Having your nursing license suspended or revoked are two of the most serious types of discipline that a Board of Nursing or other licensing agency can impose on a nurse. In both cases, the nurse must stop working or volunteering in any position that requires them to have an active nursing license. In both cases, the disciplinary action is typically made part of the nurse’s public record. In both cases, the affected nurse can find themselves in a very difficult position, unable to use their nursing skills and experience to earn a living.
If you have been notified that a misconduct complaint has been filed against you by your state’s Board of Nursing or nurse licensing agency, don’t delay – contact the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team as soon as possible. We’ll help you understand the allegations against you and will fight for your rights and defend you against the allegations you’re facing. Call us today at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation to learn more about how we can help.
What is a Nursing License Suspension?
If your nursing license is suspended, it means that you will not be allowed to practice nursing until the suspension is lifted. Sometimes, a suspension will be for a defined period of time, for example, six months or two years. Other times, a suspension may continue until you take certain steps required by your Board of Nursing or licensing entity. The steps could include having to take one or more classes or courses that relate to the misconduct that you’ve been found to have committed. Or you may be required to successfully complete a rehabilitation program if you’ve been disciplined for substance abuse.
In some cases, the suspension may combine both a minimum time period and education or rehabilitation requirements. For example, you may be suspended for one year and also required to complete one or more courses. If the year passes and you haven’t completed the courses, your suspension will continue.
The key takeaway to remember about a suspension is that it is meant to be temporary. The nurse will generally be allowed to return to nursing with their license restored once all of the conditions of the suspension have been satisfied.
What is a Nursing License Revocation?
If your nursing license is revoked, that’s a permanent consequence. There is no time period set by the Board of Nursing or other licensing entity when you will be able to resume your nursing practice with your license restored. License revocation is reserved for very serious situations, and because it’s meant to be permanent, the effects of having your license revoked can be catastrophic for your career as a nurse.
Can I Ever Get My Nursing License Back if It’s Revoked?
While a nursing license revocation is permanent, it does not always mean you will never be allowed to practice nursing again. Most every state will, at least in theory, allow a nurse whose license has been revoked to apply again for a new license after some period of time has passed. This period of time varies from state to state but is typically measured in years – one year, two years, or three years; it can be different from one state to another. Texas, for example, requires a nurse whose license has been revoked to wait five years before applying to have the license reinstated.
Getting a nursing license reinstated after it’s been revoked is never a sure thing. Your chances depend heavily on the reasons for the revocation. They can also depend on what you’ve done in the time since your license was revoked. Can you show you’ve kept up with your continuing education? Have you taken steps to address any ethical or legal issues that caused the revocation in the first place? If your license was revoked due to actions prompted by mental health issues, have those issues been addressed through treatment or therapy?
Each case is different, which is why if you find yourself wanting to apply to have your revoked nursing license reinstated, your best chance to do so will be by working with one of the attorneys from the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team. We understand what it takes for a reinstatement petition to succeed, and we can work with you to prepare the strongest petition possible based on your particular set of circumstances.
If My License is Suspended or Revoked in One State, What Happens to My Licenses in Other States?
All states will require you to notify them if you’ve been disciplined by the Board of Nursing or an appropriate licensing entity in another state. What happens after that depends on the circumstances of why you were disciplined in the first state and how other states where you’re licensed react to that discipline. Generally speaking, however, if you’ve been suspended or your license has been revoked by one state, it’s very likely other states where you’re licensed may take similar steps against you.
One thing that can also result in separate discipline in other states where you hold a nursing license is if you fail to notify them that you’ve been disciplined by any state where you’re licensed. This is true for virtually any form of discipline. There is a nationwide database called Nursys, operated by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, that collects licensing and disciplinary information for nurses across the country. It makes those results available to the public, and employers can arrange to have updates sent to them about nurses they employ – including updates whenever a nurse who is working for them is disciplined by any state in which the nurse holds a license.
What Kinds of Misconduct Will Result in a Suspension or Revocation of My Nursing License?
