You studied hard, passed the required exams, and earned both your nursing license and an additional certification to work as an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) in New Jersey. As an APN, you work as a nurse practitioner, making medical decisions on behalf of patients and often in intense, stressful situations. Now, in a healthcare landscape that includes a shortage of trained medical professionals, a scarcity of many pharmaceuticals, and the ever-increasing costs of treatment, you continue to provide exceptional care to patients. As you navigate these trying circumstances on behalf of your patients, it can be devastating to learn that you are the subject of a professional disciplinary investigation.
The Lento Law Firm understands the critical role you play in delivering quality and compassionate medical care to patients in New Jersey. If you are an APN undergoing a license disciplinary investigation or hearing in New Jersey, you do not have to face it alone. The experienced Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm can partner with you to defend your nursing license and APN certification. Regardless of where you find yourself in the disciplinary process, the Lento Law Firm can fight on your behalf. Call us today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online to discuss your case.
The New Jersey Board of Nursing and Certified Advanced Practice Nurses
The New Jersey Board of Nursing (the Board) oversees the licensing for registered nurses (RNs) and the certification process for those RNs who become certified to work as APNs. In New Jersey, APNs provide care in diverse specialties, from family care and pediatrics to psychiatric mental health.
Because of the critical patient care you provide as an APN, it can be particularly devastating to learn that the Board is investigating you for misconduct. The disciplinary process can take a professional, financial, and emotional toll on you and your loved ones.
The Lento Law Firm can help APNs who work at any medical facility or office in New Jersey, including:
- Hackensack University Medical Center (Hackensack, Bergen County)
- Morristown Medical Center (Morristown, Morris County)
- Newark Beth Israel Medical Center (Newark, Essex County)
- Cooper University Hospital (Camden, Camden County)
- St. Joseph's University Medical Center (Paterson, Passaic County)
- Jersey Shore University Medical Center (Neptune, Monmouth County)
- Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (New Brunswick, Middlesex County)
- Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center (Livingston, Essex County)
- Community Medical Center-Toms River (Toms River, Ocean County)
- Englewood Hospital and Medical Center (Englewood, Bergen County)
Regardless of where you work, the Lento Law Firm can fight on your side to protect you and your license.
Professional Misconduct in New Jersey
As an APN in New Jersey, you are held to exacting standards of ethical and professional excellence. If you are accused of professional misconduct, the Board is responsible for investigating the complaint and imposing appropriate disciplinary measures.
The most common types of allegations that APNs face are:
- Engaging in unprofessional conduct. Allegations of unprofessional conduct may range from using inappropriate language to having an improper relationship with a patient.
- Being convicted of a crime. A conviction for certain crimes, particularly those involving drug use or crimes involving moral turpitude, can jeopardize your license.
- Engaging in fraudulent activities. Participation in insurance overbilling or medical record falsification is prohibited.
- Abusing or neglecting patients. Physical, verbal, sexual, or mental abuse of patients, along with failure to timely or adequately provide treatment, is prohibited.
- Mishandling or misusing drugs. Failure to keep an accurate inventory of medication, diverting patient medicines, stealing drugs for personal use, and forging prescriptions can all constitute misconduct.
- Abusing Drugs or Alcohol. Excessive drinking and illegal drug use are prohibited.
Misconduct allegations are fact-specific. The circumstances in which you acted and your intent can have a significant impact on whether a specific behavior constitutes misconduct. If you are accused of professional misconduct, an investigation should encompass the collection of all relevant information. A thorough investigation often uncovers critical facts, evidence, and witnesses that can significantly improve your defense.
You cannot rely on the Board to exonerate you. It is important that a complete investigation into all circumstances, including mitigating facts, be performed on your behalf. The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team can work with you to ensure that a thorough investigation is conducted.
The Disciplinary Process for APNs in New Jersey
In New Jersey, the Board and its staff manage the disciplinary proceedings for APNs accused of unethical or unprofessional conduct.
The Complaint and Request for Written Response
Disciplinary proceedings against an APN usually begin with a complaint to the Board. A complaint may be filed by a member of the public or by your colleagues, coworkers, or patients.
Once a complaint is filed, the Board will notify the target APN and request a written response. The written response is the first chance an APN has to defend their actions and their license. If a reasonable and convincing explanation of the conduct is provided, the Board dismisses the complaint with no further action. The experienced license defense attorneys at the Lento Law Firm can help you prepare a written response.
The Investigation
If, after reviewing the written response, the Board continues the disciplinary process, the complaint is sent to the Preliminary Evaluation Committee (PEC). The PEC investigator will investigate the allegations against the APN, interview the complainant and any witnesses, collect and review documents, and take other steps to determine the facts surrounding the allegations of misconduct.
