Why Did a Nurse with a Low BAC Face Board Discipline?

A nurse who faced disciplinary action after he showed up for his shift apparently intoxicated illustrates three key points for licensed healthcare professionals:

• State medical licensing boards don’t need to see evidence of patient harm to take action — just the possibility that patients could have been harmed is enough.
• Even a blood alcohol level far below generally accepted standards for impairment is enough to launch a board investigation.
• Nurses can often preserve their license by negotiating an alternative to discipline with their board.

If you’re a nurse facing allegations of intoxication at work, you need the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team. We’ll ensure your critically important due process rights are respected, help you present a clear and robust defense, and work out the best possible solution for your case. Call us today at 888-535-3686 or send us a message online, and we’ll get to work.

What Are the Facts in this Case?

Jordan Robert Good was actually disciplined twice by his employer, an Iowa hospital, for coming to work with an unacceptably high blood alcohol concentration (BAC):

• In the first incident, testing after he showed signs of intoxication indicated a BAC of .094, higher than the legal driving limit of .08.
• In the second, a month later, a mandatory pre-shift test indicated a BAC of .0009 — the result, Good said, of a single beer the night before.

Following the second incident, Good was diagnosed with a substance abuse disorder and investigated by the Iowa Board of Nursing.

Ultimately, the board offered Good a choice:

• License suspension + enrollment in the state’s recovery program for healthcare professionals, OR
• License probation for three years + participation in an approved monitoring program

But Was the Nurse Really Drunk?

In the first incident, Good’s impairment was clear. If you’re too drunk to drive a car, you’re too drunk to work a hospital shift.

In the second, Good was not visibly intoxicated, and his BAC was less than a hundredth of the legal driving limit.

So why was the matter escalated to a board complaint?

The likely reason is that the board was thinking about the second incident in terms of the first — and, of course, the substance abuse disorder diagnosis. Alone, the .0009 BAC might not have been a red flag; in context, it was evidently cause for alarm.

Was the Negotiated Agreement in this Case Reasonable?

It’s unlikely that Good’s .0009 BAC could have caused him to harm a patient had he been allowed to work his shift. Taking the incident on its own, the board’s response could be seen as wildly excessive.

However, the board probably understood the .0009 BAC to be only one data point in a disturbing pattern that, left unchecked, could lead to patient harm. This means:

• Good certainly faced the possibility of a much worse outcome, including losing his license altogether.
• Good may not relish either of the pathways the board presented him with, but it would be hard to argue that the solution was unreasonable.

What’s the Takeaway for Other Nurses?

Nurses who find themselves in trouble with their state’s licensing board for what seems a minor infraction should bear in mind that:

• Their board’s primary concern is for patient safety; and
• Their board is looking for broader patterns of behavior that could result in patient harm; and
• A negotiated agreement for monitoring or another alternative to discipline could be a solution

The Professional License Defense Team at the LLF National Law Firm can help you craft an effective response to your board’s concerns, and we’ll negotiate with your board to ensure you can keep your license and continue practicing. Contact us now: call 888-535-3686 or send us a message online.