Privacy Is Everything

June 4, 2020 by LORIE A BROWN, R.N., M.N., J.D. 1 Comment

This past week, a Maryville, Tennessee, nurse was fired for allegedly posting racist and violent messages through her Facebook account.

It was later learned that she could not have made the comments because hospital security footage showed that she was in a patient’s room at the approximate time the comments were made.

Then it was learned that the horrible posts were composed by her fiancé on her social media account. He even went to the hospital to tell officials that it was he rather than the nurse who had written the posts. The fiancé claimed that he sent the messages because somebody sent the nurse a rude message first.

Nevertheless, the nurse was terminated from her position and referred to the Tennessee Board of Nursing for investigation.

The concern of the hospital was that comments made on a social media site by an employer reflected poorly on the organization and does not reflect the code of conduct and values for the hospital.

Now, the nurse is concerned not only about her ability to find another job but, due to the racial content of and backlash to the messages, for her personal safety as well as that of her own 2 children.

Since the incident, she and her fiancé have parted ways and she has sought protective orders against him. [Click here for article]

I can never stress enough how important it is to maintain your privacy and security by keeping your passwords private and share them with no one! If you share a computer at home, do not save your passwords as others might post on your behalf.

Your privacy is the one thing that is truly yours. Therefore, respect it and do not share passwords or allow people access to your computer, even your children. You never know what they might write on your wall and it could become a quite troublesome problem.

You are a professional and everything you do reflects on you. Unfortunately, this nurse paid the terrible price of losing her job and being reported to the Board.

As nurses we are caregivers and sometimes the personal relationships, we may find ourselves involved in are not the healthiest. We believe that the other person needs us so we continue the relationship.

Please, if you are in an unhealthy relationship, get the help you need to end it.

Will A Criminal Record Affect My License?

June 6, 2019 by LORIE A BROWN, R.N., M.N., J.D. Leave a Comment

A guest blog by Evan Brown

Nursing boards take public health very seriously. In the interest of protecting public health, most boards take extra precautions to make sure that nurses licensed in their state have a proven track record of delivering excellent care. This includes a critical examination of nurses’ personal and professional histories.

Although you may be thinking that whatever happened was outside of work, the boards take the position that you are a nurse 24/7.

In most states, a blemish on one’s license or criminal record will not automatically bar a nurse from licensure of practice. The nursing board instead will conduct an investigation and make a decision in light of the circumstances at the time. In order to conduct an investigation, nursing boards need to be aware that an incident occurred. For this reason, nursing boards across the country have created self-reporting regulations for nurses to bring their criminal and disciplinary histories to the board’s attention.

Every nursing board asks about criminal and disciplinary history in its initial application for licensure and again on renewal. Boards differ in terms of what infractions must be reported. In general, any arrest, misdemeanor, felony, or plea of nolo contendre (an acceptance of the conviction without an admission of guilt) must be reported. Sometimes nurses must even report expunged convictions. Few require nurses to report minor traffic violations. When applying for licensure in a new state, every board also asks about prior and current disciplinary action by another board of nursing on the applicant’s license. An affirmative answer to any of these questions will often require the submission of court records and a written explanation of the event.

What about criminal convictions that occur after a nurse has received his or her license? When should these convictions be reported to the board? At minimum, every state board requires nurses to report such incidents when they renew their license. However, most states require self-reporting closer to the time of conviction. These timeframes range from “immediately” to between 10 and 90 days. One state, Arizona, requires notification of an arrest within 10 business days. Only in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Virginia is there no duty to self-report. These states often rely on automatic police and court reporting to the board, it is still wise to self-report.

It is always best to self-report as soon as possible, even if the board neither requires a self-report yet nor at all. Doing so demonstrates honesty and initiative, which an appreciative board may take into account when determining a response. Seeking rehabilitation or counseling, performing community service, and other voluntary measures of atonement can also help the board look more favorable on your case.

Did You Report?

February 7, 2019 by LORIE A BROWN, R.N., M.N., J.D. Leave a Comment

I’ve written often about if a nurse has a second license in another state and there is an action in one state, the other state may take action as well. But, did you know in certain states you must affirmatively report an action in a second state?

Some think that if their license is on probation that they can go to work in another state where their license is “free and clear.” Be careful! If you do not voluntarily tell of a license matter in another state and the situation is found out, that may be a violation of that state’s Nurse Practice Act.

If you have a license matter, you should review your state’s Nurse Practice Act in all states in which you are licensed to determine whether you have to report the action in the other states. In fact, even if you don’t have an active license, another state still can take action against your license. Always make sure that all Nursing Boards where you have a license are kept up-to-date with your mailing address to ensure that you don’t miss any important communications from either state Board.

The American Association of Nurse Attorneys has published a position paper on the statute of limitations and retained jurisdiction. The Association does not feel that it is proper to be able to take action against an expired license after the fact, when sometimes it can be years later.

You also can check the Annual Survey of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing to see how each state is set up and who performs their investigation. It makes for interesting reading.

Another source is nursys.com, a public repository of actions taken on nurses’ licenses. As well as checking on yourself, you can look up records on your coworkers as well to make sure there’s nothing there.

The bottom line is that should you have an action in one state and if you have a license in another, make sure that you do not need to mandatorily report that action. It is better to be safe than sorry and report since it is public record anyway.

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