for the public, not on protecting your professional nursing license. These are potentially treacherous waters for a nurse being investigated by the Board. If you are facing any allegation of professional misconduct, it is essential to have experienced legal professionals guide you through these rough seas.
Steps in the Disciplinary Process for Nurses in Las Vegas Valley, Nevada
- Filing a Complaint
The Nevada State Board of Nursing takes all complaints filed against a Nevada nurse very seriously and has prepared a Fact Sheet for Consumers in the event of a complaint allegation. Anyone may file a complaint against a nurse, including a member of the general public who is not directly involved in a patient care situation. All complaints must be in writing, alleging a violation of the Nurse Practice Act. These allegations are then reviewed by Board staff members to determine if they are a potential violation of the Nurse Practice Act.
- Investigation by the Board
If the Nevada State Board of Nursing staff determines that there is sufficient basis for an investigation, a formal complaint is opened and assigned to an investigator. The investigator reviews documents, interviews witnesses, and gathers evidence. If there is not sufficient evidence to support a charge, the complaint will be dismissed. If the investigation reveals there is sufficient evidence, the process will move forward.
- Notice of a Complaint
If the Board moves forward with the complaint, the nurse will receive a certified letter from the Board containing all the allegations against them. It also describes their rights, including the opportunity to respond to the allegations and the right to representation by an attorney at any point in the investigation. The notice also informs the nurse about potential outcomes, costs, and the name and telephone number of the investigator assigned to their case. This notice is the first step in the investigation process. It is essential at this point in the investigation process that you contact the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team to review these allegations and go over your best strategies for the next steps to take in defending your license. The first goal is to seek to have all allegations dropped against you.
- Settlement Agreement /Consent Agreement
After discussing all of your options with your Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team, you may decide to work out a settlement agreement known as a Consent Agreement with the Board. Disciplinary action by the Board in a settlement can range from a public reprimand to the voluntary surrender of a professional license, which may include terms for reinstatement of the license. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team will work to ensure the best possible settlement agreement outcome for you. A consent Agreement always involves the acknowledgment of wrongdoing on the part of the nurse as well as mitigating circumstances. The Board will either accept or renegotiate a settlement/consent agreement. The final disciplinary action in either a Consent Agreement or a Formal Hearing will be the publication of the penalty in the list of disciplinary actions taken by the Board to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing and other relevant national databanks, such as the National Practitioner Data Bank, and/or the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank.
- Formal Hearing
If you and your attorneys at the Lento Law Firm decide to contest the allegations against you, then there will be a formal hearing before a State Examiner. This hearing is more like a trial. The Board investigator will present evidence and witnesses, and you will have an opportunity to present your defense evidence with your attorney present. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team will vigorously present your defense so you will reach the best possible outcome at the hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing, the examiner will decide whether the evidence supports the charges. If so, the examiner will make recommendations about disciplinary actions to be taken. If not, the case will be dismissed.
- Possible Disciplinary Outcomes
In the event that disciplinary penalties are recommended after the hearing, there is a wide range of penalties that can be considered based on the unique factors in each individual's case. Factors that are always considered are the severity of the charge, the nurse's past history, the nurse's regret, remorse, or rehabilitation, the ability of the nurse to resume safe nursing practices, how badly the misconduct deviated from standard conduct, and any other mitigating factors in the case.
The mildest end of the penalties is a public reprimand with some fee. Probation of the nurse is the next step, requiring that the nurse be observed and supervised closely for a certain period of time. An escalation in penalty is a license suspension for a certain period of time with exact instructions and requirements for license reinstatement. Any one of these penalties may also require mandated continuing education classes. In the most extreme case, a license will be revoked entirely, especially in the case of repeat or multiple offenses. In that scenario, a nurse can no longer practice in Nevada.
It is possible to file an appeal based on the Board's final decision. This appeal would be filed in the District Court of the relevant Las Vegas Valley county. Appealing the nursing board's decision is not an easy task. You would need to explain why you believe that the disciplinary action taken against you was disproportionate or false. There is a short window of time for any appeal, and consultation with a Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team attorney will help you evaluate all your options for an appeal.
- The Alternative to Discipline Program
Nevada has an Alternative to Discipline Program established for nurses who admit they are suffering from chemical dependency. This program can monitor a nurse's recovery and help them regain employment. A good feature of this program is that it is not publicly reported and is not a disciplinary action against the nurse. There are also downsides to the Alternative to Discipline program, such as the extensive time in rehabilitation and costs associated with the program. Successful completion of the program requires documentation to the Nevada State Board of Nursing of 80 hours of group counseling, 20 hours of individual counseling, 80 hours of didactic work, and attendance at AA / NA meetings every day for 90 days in a row. A monitoring program for the nurse continues for a minimum of five years. You should discuss all the downsides and benefits of this program, if it seems applicable, with the experienced legal professionals at the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team.
Let the Lento Law Firm Help You Today
The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team has years of experience advocating for nurses facing disciplinary charges. The Lento Law Firm Team can help you in every phase of your negotiations with the Nevada State Board of Nursing. You cannot represent your own best interests by yourself in this stressful situation. The Lento Law Firm can act as an intermediary between you and the Board and will work tirelessly to present your case in the best possible light. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team is well acquainted with the issues faced by nurses in the Las Vegas Valley area and will work to help you settle this matter so that you can get back to your daily life and the essential work of professional nursing. Call the Lento Law Firm at 888.535.3686 or contact us online today.
