Medical Boards

On December 13, 2017, at Hiram Davis Medical Center in Petersburg, Virginia, a nurse was talking with Dr. Motsumi Moja while they were awaiting an elevator. During the conversation, he put his hand on her shoulder, removed his hand slowly, thus with intent, moving it across her breast. He then asked whether her breasts were real or fake

She was not only shocked, she was devastated!

The nurse reported the incident to the HR department but no response was forthcoming after several days. She was adamant in taking steps to ensure that this doctor would not violate anyone else. She spoke with her director of nursing who assured the nurse that immediate action would be taken and the police were called.

Dr. Moja was charged and found guilty of sexual assault and battery. Then, he was reported to the Board which, during its investigation, learned of similar comments he made to other nurses such as, “I’m going to the restroom. Want to come with me?” When that nurse refused, he reportedly said, “Are you sure? I don’t think I can handle it on my own.”

He had several inappropriate actions with multiple health care professionals. Now, guess what the Board did? They reprimanded him! That was it! No suspension, no probation, no nothing. And after that proverbial slap on the wrist, if you can believe it, Dr. Moja is appealing the Board’s disciplinary action as well as the criminal conviction. The burden of proof in criminal cases is much higher; beyond a reasonable doubt but in civil matters or administrative matters, it is much lower and only a preponderance of evidence.

When I read about this case, I was stunned and in disbelief.

Should a nurse, in any way, attempt to inappropriately touch a patient or make improper comments, serious action would be levied against that nurse’s license. This reaction to Dr. Moja’s offensive and invasive actions is quite disappointing. If anything can be taken away from this, it is that the victim nurse stood up for herself and reported the inappropriate behavior (again, sexual assault and battery).

However, the response from HR and the Virginia Board was wholly lacking though Dr. Moja at least now has the public record of a criminal conviction accompanying his credentials. The public now can know to avoid that physician.

I am disappointed with the Virginia Board for not taking more stiffer action with Dr. Moja. It sends a message that it is ok to be found guilty by a jury for sexual assault and battery, but you can continue to practice unimpeded. I think the man should be evaluated for being a sexual predator. If this were the nursing Board, much more serious action would be taken. If there is any concern for the public, the nursing Boards are very aggressive in their action.

What do you think of this crime and subsequent travesty? Let me know your thoughts below.

I am frequently asked why nursing boards are so harsh. The Boards are composed of nurses and shouldn’t the Board understand the situations in which nurses get involved?

California has had issues with their Board. California has a separate Board of Nursing for Registered Nurses and one for License Vocational Nurses. The RN Board is called the Board of Registered Nursing (“B.R.N.”). In some parts of the country, licensed vocational nurses are called licensed practical nurses, L.P.N.

In 2009, the Los Angeles Times and ProPublica analyzed the records of 2,400 California nurses who faced disciplinary action by the Board between 2002 and September 2009. What they found was that many of these nurses were allowed to continue in their practice while they still had serious allegations against their licenses. The investigation process took so long. They were left free to practice for years while the investigations continued. Many of these nurses simply moved to another state where they continued to practice

The then governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, replaced most of the B.R.N. due to the extreme length of time it was taking the Board to discipline egregious conduct. It is my opinion that the other Boards learned of this and did not wish to become the subject of criticism and publicity like in California.

However, despite the previous California problems, it appears that the California Board of Registered Nursing is still having issues due to delays in resolving complaints against nurses accused of negligence involving patient injury or death or posed a serious risk of harm to others.

At the closing of 2016, an auditor’s report showed that there still was a delay in resolving these complaints. The audit reviewed 40 cases between June 1, 2013, and June 30, 2016, and found that the Board failed to resolve 31 of those complaints.

There was one complaint against a nurse for a toddler’s death in which there was a delay in referring it to the Consumer Affairs investigators. This complaint took more than 3 years (39 months) to resolve during which time the nurse was allowed to continue to practice!

One of the concerns with the California Board was that its state’s Medical Board has 1 staff member for 900 licensees while the Nursing Board has 1 staff member for 3,000 licensees. I know that funding is a big issue for these Boards. But, when you look at the Medical Board compared to the Nursing Board, the former has more staff and takes much less action against their licensees than does the latter.

I think Nursing Boards are a representative of nurses. In my addresses, I often provide case studies and ask my audience what they would do if they were a member of the Board in those matters. Some interesting responses included taking actions that would be more serious than that which the Board actually took.

Unlike the Nursing Board, the Medical Board protects its licensees. It may not be appropriate for Boards to protect doctors who are not safe to practice but, at the same time, excessive action against nurses is also is inappropriate. When a nurse is accused of the same conduct as a physician and if nothing is done against the physician’s license while sanctioning the nurse for the same conduct, that is not proper.

I am hoping that the Board can find a middle ground when protecting the public as well as rehabilitating the nurse. While I am an advocate for nurses, if a nurse should not be practicing then there is nothing that can be done to help them.

Do you believe Nursing Boards are excessively harsh? If so, what would be your suggestion(s) to resolve this? Let me know your thoughts below.

Contact Information