Everyone deserves to present their side of the story when accused of career-threatening misconduct. Unfortunately, many nurse practitioners struggle during the disciplinary process due to the stress and hardships that accusations can bring. If you are a nurse practitioner in Oklahoma facing disciplinary charges, you need to take immediate action to protect your reputation and limit restrictions on your ability to care for patients.
The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team knows how hard you worked to become a nurse practitioner. We want to help you keep your license and let you relax as we shoulder the burden of negotiating with the Oklahoma Board of Nursing. Call us today at 888-535-3686 or fill out our online form to schedule a consultation.
Nurse Practitioner License Discipline in Oklahoma
The Oklahoma Board of Nursing oversees all nurses in the state, including advanced practice nurses like certified nurse practitioners. Its job is to protect the public from harm by regulating nurses and ensuring that anyone practicing in the state is competent enough to care for patients safely. To meet this goal, the Board can sanction nurse practitioner licenses for a variety of reasons as outlined in the Nursing Practice Act, including:
- Licensing Deceit: Lying or misrepresenting any information related to your background as you apply for a license or certification
- Criminal Convictions: Any felony or offense that is closely related to your professional responsibilities as a nurse practitioner, such as fraud, dishonesty, or sexual assault
- Inadequate Patient Care: Failing to provide patients adequate care or not meeting the standards set by the Board of Nursing
- Substance Abuse: Alcohol or drug use that the Board determines endangers patients or the public
- Impairment: An inability to safely perform your duties due to impairments, whether resulting from illnesses, psychological conditions, substance abuse, or aging
- Mental Incompetence: An official adjudication of mental incompetence or chemical dependency by a court that indicates a potential danger to the public
- Unprofessional Conduct: Any conduct that breaks nursing rules and regulations as set by the Board of Nursing
- Endangering Patient Safety: Acts that place a patient's safety, health, or life at risk
- Previous Disciplinary Action: Disciplinary action from another licensing board or Board of Nursing in another state or jurisdiction
- Peer Assistance Program: Termination or defaulting from Oklahoma's alternative to discipline program for nurse practitioners dealing with substance abuse issues
- Sexual Misconduct: Sexual misconduct as defined by the Board with a current or former patient
The Board does not intend to be overly punitive, but its purpose in protecting the public supersedes your interests and desires to continue your career. The Board can take drastic action if it deems your actions risky to the public or patients under your care. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team is here to help protect your license and reputation when the Board takes disciplinary action against you.
Potential Consequences When the Board of Nursing Disciplines Nurse Practitioners
There is no one-size-fits-all punishment for misconduct. Honest mistakes or gaps in knowledge that result in violations may not even lead to disciplinary action. However, the Board of Nursing has broad power to discipline nurse practitioners in ways that affect them for years to come, including:
- License Suspension: Temporary suspensions following disciplinary hearings or during the investigatory process
- License Revocations: Permanent removals of a nurse practitioner's license that disallows them from working within Oklahoma
- Probation: Specific restrictions or conditions a nurse practitioner must follow to keep their license
- Fines: Limited financial penalties for each instance of misconduct
- Mandatory Education and Remediation: Mandatory training to address specific shortcomings in a nurse practitioner's skills or knowledge
- Restrictions on Practice: Limitations on a nurse practitioner's scope of practice
In most cases, license sanctions permanently remain on your license. Even if the immediate discipline is minor, you may face hardships as you seek employment or attempt to build up your reputation in the field. The only way to prevent someone from easily accessing the history of sanctions on your license is to prevent the Board of Nursing from sanctioning your license in the first place. As soon as you are aware of investigations into your conduct that can affect your future as a nurse practitioner, contact the Lento Law Firm to get started on your defense and negotiate with the Board for the best outcome possible.
Complaints Against Nurse Practitioners in Oklahoma
The Oklahoma Board of Nursing allows anyone, even completely anonymous individuals, the ability to file a complaint against a nurse practitioner through an online system. This ease of access increases the likelihood of complaints, both legitimate and frivolous. Even if you are confident that you followed the rules, you should never sit back and relax as the process plays out, hoping for the truth to prevail. Instead, contact the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team and take proactive measures to protect your reputation and license.
Initial Review and Investigation
Once someone files a complaint against you, the Oklahoma Board of Nursing's Investigative Division takes over. They investigate all allegations of violations of the Nursing Practice Act, no matter how small. However, they follow a priority system, meaning minor violations may be set aside as they focus on more egregious misconduct allegations. As a result, a year-old complaint can blindside you when it finally results in an investigation into your conduct.
The Nurse Investigators will make an initial determination regarding their jurisdiction over the investigation. If a complaint does not allege any misconduct defined by the Board and state nursing laws, they cannot proceed with an investigation. Frivolous complaints can still slip through the cracks, but this approach means that you won't be under investigation simply because a former patient found your tone rude or dismissive.