It’s difficult to state with certainty what types of misconduct can result in a Board of Nursing or other licensing entity issuing a suspension or a revocation against a nurse’s license. These are the most serious types of discipline, reserved for serious forms of misconduct. Some of the actions that can lead to serious discipline include:
- Lying to the licensing board in any capacity – during the application process, when renewing a nursing license, or when interviewed during a misconduct investigation
- Intentionally harming a patient
- Diverting drugs, particularly prescription drugs, for any reason – including for the nurse’s own use, for the use of anyone other than who the drugs were prescribed for, or to sell
- Practicing nursing while under the influence of alcohol or any drug, legal or not
- Falsifying patient records or improperly or incompletely recording the details of patient care as required
- Being convicted of a crime, with some crimes (certain sex crimes and violent crimes) often requiring the nurse’s license to be revoked
- Engaging in sexual misconduct with or sexual assault against a patient or co-worker
- Taking improper advantage of the nurse-patient relationship by accepting large gifts or loans from a patient
- Repeatedly being found to have made serious mistakes while caring for patients
- Leaving their post for any reason without making sure that their patient or patients were being cared for by someone else
- In some states, failing to pay child support or taxes
When it comes to nursing discipline, nursing boards, and other licensing agencies prefer to have the flexibility to tailor the sanction to the situation. This means that for many types of misconduct, it’s not a given that a nurse’s license will be suspended or revoked.
No matter what type of disciplinary situation you’re facing, your chances of an outcome that will have the least amount of impact on your career will be significantly greater if you’re represented by one of the experienced professional license defense attorneys from the LLF National Law Firm. We regularly help nurses all across the country face allegations of serious misconduct and will use that experience to fight to protect your rights and defend you against misconduct allegations you’re facing.
How Can I Stop My Nursing License From Being Suspended or Revoked?
There is no guarantee that if you face serious misconduct allegations, your nursing license won’t be suspended or revoked if you’re found to have committed the misconduct. The best way to reduce the chances that either of those sanctions will be imposed is to be working with an experienced professional license defense attorney. That’s because the vast majority of nursing license discipline cases are resolved through negotiations, not by a hearing. And when you have an experienced professional license defense attorney on your side, you will benefit from their experience helping other nurses and licensed professionals in similar situations, including negotiating as favorable a result as possible.
There are a number of other alternatives to serious sanctions that can often be applied in misconduct situations. For example, a nurse can be placed on probation and can be allowed to continue to practice while at the same time taking courses or having a supervisor provide the licensing body with periodic reports. Sometimes, the nurse will be issued a written warning or admonishment or may be required to pay a fine. The result will depend heavily on the allegations made against the nurse, whether there is evidence to support those allegations and the extent to which patients may have been placed in danger (or potentially have been placed in danger) because of the conduct.
This is why it’s so important to have one of the experienced attorneys from the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team fighting for your rights and defending you against the allegations you’re facing. Your best chance of avoiding a serious sanction like suspension or revocation is to have someone defending you who knows everything there is to know about your case, who understands how the disciplinary process works, and who has experience addressing the concerns that nursing boards have when considering what sanctions if any to impose on a nurse who’s been accused of misconduct.
The LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team Can Help
At the LLF National Law Firm, our Professional License Defense Team has years of experience helping nurses, healthcare professionals, and other licensed professionals defend themselves against misconduct allegations all across the country. Our attorneys understand the legal obligations that nurses have when they practice nursing. We know the laws, rules, and regulations that apply in each state, as well as the procedures that nursing boards and other licensing entities use when a nurse is accused of misconduct.
By getting us involved from the start, we can help you through the investigative phase of the misconduct process. In some cases, we may conduct our own investigation to try to collect evidence that can be used to help your case. We’ll be your point of contact with the Board of Nursing or whatever entity is conducting the disciplinary investigation. We will make sure you meet all of the deadlines that may crop up during the case. We can prepare you for your interview with the investigator, and when it’s allowed, we will be there with you to make sure the questions are clear and understandable so that you don’t mistakenly respond with an answer to a question that wasn’t asked.
Where appropriate, we will negotiate with the disciplinary body to achieve the best possible result for you. When negotiations aren’t fruitful, we will vigorously defend you at your hearing after preparing you for the experience and any testimony you may be required to give.
We understand how vital your nursing license is to your career and your livelihood. We know how hard you worked to earn it, and our goal is to help you keep it and be able to continue to practice. If you’re facing nursing misconduct allegations, call the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team today at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation with one of our experienced attorneys. You deserve the help of a seasoned professional when your license is on the line; the LLF National Law Firm is here to provide it.