really disappointed after my trip to the BON

What I find interesting is that persons can actually sit for these proceedings going by the initial thread. I'd be interested in attending myself, as long as I am not on the receiving end...but, Albany is too far for me to just drop on by. Judging by what this sounds like, I would probably run for the hills and surrender my license out of sheer fear. I really don't trust them, either, to be honest.

My BON just had a session outside of their normal location and invited licensees AND the public to attend. They normally meet in my city. I think it was very cool of them to do this.

I am going to make a point of going to the next open session -- maybe all nursing students should go once?

I would read the Nurses & Recovery forum to get a better feel of what peer review, drug testing, BON mandates, probation, punitive damages, fines, IPN evaluations, etc. are all about. There are no slaps on the wrist, RN or LPN.

Sadly, in nursing, there is no forgiving your past. Sometimes the demons come out of the closet to haunt you in your future. It's unfortunate and unfair...but that's the way it is.

That is what I would tell the 19 year old nurse who was in this discussion. Be careful what you do now...as it can gravely effect your future.

I do not drink and drive, PERIOD.

If I am going out to the 21 and up bowling alley and I plan on drinking even just ONE cocktail, I take a darn Taxi CAB.

If I am driving I will not drink, point blank, end of story, THE END.

I believe that drinking and driving shows a complete disregard for not only your own personal safety, but the safety of others.

I believe she was fairly treated. You do the crime and you do the time, complete with the consequences that may come later.

How was this event arranged? I would like to sit for this myself because it would give me a perspective and probably keep me on my toes. Did the professor arrange this? What state is this (if you are allowed to say)?

I definitely believe that this should be included in all cirriculums to prepare students for the risk. Thanks for starting this thread, it was enlightening.

I don't know how the BON is in other states but here in Georgia the BON duty is to protect the public not help the nurse. Nurses in Georgia pays fees every other year to an agency that has almost god like authority over them.

NY BON is supposed to be for the same purpose, but to tell you the truth, these are ALL people who have not been working the bedside for many years, therefore have no real idea about what we trench nurses put up with. Can't trust them.

I've seen that the Board is hard put to handle an application for licensure correctly so I know I'm toast if my license ever ends up getting questioned. But of course, one has to first get a chance to get the license from the Board, before worrying about what the Board is going to do to the license if they ever issue it.

I think that explains a lot about the rule that they've had at several of my rotation sites: The nurse who pulls the narcotic, gives the narcotic. I just thought it was that way everywhere. I wish we could go on a field trip like that.

Hello:

I wrote earlier and referred to my sister's situation.

Re: visiting a Board meeting. I went to my sister's trial and, later, to a board meeting when they decided on the disciplinary action. The trial was prosecuted by two Assistant Attorney Generals (AAGs). My sister was deposed prior to the trial and on the basis of her deposition, the charges were considerably reduced. That said, the AAGs were out for blood at the trial. There was sniping between the prosecuting and defense attorneys - similar to what you might expect in high school. And, believe it or not, the witnesses for the prosecution were permitted to testify over the phone. I'm convinced they were being coached on the other end as they testified.

My sister's attorney was confident that the judge would dismiss the charges altogether and did not produce an expert witness. Although the judge acknowledged the inconsistencies in testimony (outright lies), he did not dismiss the charges. Instead, my take is that he pretty much referred everything back to the Board. And then the Board left the entire matter of evaluation and recommendations up to Peer Assistance Services.

In my sister's instance, the Board meeting was very lackluster. At the beginning of the meeting, the audience was instructed to remain perfectly quiet and not to address the Board, unless first spoken to by the Board. In my sister's case, there was NO discussion about her case- only a rubber stamp of the recommendations made by Peer Assistance Services, which were recorded in documents and handed out to the other Board members when her case came up. For me, not much was gleaned from the Board proceedings.

From a learning standpoint, there is an organization called TAANA (The American Association of Nurse Attorneys - www.taana.org). Their national website has a referral directory. It may be possible to contact someone from a local chapter who would be willing to be a speaker for a school or local group.

Additionally, there is a document titled "Legal Basics for Professional Nursing: Nurse Practice Acts," by Mable H. Smith, RN, JD, PhD. It is available online at the following.

http://nursingworld.org/mods/mod995/print.pdf

The CEU activity is expired, but the information is very good. I wish we were able to locate TAANA and this document early on.

I have no issue with bona fide offenses related to substance abuse and diversion. If you peruse the BON websites, it is shocking to see the number and magnitude of offenses. If you are guilty, it's best to simply "go with the flow." If you are confident that things will sort themselves out because you have done nothing wrong, think again. These processes take a very long time. BON and AAG personnel turnover, just as they do in any organization. You may have a sense that you are making headway with one person, and then another person, a stranger, suddenly has taken over your case. Once things get to the legal stage, there is nothing you can do to stop that ball. The earlier comments about having liability insurance are also well founded.

Ciao! I love your discussion.