The APN who is the subject of the complaint may be asked to give testimony, under oath, to the PEC. If you are the target of a PEC investigation, the Lento Law Firm can help you prepare for your interview.
The Consent Order
If the PEC investigator identifies evidence that warrants disciplinary action, the Board may offer to negotiate a consent order with the APN. A consent order is an enforceable agreement in which the target APN acknowledges their wrongdoing and agrees to the Board's penalties.
Negotiating and accepting a consent order may allow the accused APN to avoid the most severe potential sanctions. For example, a consent order may include a temporary suspension of license but allows the APN to avoid the risk that the Board would permanently revoke their license.
A consent order may not be the best option in every case. For an APN who believes they did nothing wrong, accepting a consent order may be extremely challenging. With the Lento Law Firm on your side, we can strategize with you about the conditions under which a consent order would make sense based on your needs, the allegations, and the results of our investigation. We can negotiate a consent order on your behalf if you believe it is the best course of action.
The Formal Hearing
If the APN does not agree to a consent order, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) will hold a hearing in which the APN has the burden to prove that the Board should not impose a disciplinary penalty. During the ALJ hearing, the Board and the accused APN may present evidence. After considering the evidence, the ALJ makes recommendations to the Board. The Board then determines the appropriate sanctions. The Board may impose penalties ranging from fines to license suspensions. In the most serious misconduct cases, the Board may decide to revoke your license.
Because misconduct complaints can result in serious outcomes, the Lento Law Firm is the partner you want on your side during a disciplinary process.
The Lento Law Firm Can Help Defend Your License at Every Step of an Investigation and Hearing
In New Jersey, any misconduct allegation against an APN is extremely serious. The Board, through consent orders and formal hearings, has sanctioned APNs for misconduct, including incidents involving healthcare fraud, receiving kickbacks, substance abuse, and issuing false prescriptions.
The Lento Law Firm can help you prepare to testify before the ALJ and can attend the hearing with you. With your defense in our hands, the Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm can help you throughout the investigation, hearing, and disciplinary process. We can make sure the Board respects your due process rights. Our attorneys can strategize with you, prepare your written response, review and collect evidence, and identify and meet with witnesses. By performing an investigation independent of the PEC and on your behalf, we can chase down mitigating facts and supportive witnesses, collect evidence, and organize witness and expert testimony to present your best defense.
You Can Always Contact the Lento Law Firm
When targeted in an adversarial process, the earlier you assemble a defense team, the better. The same is true when defending your license from the Board and its disciplinary procedures. The Lento Law Firm can help from the moment you receive notice of the complaint against you.
It can be difficult to admit that you need assistance with a professional disciplinary matter. If your initial efforts to defend yourself against the Board were unsuccessful and your license is at risk, the Lento Law Firm may still be able to help. We can strategize with you about your next steps, including your appeal rights.
The disciplinary process can be harrowing, leaving you feeling that your professional judgment has been undermined and that you do not have any options. You don't need to feel powerless to the Board. The experienced attorneys of the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team will fight for you. We know how to aggressively defend you and your license, fighting for you and your ability to continue to practice. We know that by working with our team to defend yourself and your license, you can begin to regain control over your life and career.
It is never too late to discuss your case with a member of the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team. When ready, the Lento Law Firm's experienced attorneys can help you with your disciplinary matters.
The Impact of Disciplinary Sanctions
The impact of an adverse determination by the Board can be devastating to your life and career.The possible outcomes of APN disciplinary cases can be as varied as the possible misconduct charges. Any adverse decision, from a warning or fine to a suspension or revocation, may lead to the end of your current employment, create difficulties in finding new opportunities, limit your future earning power, jeopardize your financial security, and curtail your ability to advance in your chosen career.
Additionally, the personal implications can be catastrophic. The distress of being targeted by the Board, the uncertainty of the outcome, and the stigma of losing your license can be overwhelming to you, your family, your friends, and your finances. From the hardship of losing your income to the impact on your physical and mental health, a PEC investigation and Board hearing disrupt every corner of your life.
We can help bring order to the chaos of a disciplinary hearing. The Lento Law Firm can develop a comprehensive strategy in response to any threat of sanctions, supporting your best defense through every step of the disciplinary or legal processes.
Protecting Your License in New Jersey
At the Lento Law Firm, we understand that as an APN you work on the frontlines of medicine and in an imperfect healthcare system. Each day, you care for patients, often making life-and-death decisions based on your education, experience, and judgment. The last thing you need is for the Board to second-guess you and your decisions or to threaten your license and your livelihood with a misconduct investigation.
If you find yourself the target of a disciplinary investigation or hearing, the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team can collaborate with you to protect yourself, your career, and your livelihood. Across New Jersey, we've helped APNs defend their licenses, and we can help you. Contact the Lento Law Firm by telephone at 888-535-3686 or contact us online to discuss how we can fight on your behalf.
