Pennsylvania's Certified Registered Nurse Practitioners (CRNPs) must adhere to strict standards on and off the job. Nurse practitioners suspected of failing to meet these standards can be investigated and disciplined by the State Board of Nursing, a division of the Bureau of Professional Occupations and Affairs (BPOA). Board discipline can range from public sanctions to license revocation, but nurses also have the right to defend their reputation and license status.
If you are a Pennsylvania CRNP facing investigation or disciplinary actions from the Board, you must act decisively. The Board has the authority to suspend, or even revoke your license, which would prevent you from doing your life's work. The Professional License Defense Team at the LLF Law Firm has been successfully defending the rights of CRNPs for years. Call us today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online today.
Pennsylvania is a Nurse Compact State
The Professional License Defense Team at the LLF Law Firm understands the importance of maintaining your license in good standing. You worked all your life to obtain your license, and any disciplinary action against your license will permanently harm your professional reputation. Pennsylvania is part of the Interstate Nurse Licensure Compact, which allows you to practice in other states. However, that means Pennsylvania shares license discipline information with other compact states as well.
That means having your license suspended or revoked by the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing means you can't practice in any other nurse compact state for the duration of the suspension, or permanently if your license was revoked. However, the Board is not infallible, and it's quite possible for a misunderstanding or personal conflict to lead to misconduct allegations, investigations, and sanctions.
Your career hangs in the balance with any investigation, regardless of how much you may disagree with the original allegation. That's why it's important to have an experienced team of legal professionals who will passionately and skillfully defend your license. You have the right to professional license defense, but you deserve a team that cares as much about your license as you do. That's the Professional License Defense Team at the LLF Law Firm.
How Pennsylvania's CRNP Disciplinary Process Works
The Board is responsible for investigating and adjudicating allegations of misconduct by CRNPs. They can initiate an investigation independently, but often, they begin investigations after receiving a complaint. It's important to understand that any member of the public or the staff where you work can file a complaint. Examples of the people who may file a complaint against you include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Former patients
- Current patients
- Family of current or former patients
- Current or former co-workers
- Insurance companies
Complaints and Investigations
Once it receives a complaint, the Board will evaluate its merits and, if necessary, pass it on to the Bureau of Enforcement and Investigations (BEI), which will assign an investigator (or team of investigators) to the case. The BEI investigation can involve any number of measures, including interviews with you and your colleagues, document review and auditing, or subpoenas for records. You may also be required to answer questions in writing.
The BEI will forward the results of their investigation to the Board, and if the results show enough evidence to believe misconduct occurred, they will move the case to the next level. Depending on the nature of the complaint and how serious it is, the Board may seek to negotiate a consent agreement as an alternative to a formal hearing.
Consent Agreements
A consent agreement is akin to a plea agreement where you admit to some element of misconduct in exchange for a reduced penalty (or penalties) that are negotiated between you, your counsel, and the Board. It is important to understand that all consent agreements are not created equally. The Professional License Defense Team at the LLF Law firm has experience negotiating consent agreements, and we will fight to get you the best deal possible.
Our goal in any consent agreement negotiation is to create a situation where you can eventually return to work. However, sometimes, the Board is unreasonable in their demands or insists on a punishment that does not fit the crime. Our Professional License Defense Team is here to look out for your interests first. If we can't reach a reasonable consent agreement, the case will move forward to a formal Board hearing.
Formal Hearing
In cases where the Board believes that a consent decree of any kind is not sufficient punishment or can't reach an agreement, there will be a formal hearing. These hearings work something like a trial. The evidence of your misconduct will be entered, and then our Professional License Defense Team will challenge the state's evidence and enter evidence in your favor. However, the jury in this case will be Board appointees.
Their primary function will be to render the verdict they believe best protects the public, and that is why it's critically important to have quality representation at formal hearings. We can help you demonstrate to the Board that you deserve to keep your license, and more importantly, we have experience successfully defending clients at formal hearings.
You must understand the formal hearing process is not designed to be impartial and neutral. The playing field is not level, and it is you who will suffer the most if you lose. That is how serious it is. The quality of your license defense team is your most effective weapon against Board discipline in a formal hearing. Facing a formal hearing by yourself is not likely to yield a positive result.
How Can Professional License Defense Help?
There is due process in Pennsylvania's CRNP disciplinary procedure, but that does not mean the process is neutral. You don't have the presumption of innocence that you would at a criminal trial, and once a complaint is made, the Board is legally bound to pursue it. That means a misunderstanding, a difficult day, or even a false allegation could leave you fighting for your career. The Board's primary responsibility is to the people of Pennsylvania.
