Nursing boards nationwide have been notifying nurses to appear for licensing hearings at which the nurses must prove that their nursing school credentials are not fraudulent. The notices arise out of the FBI's Operation Nightingale, which led to criminal fraud charges against officials from several now-closed Florida nursing schools.

Nursing board disciplinary hearings are serious matters that place the nurse's license, job, and career at immediate risk. Lose a license hearing, and you've probably lost your job and career. Yet too many of those nurses receiving a notice to appear before their state licensing board on fraudulent credentials charges are waiting until the last minute to retain a professional license defense attorney.

It generally takes a lot of documentation and preparation to successfully defend fraudulent credentials charges. If you wait, you may be too late. Call 888.535.3686 or go online now to retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team and national license defense attorney Joseph D. Lento. Get the skills and experience you need to defend your fraudulent credentials charges.

State Boards Revoke Licenses on for Fraudulent Credentials

State licensing boards across the nation, including in Delaware, Iowa, Hawaii, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Washington, have already revoked nursing licenses related to the Operation Nightingale nursing credentials scandal. Many more license revocations are very likely on the way, especially if nurses continue to forgo their procedural right to defend their nursing school credentials.

While the FBI's criminal charge of nursing school officials is serious, the involved Florida nursing schools were all accredited. Several of them provided substantial nursing education to hundreds or even thousands of nurses who are practicing nursing nationwide. Just because criminal defendants give up a list of allegedly fraudulent credentials doesn't mean that all nurses receiving education from the involved schools are involved in the scandal.

Due Process Rights to a State Nursing Board Hearing

The Constitution generally guarantees due process of law whenever state government officials take away a person's liberty or property interest. Your nursing license likely represents both a liberty and property interest. That means that state nursing boards should be providing nurses with fair notice and a formal hearing on credentials charges. And indeed, the state nursing boards issuing notices to nurses who hold allegedly suspect credentials are generally making those nurses aware of their right to a hearing, even if state officials may be discouraging nurses from exercising their right and instead encouraging nurses to voluntarily relinquish their license.

Invoking a Hearing on Fraudulent Credentials Charges

Don't simply give up a nursing license for which you worked so hard, when your nursing school credentials may be perfectly legitimate. Instead, retain a skilled and experienced professional license defense team to invoke your state board hearing rights. Your retained defense attorney team can help you gather, analyze, and present your evidence to ensure that you have the best opportunity to preserve your license, job, and career.

Preparing for a State Board of Nursing Hearing

Don't delay, though, in retaining professional license defense counsel. You and your license defense attorney team need time to prepare effectively for the hearing. Each day that you delay before retaining counsel is a lost day of preparation. You may have many of the records you need for a sound defense. But you may also need to get school, clinical, examination, employment, or other records from others. Gathering records, and analyzing and organizing them for a compelling hearing presentation, can be your key to success but only if you give yourself and your attorneys time to prepare.

Premier License Defense Attorneys for License Hearings

Retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team and national license defense attorney Joseph D. Lento for the skills and experience you need to prepare for and defend your nursing license hearing. Call 888.535.3686 or go online now.