Your license is a privilege and not a right. Just as your driverās license can be suspended, so can your nursing license. The Board needs only to provide you with reasonable notice which could mean the day before or even, and I have seen it, the morning of a hearing. In the hearing the State must show that you are a clear and immediate danger to the public. If there is a situation with any concern that drugs are missing or you have criminal charges related to your honesty and trustworthiness or … [Read more...]
Tips To Protect Your Nursing License While Using Technology And Social Media
Brittney Wilson, RN, BSN Technology and social media have added many new benefits as well as many new challenges to the nursing profession. On the one hand we now can access patient data and chart on patient care more quickly and easily than ever and we have access to a nearly limitless online support system of nurses. However, on the other hand we now could accidently share protected health information (PHI) over social media in just a few clicks of a mouse. Because of this, nurses need to … [Read more...]
No One Else Will Protect Your License Like You
Iām always interested in hearing advice from other nurses on how those in our profession can protect our license. Every nurse I have represented has said to me, āI never thought I would appear before the Board.ā But āI donāt knowā is not a defense. I have my way to teach nurses how to protect their license but it is always a privilege to open our eyes and hear other peopleās thoughts on the topic. I have been honored to review blogs from other people regarding their thoughts on license … [Read more...]
The Truth About Impaired Nurses
Many nurses incorrectly believe that the only nurses who end up before the Licensing Board are impaired. This is simply not true. An impaired nurse is someone who uses alcohol or a controlled substance on a regular basis and to the extent that it interferes with their work. And hereās a sad fact, many of these nurses donāt know that they have a problem. Yes, there are a fair number of impaired nurses and, surprisingly, the incident of impaired nurses is the same as the general public … [Read more...]
Help! I Just Received A Letter From The Board
I frequently get panic calls saying āHELP! I just got a letter that I have to appear before the Board.ā The first thing that I would suggest is to take a deep breath and read this. There are two types of communications you may get from the Board. The first is an investigation letter and the second is actual charges against your license. If you receive an investigation letter giving you twenty days to respond, it is important that you respond carefully because what you put in your … [Read more...]