If the Investigative Division proceeds with an investigation, it will gather evidence through interviews, inquiries with your employer, and further investigation into your disciplinary past. During this process, it will likely send you your first notice of the complaint, and the information you provide will form part of its evidence. You have the right to legal representation during investigations, responses to the Board, and hearings. When investigators inform you of an existing complaint, contact the Lento Law Firm and let us communicate with investigators on your behalf.
Results of an Investigation
The outcomes of your investigation will vary depending on your response to investigators, the facts of the case, your legal representation, and the severity of the allegations in the complaint. Some of the possible outcomes include:
- No Action Required: If investigators find no evidence of a violation of the Nursing Practice Act or related Board regulations, they will close your case without any further disciplinary action. You will face no restrictions on your practice, and no public license sanctions will be available for others to find.
- Informal Actions: When your case involves minor violations not warranting severe disciplinary, the Board may choose to resolve the issue informally. This typically includes a warning letter or a notice about behavior that the public can misconstrue as a violation. Informal actions are confidential, meaning they are known to the Board but not the public.
- Consent Agreements: Before any formal hearings, you and your attorney can work with the Board to find an agreement that both sides are happy with. Consent agreements often result in public disciplinary action that is less severe than you would receive should you continue to proclaim innocence or fight with the Board. Attorneys are monumentally helpful during this negotiation phase, as most cases end with voluntary agreements instead of formal hearings. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team has represented countless nurse practitioners before licensing boards while negotiating favorable terms.
- Formal Disciplinary Actions: If you cannot reach an agreement with the Board, Nurse Investigators will present evidence during Board Hearings that detail your violations of the Nursing Practice Act. You have the opportunity to present evidence and work with an attorney to defend yourself.
Don't assume that your investigation will find the truth if someone falsely accuses you of misconduct. Whenever a complaint threatens your license, contact the Lento Law Firm to get help defending yourself from accusations.
Appealing Disciplinary Action
If you are a nurse practitioner currently facing sanctions on your license after disciplinary proceedings, you can appeal if you act quickly. Appealing is only possible within ten days of the Board of Nursing's order and only for specific reasons. These reasons include:
- New relevant evidence
- The need for additional evidence to accurately describe the facts of the case
- Errors in the disciplinary process
- The Board failed to consider certain information needed for a proper case resolution
We know how incredibly tough it can be to deal with the immediate impact of license sanctions. The last thing you want to do is start building a new defense and try to win on appeal without properly understanding the appeals process. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team has many years of experience assisting Oklahoma nurse practitioners in appealing Board action and getting back to work. If you need legal representation following an adverse Board action, contact us as soon as possible for the best chance of winning on appeal.
Oklahoma's Peer Assistance Program
The Oklahoma Board of Nursing offers an alternative to discipline program known as the Peer Assistance Program for addressing substance abuse issues. This program provides structured monitoring and allows nurse practitioners to receive treatment and eventually return to their careers without limitations. While nurse practitioners can enter this program voluntarily, the Board of Nursing may also direct someone to apply to the program during misconduct investigations.
Anyone not in the program voluntarily still faces disciplinary risks to their license. As part of an order directing a nurse practitioner to apply, the Board will include license restrictions and future disciplinary action if they fail to enter or complete the program. In addition, this program does not eliminate the potential for separate disciplinary action if the underlying misconduct did not result from substance abuse.
The Peer Assistance Program's goal is to treat substance abuse and help nurse practitioners in Oklahoma continue to provide high-quality patient care. If you are ordered to enter this program, you should make adhering to all license restrictions a top priority. Successfully completing the program means that all information related to your enrollment is confidential and not part of public license information tied to your name. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team can assist Oklahoma nurse practitioners as they go through this program or as they negotiate with the Board during disciplinary proceedings.
The Lento Law Firm Helps Nurse Practitioners Across Oklahoma
If you are a nurse practitioner in Oklahoma facing license sanctions or dealing with an investigation, our Professional License Defense Team can help. We have assisted nurse practitioners employed by some of the largest healthcare providers in the state, including:
- Saint Francis Hospital – Tulsa
- OU Health University of Oklahoma Medical Center – Oklahoma City
- SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital – Oklahoma City
- Ascension St. John Medical Center – Tulsa
- Norman Regional Hospital – Norman
- Ascension St. John – Broken Arrow
- Mercy Hospital – Oklahoma City
- Comanche County Memorial Hospital – Lawton
- St. Mary's Regional Medical Center – Enid
- Stillwater Medical Center - Stillwater
The Lento Law Firm will do everything possible to limit the sanctions on your license and help you continue providing care to patients all across Oklahoma. Contact our Professional License Defense Team whenever investigators inform you that you have a pending complaint that threatens your license.
Contact the Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm Today
Facing scrutiny about your professional conduct is always daunting, especially when so much is on the line. Nurse practitioners in Oklahoma should never try to represent themselves before the Board of Nursing when one simple decision can immediately result in the suspension or revocation of their hard-earned license.
The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team is dedicated to helping hardworking professionals protect their licenses from sanctions that threaten their careers. Contact us today at (888) 535-3686 or fill out our confidential online form to schedule a consultation and learn how we can protect your future.
