Although a nursing license gives you the freedom and ability to provide legal services to the needy within California, it limits you to how you can discharge those services. A nursing standard or professional conduct violation puts your professional license at risk. License defense services defend your license against disciplinary action by your licensing board, which could include harsh actions like revocation or suspension. You can lose your license and a likelihood that sustains your needs and those of your dependents due to a regrettable mistake.
If you have a complaint, accusation, or investigation against you from the Board of Registered Nursing in San Diego, you should consider seeking our legal counsel at San Diego License Attorney. You could protect your license and reputation and keep your livelihood.
Reason to Defend Your Registered Nursing License
The number of registered nurses in the healthcare industry is higher than that of other healthcare professionals. Their role is invaluable as far as taking care of patients is concerned. Registered nurses perform various duties in hospitals, hospices, emergency rooms, homes, and other places where their services are needed. They provide basic care to ailing people, educate people on their health and general wellness, and provide information about cursive and preventive measures that help patients make informed decisions. They work closely with patients and families to ensure that those with long-term health conditions receive the best care for a better quality of life.
Registered nurses also work with other healthcare professionals, like physicians and other medical experts, for patients' general well-being. They help in emergency rooms, intensive care units, rehabilitation facilities, and theatres to administer anesthesia, assist in surgeries, and as midwives. They also provide pediatric and geriatric care. This requires them to have excellent training and experience to perform exemplary in all the areas in which they are placed.
Training to receive a nursing license takes considerable time, costs a substantial amount of money, and requires continuous dedication. A trained nurse must dedicate more time to studying for and obtaining a license, which qualifies them to offer legal services within the state. Obtaining a nursing license is a long, costly, and tedious process. A qualified nurse must prove their dedication and willingness to abide by high professional standards to receive the certification.
However, all these qualifications do not qualify you to keep your nursing license forever. A mistake in your career can destroy a job you have spent so much time, money, and effort building. The Board of Registered Nursing will not hesitate to cancel your license if you engage in crime or are negligent or incompetent when discharging your services.
A licensed nurse must always know the right thing to do about their duties and obligations in the area they serve. They must be professional, ethical, and law-abiding and adhere to their employment standards. Anyone can report you to the board if you fail in any of these areas, including your patients, family, colleagues, or employer. However, you can fight for your license with the proper license defense services.
The Role of The Board of Registered Nursing
When hiring a registered nurse, families, patients, and healthcare facilities usually hope to find a trustworthy, reliable, and dedicated professional. The role of this board is to ensure that the bearers of a nursing license meet the specific requirements of those who hire them. The board considers nurses' education qualifications, dedication, and willingness to abide by the profession code and laws governing this noble profession. Although the board spends so much time vetting and licensing qualified nurses, its primary mandate is to ensure public safety. Everything the board does is geared towards ensuring that patients and healthcare facilities are safe in the hands of licensed nurses.
Even after issuing licenses, the Board of Registered Nursing must ensure that certified professionals continually abide by the professional code against which they signed when receiving their licenses. Since it is impossible to keep an eye on all registered nurses throughout California, the board remains open to complaints, claims, and allegations from the public regarding them. A patient can easily file a complaint with the board against a nurse who failed to assist them in their time of need or who injured them while administering treatment. The board takes immediate action to safeguard the public and prevent similar complaints in the future.
However, the board must ensure the claim is valid to pursue it and take action against the negligent, incompetent, or unprofessional registered nurse. It does this through a thorough investigation into the matter. Sometimes, the board dismisses some allegations even before investigating them. Other times, it pursues the allegation until it disciplines a licensed professional. All this is done to restore public confidence in the healthcare sector and ensure the public receives quality and safe health care when they fall sick or sustain an injury.
Types of Allegations the Board of Registered Nursing Receives
Before receiving a license, trained nurses must understand all the laws governing healthcare professionals. These include the Health and Safety Code, the Business and Professions Act, and specific penal codes, like murder, drugs, and DUIs. Further, the board lists violations that will likely affect your nursing license. Some of these violations are minor infractions, and others are severe crimes that could permanently cause you to lose your license. After licensing, nurses must be careful when discharging their services to avoid violations and other complaints that could damage their reputation and career.
Here are some of the complaints that put your nursing career at risk:
- Mistakes when caring for or administering medication to a patient
- Neglecting or abusing a patient
- Exceeding the limits of your license, for example, by treating or diagnosing a patient
- Sexual misconduct in the workplace with a patient or in our workplace
- Use or abuse of drugs or alcohol, especially while on the job
- Committing fraud when obtaining or renewing your license
- Committing fraud when preparing medical reports for patients
- Improper maintenance of a patient’s records
- Failing to provide patient information when called upon by the patient or their family
- Being negligent or incompetent
These are just a few violations licensed nurses must avoid to protect their careers. Some violations are graver than others. This is one of the factors the board considers when deciding the best way to discipline you after the administrative process. The board also finds your healthcare sector performance history and whether you had criminal, fraudulent, or malicious intent when committing the violation.