Despite the fact there is a nursing shortage, the Board will not hesitate to suspend or sanction your license after a validated complaint. Our Professional License Defense Team will work for you, and only you, in a disciplinary case. We are going to be just as diligent in interviewing witnesses and uncovering evidence in support of your case as the BEI is in finding evidence against you.
We will also carefully analyze any evidence the state intends to bring against you and try to find ways to impeach its credibility. The sooner you call us after receiving notice of a formal complaint, the sooner we can begin working on a defense that maximizes your chances of keeping your license. We will explore every alternative to having your license revoked, including consent decrees, but our commitment to fighting for you will never wane.
What Sanctions Can the Board of Nursing Apply?
Pennsylvania law gives the State Board of Nursing considerable latitude in applying discipline to CRNPs who are found to have committed misconduct. Those sanctions include one, or any combination of the following:
- Public reprimands
- Monetary fines
- Placing your license on probationary status
- Suspending your license for a period of the BPOA's determination
- Requiring you to attend re-education classes.
- Revoking your license
The board also has the option of designating whether your license is eligible for reinstatement in the future. Even in this unfortunate situation, the Professional License Defense Team at the LLF Law Firm may be able to enter enough evidence to persuade the Board that you should not face the ultimate punishment. We will never stop fighting for you!
Appealing Board Sanctions
After a formal hearing, the Board will alert you or your attorney of their final decision in writing. This notice must include any findings of fact the Board relied upon in making their decision and explain the Board's reasoning in reaching its conclusions. If you believe that the Board has erred in its decision, you have the right to appeal Board sanctions under section 754 of Pennsylvania's Administrative Procedures Act.
For an appeal to be successful, you must be able to show one of the following:
- Your rights were violated during the disciplinary process.
- There was a legal error or procedural violation during the disciplinary process.
- There is not enough factual evidence in the record to support the BPOA's conclusions.
Our Professional License Defense Team will be with you at every stage of the BPOA disciplinary process, and we can help you file an appeal. More importantly, we will collaborate with you to craft an appeal that maximizes your chances of a positive outcome. We want you to know that the Professional License Defense Team at the LLF Law Firm will be there with you to the very end in fighting for your license.
What Kind of Offenses Can Result in BPOA Discipline
Pennsylvania CRNPs are held to rigorous professional standards at work and in their private lives. Accordingly, there is an extensive list of potential violations that can result in complaints, investigations, and board discipline. A partial list of on-the-job violations includes:
- Incompetence-making an error or repeatedly making errors that compromise patient safety
- Gross misconduct-purporting yourself in a manner that is out of the accepted professional norms for the profession
- Reporting for work or practicing while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Theft of medical supplies or controlled substances
- Continued violations of BPOA procedures or recognized health standards
- Inadequate completion of necessary paperwork
- Suspension, revocation, or other license sanctions from another state licensing board
- The discovery of fraud, deceit, or falsehoods in your original nursing license application or subsequent renewal applications
Potential Off-the-Job Violations
In addition to professional violations, the Board can sanction your license for a variety of infractions committed while you are not working. Most notably, you must report any felony convictions to the Board. Failure to self-report the conviction is a violation in and of itself that will expose you to discipline beyond the sanctions for the felony conviction.
Addiction to controlled substances such as alcohol or drugs is also a subject of great concern to the Board. They can and will revoke your license if you are found in possession of a prescription medication without a prescription, illicit drugs of any kind, or abusing any controlled substance. With that said, you may also qualify for disciplinary alternatives.
CRNPs in Pennsylvania struggling with substance abuse issues may qualify for the state's Volunteer Recovery Program and defer Board discipline. If you meet the qualifications for the Volunteer Recovery Program, the non-profit Pennsylvania Nurse Peer Assistance Program provides aid and counseling services with an eye toward the continuation of your career. These are the kinds of alternatives we will try to seek for our clients. Our mission is to keep you licensed.
We Can't Change the Past, but We Can Help You Fight for Your Future
No one ever wants to find out they are the subject of an investigation by the BEI. Unfortunately, you can't go back in time and change the events that led to your complaint. Whether it was an honest mistake, misunderstanding, or an unreasonable patient making unreasonable demands, there is no taking the complaint back after it is filed. However, you can play a role in altering the outcome and turning the odds in your favor.
Do not delay. Act immediately when you get notice of an investigation and seek professional legal assistance. You have a lifetime of hard work, education, and training on the line in a Board investigation. You owe it to yourself, your family, and your future patients to fight just as hard to keep your license as you did to get it. We are here to help you take that challenge on and win.
Remember, the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing is not an impartial jury. That's why your best ally in an investigation is an experienced and determined legal team that is fully committed to fighting for you. Call the Professional License Defense Team at the LLF Law Firm at 888-535-3686 or contact us online today.
