Reporting a nurse who has been arrested.

[netrn]

Why do we bother reporting to the attorney general or the

state board of nursing in our state (Indiana) regarding knowing of

a nurse that has been arrested for distributing illegal drugs

if they inform that person that you have reported it and

that they are not going to do anything about it and will not

be taking away her license?

Maybe I read the fine print wrong but I thought that was part o of our rules and regulations, --to protect our residents and other co-workers.

Just doesn't make sense to me ---almost like patting them on

the back and saying --Oh that's ok! I'm talking about an

adult---not a teenager here.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Why do we bother reporting to the attorney general or the state board of nursing in our state (Indiana) regarding knowing of a nurse that has been arrested for distributing illegal drugs if they inform that person that you have reported it and

that they are not going to do anything about it and will not

be taking away her license?

Initial post didn't say they were convicted. Unless you were there when they arrested her, how do you REALLY KNOW what happened? The wheels of justice move slowly sometimes. Check the SBON newsletter beginning of next year you might be surprissed.

Indiana SBON info

COMPLAINTS REGARDING HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONERS

...A disciplinary action can result in the practitioner's license being revoked or suspended or in the practitioner being placed on probation or reprimanded. Among the reasons for disciplinary action are incompetence, physical or mental disability, addiction to or abuse of alcohol or drugs, and lewd or immoral conduct...

http://www.state.in.us/hpb/consumerinfo/index.html

Info from PA's SBON website that answers questions:

How Complaints Are Handled

PA Complaint form

Effect of Criminal Convictions on Licensure

Moved the thread for greater visability and comment.

[Youda]

I Missouri, when you renew your license, you're required to report any arrests or convicions. If the BON finds out you lied, you're in a lot more trouble than if you owned up to it on the renewal form. I've never known anyone who had to do this self-reporting, or what the BON did if you had to put something down.

One nurse I know from Missouri did get her licensed revoked, though, for shoplifting. Immoral conduct.

[FloridaCCRN, CRNA]

I live in Florida & just graduated 8/7/02 and I have a close friend who confided to me that whe was arrested several years ago i think she said for petty theft BUT she says that since she was not convicted she won't put it in her application when applying for licensure...well the application clearly states that any ARREST should be included in the application. I would hate for her to have

taken the boards and get licensed only for it to be revoked or suspended for not revealing this issue

I told her she should fess up now instead of paying later!

Anyway my question is am I obligated to report this to the BON?

[Vsummer1]

Originally posted by graduate_2002

I have a close friend who confided to me that whe was arrested several years ago i think she said for petty theft BUT she says that since she was not convicted she won't put it in her application when applying for licensure...

I don't know the answer as far as your obligation to report, however:

I was told that they do run a fingerprint check and if your prints come up with something you didn't voluntarily report you are toast. If she reports it, all she has to do is send a letter explaining how she has rehabilitated herself since the incident. The lady explaining this also went on to say she knows of a CONVICTED MURDERER who holds a nursing license in good standing. The nurse who murdered did so in a crime of passion, paid her dues and rehabilitated herself. So, something as small as petty theft would best be reported to the board with a letter of explanation / rehabilitation about something in the past rather than have them find out you are a LIAR now!

[FloridaCCRN, CRNA]

I totally agree with you Vsummer, that's pretty much what I told her.

[traumarns]

here is a question for all of you.

(this may turn out to be long)

person worked for local agency as lpn.

there was a screw up and somehow he got overpaid.

the agency NEVER contacted him.

about a year ago, he got a letter from sbon that there was a complain against his lpn license and all the blah blah blah that goes with it.

still no contact from the company. nobody asking for his side, or even if he was aware he got overpaid.

graduated rn school in dec.

took boards in feb. failed

has test anxiety.

renewed his lpn license in june, while waiting for the att to retake nclex rn.

all the while his lpn license in good standing with sbon, per the computerized records.

last week, we randomly found out his lpn license was revoked.

he never received a letter from bon stating they had revoked his license.

stated on the computerized record, they had renewed his license in june, and revoked it in july.

I am confused, as is he.

he contacted the bon. they state he has no recourse and cannot appeal it as the time limit has lapsed.

the original letter mentioned NOTHING about appealing within 30 days, nor did he have to sign anything. remember this is over a year ago. we figured if and/or when there was a hearing, he would be notified.

i spent HOURS on the computer researching appeals process and what constitues disciplinary action in our state.

finally i found some 2 sentence paragragh somewhere that stated he had 30 days from the original letter to appeal, could have council present. something in there also stated, by not answering the complaint, was something about surrendering his license.

mind you, all this time his lpn license was listed as "ACTIVE". there was also no disciplinary action on it.

kept checking the computerized data bank while waiting to find out if we passed boards.

sounds to me like he got railroaded.

he contacted his employer right away, had a meeting with the director of his unit, risk management, and a lawyer.

(his benefits include free legal counciling)

mind you, he had been working as an lpn for a few weeks on a revoked license, and did not know that.

they said they would use him as a uap, and that they would contact the bon on his behalf, and get his lpn reinstated.

they said it will be a slow process.

Does something sound fishy with the bon of our state?

I saw the letter that was sent over a year ago, and it really sounded as if this complaint, would have no action taken against his license.

dont they HAVE to notify you of things concerning your livelyhood, and safety of the pts.

and is a lawyer, this late in the game really going to be able to help him???

this person is a great aspect to our profession.

was a medic in the army, works in a level one trauma er.

is an instructer for many things, including cna, iv cert for lpns, bls and 8 months ago became an acls instructer. he did all this, except the acls instructer, as an lpn. the acls was done as a gn.

i dont know.

what do you guys have to say about this.

ugh i am so frustrated

[sjoe]

traumarns--I think you should have started a new thread with this topic.

The only way he will know whether a lawyer can help is to talk with one who has experience in this field. Usually an initial consultation is low-priced, though that is not really a consideration in a case like this, and he can find out what the options are. ALL the relevant paperwork should be brought in to the initial visit.

Were this my situation, I'd make sure to use MY OWN attorney, not one provided through an employer, since there might be a cause of action against that same employer--a potential conflict of interest for the attorney.

[goof1552]

I have a question--I have a friend who lived with an abusive husband and when she would call the cops the husband would say that she hit him before she could even talk. Now, she has 2 domestic violence arrest on her record. She has a CNA license and this was over 6 years ago she got the domestics on her record and she hasn't worked as a CNA in about 10 years but would love to start up again. She knows she would probably have to retest but does the domestics affect her license?? This is in Illinois. Thanks

[shodobe]

State of Calif has a newslettter they send out once a year that has the list of ALL nurses who have had either their license suspended or revoked during that year. It is interesting to see what you do is always under a microscope. You can run but can't hide in Calif. Actually, some of the things people lose their license over is sometimes very trivial, in my opinion. But everything we do can come under a "moral terpitude" clause that is in our Scope of Practice. All convictions for either a felony or a misdemeanor is reported to the BON and dealt with. Now anything can be missed and the BON needs to be informed, especially if it has to do with patient safety or abuse. Drug dealing is one that can't be ignored. Do what you can without putting yourself in harms way.