If the board determines that you have a case to answer after receiving a complaint against you from the public, it will hold a hearing and notify you about it. The notice comes a few days or weeks before the hearing to allow you to prepare well. It is a mistake to ignore this notice even if you are innocent of the charges you face. The board can be very harsh in its discipline to keep the public safe from unsafe or illegal practices. Thus, you should prepare to defend your actions or fight the allegations.
After receiving the notice, contacting an experienced license defense attorney is the right thing to do. Provide them with all the details about the case so they can advise you about your options and the best strategies for a favorable resolution. Your legal counsel can also explain the possible outcomes of your case after receiving all the facts. They will gather evidence and prepare compelling statements to protect your career and reputation.
Disciplinary Guidelines by The Board of Registered Nursing
In addition to violations that can damage your nursing career, the Board of Registered Nursing provides various disciplinary guidelines on its website for unprofessional, negligent, or incompetent professionals. The multiple disciplines vary in severity and how they can impact your license or career. It helps to familiarize yourself with these to ensure you understand what to expect when you receive a notice of a pending hearing from the board. Your lawyer can also use this information to prepare well for your defense. If your allegation is severe and could result in harsh discipline, they can find more compelling evidence to push for a favorable result.
Citations and Fines
The board uses citations for less severe violations that do not endanger the public. It issues citations through its website, which puts your reputation at risk, especially considering the high number of people who can come across it. A damaged reputation can affect your career and prospects. Some nurses lose their jobs and the ability to find a job at ease after that. A fine can also be costly, making it difficult to afford.
Discuss a defense with your attorney if you are concerned about your reputation. They will find ways to convince the board to dismiss the allegations or avoid a discipline that will harm your career. Your legal representative can negotiate a lower amount if the fine is too much.
Letters of Reprimand
Sometimes, the board uses reprimands instead of citations to warn negligent or unprofessional licensed nurses against their misconduct. Reprimands are also publicly issued because they are intended for other nurses and healthcare professionals who could demonstrate the same misconduct. However, a public reprimand can affect your career, especially if an employer, patients, or colleagues find out about it.
Allow your attorney to fight this discipline to protect a reputation you have worked hard to build in the industry. If they are successful, the board can dismiss your allegations or issue a public reprimand.
License Probations
The board could need to put you on probation to monitor your behavior or progress before making the final ruling in your indiscipline case. Probations last for a few weeks, months, or years. Although you can continue working during probation, you must abide by strict conditions. Probation conditions can be highly limiting. They could affect how you work and the joy you derive from your profession.
A skilled attorney can defend your actions or fight the allegation to prevent the board from putting you on probation. They could also negotiate for favorable terms and conditions, including a reduced period and minimal restrictions.
License Suspension
This is a common discipline by the Board of Registered Nursing. It is used against incompetent, negligent, or unprofessional nurses who must improve their performance or change their conduct before continuing to work within the healthcare sector. Although suspensions are only temporary, you are left without a means of earning a living for a while. Your suspension can take weeks, months, or years, depending on the gravity of your violation and the time the board feels you need to change or improve.
If you do not have an alternative means of livelihood, your attorney’s defense can help. They can push for a favorable suspension period or dismiss your case altogether.
License Revocation
This is possible if your actions or inactions cause a patient or any other person to suffer bodily harm or death. The board can use this harsh punishment if you have a history of endangering your patients. Although license revocations are minimal in this sector, the board still uses them in severe unprofessionalism, negligence, or incompetence cases.
However, you can avoid losing your license by working with a competent license attorney. They can introduce new evidence to fight your allegations or use mitigating factors to trigger a favorable resolution by the board and administrative judges.
Find a Competent San Diego License Attorney Near Me
Have you or someone you know been notified of a pending investigation and hearing by the Board of Registered Nursing? It means that your license and livelihood could be at risk. Thus, you must act quickly to protect your reputation and a career that has taken you years to build. Start by hiring a competent attorney for guidance, support, advice, and legal representation during the administrative procedure.
At San Diego License Attorney, we handle all allegations, complaints, and disciplinary actions registered nurses in San Diego face. We can help you manage the intricate administrative procedure and develop a strong defense against your charges. We can also cause the board to drop your allegations or rule in your favor. Call us at 858-665-2455 to start the administrative process with us.
