RN license suspended in Maryland

James Huffman · Aug 28, 2004

How recently is "recently"?

Call the board Monday morning. Ask them where you are in the system. And ask them if they need any further documentation.

And if you need a lawyer, get one. An attorney who is a nurse, or one familiar with state regulatory boards (such as a BON) might be especially helpful.

Jim Huffman, RN

ZZTopRN, BSN, RN · Aug 28, 2004

I guess my post wasn't very clear. When I talked to the board last week and asked them how I could get my license reinstated,(since it has been suspended 14 years) I was told, "write a letter to the BON and request that your license be reinstated." Then they would send me paper work to fill out and mail back to them.

When you ask where I am in the system, do you mean discipinary action? My license is suspended, if that is what you mean.

I am in California now and was wondering (after 14 years) if there was some kind of time limit, and what I could expect from the paper work they send me.

Thanks

mv

James Huffman · Aug 28, 2004

By where you are, I meant asking where you stood as far as your request (for license reinstatement).

I suspect your request will wait until a meeting of the board of nursing. The folks at the BON might be able to tell you how the process works. That's why I was encouraging a phone call.

Best of luck with this.

Jim Huffman

billw · Aug 28, 2004

I'm a Maryland resident. It took me almost two and a half moths to get an expired license re-instated. When I called, they told me my application was "not in the sytem", even though I had received my cancelled check and a post card that they mailed saying they had received my application. Be persistant. I've heard of people needing a lawyer to pjone them to get some action.

ZZTopRN, BSN, RN · Aug 28, 2004

By where you are, I meant asking where you stood as far as your request (for license reinstatement).
I suspect your request will wait until a meeting of the board of nursing. The folks at the BON might be able to tell you how the process works. That's why I was encouraging a phone call.
Best of luck with this.
Jim Huffman

Hi Jim:

I understand now what you are saying. Do you know how often the BON meets? I am going to wait for a few more days for the paper work they are going to send me about requesting my license be reinstated. Then I will give them a call. It will be curious to see what they require to get it reinstated.

I should have gotten my arrest record expunged, but I was so traumatized by the experience that I thought I would never go back into nursing again.

Thank you for taking the time to communicate with me.

mv

leslie :-D · Aug 28, 2004

mv,

in massachusetts, the bon meets 4x/yr.

i think your best bet would be to write or call them.

much luck to you.

leslie

ZZTopRN, BSN, RN · Aug 28, 2004

I'm a Maryland resident. It took me almost two and a half moths to get an expired license re-instated. When I called, they told me my application was "not in the sytem", even though I had received my cancelled check and a post card that they mailed saying they had received my application. Be persistant. I've heard of people needing a lawyer to pjone them to get some action.

Hi billw:

I have read on the posts that a lot of people have the same problem of getting their license renewed after cancelled check and acknowledgment by postcard.

I had tried for the whole month of August to call, not getting a person, "leave a message" and none of my calls were ever returned. Many, many emails that were never answered. I started emailing every agency I could think of and hit on the Maryland Department of Health and Mental something or other. Did not get a response from them directly but the next day, I started getting answers by either phone or email. Finally was able to get in touch with whoever handles suspenses.

I wish my predicament was only a matter of renewal, not suspension.

Thank you for writing.

mv

chris_at_lucas_RN, RN · Aug 28, 2004

If you can get your criminal record expunged, you probably oughta go ahead and do that (otherwise it begs the question "why didn't you, if you could have?").

The down side is that government agencies do not have to follow little things like laws of evidence or, in some cases, the Constitution. The decisions of groups like the BON members can be based on anything just this side of "because."

In other words, "just because" you were exonerated does not oblige the board to return your license.

You will do well to have an attorney--and possibly to return to Maryland personally at some point to deal with the board face to face.

Good luck to you.

ZZTopRN, BSN, RN · Aug 28, 2004

If you can get your criminal record expunged, you probably oughta go ahead and do that (otherwise it begs the question "why didn't you, if you could have?").
The down side is that government agencies do not have to follow little things like laws of evidence or, in some cases, the Constitution. The decisions of groups like the BON members can be based on anything just this side of "because."
In other words, "just because" you were exonerated does not oblige the board to return your license.
You will do well to have an attorney--and possibly to return to Maryland personally at some point to deal with the board face to face.
Good luck to you.

Chris: I know exactly what you mean, "just because." I found that out when I went to the board by myself at their evidentiary hearing.

Anyway, after I left, I took a job at a nearby nursing home while I waiting on another job with the state.

On the sixth day I was there, the DON brought in a police officer and they took me to the medicine room and asked me to open my purse. There were about 3 or 4 prescription drugs in it. Obviously, they were placed there by the staff. All employees had keys to the medicine room and kept their purses and valuables in there. On that evening, I noticed a lot of activity with employees going in and out of the medicine room, including the HUSBAND of the DON. So what does that tell you.

It was a retaliatory action (of course, how would I prove it.) I had been working in the jail near this nursing home where I started writing people up. I would come in on my shift sometimes and find inmates unresponsive with no medical history taken on them and drug charting discrepancies, etc. I was called in by the Manager of the Contract Medical Company and was told "how dare you write up your fellow employees." From then it was hell, including accusing me of some wrong doing with drugs. It took over three months to get them to show me the records where my supposed drug wrongdoing was. Of course nothing was there. Also on New Years eve, no one showed up to relieve me, I guess they thought I would leave and charge me with abandonment of duty. Anyway, I believe where I worked before at the jail, and the nursing home worked together. The Annapolis area is a pretty small community.

Anyway, I was quickly released and the case was dropped. But when I went before the board, I felt confident that I would be okay. Included in my documentation were 3 reports, 1 from the DON, 2 others written by Lvn and NA. All 3 reports were DIFFERENT. With my nursing background I knew how important documentation was, and I also had a year of business law which also taught the importance of documentation.

Well, as you said "just because". I was just devastated and felt that I had no rights and didn't have much luck with lawyers.

I know what you are saying about a lawyer and possiby going back to Maryland to face them. If it comes to that I simply will not go through this again. All I can say is it is an evil system.

Thanks for listening and for some of you others, read the post by Nurseprotect, "the BON is NOT YOUR FRIEND"and watch your backs.Thank all of your for the well wishes.

mv

chris_at_lucas_RN, RN · Aug 28, 2004

Of course you have to do what you have to do. No one would want to go through that once, much less twice, and certainly not without some guarantee of success.

Alas, there are no guarantees.

Try to get the record expunged. That's kind of a smallish step in the right direction, right?

Then see where you stand.

You haven't got anything to lose, and taking small steps (relatively speaking, of course) can give you back a little of the dignity and self-confidence you once had.

You have a right to be treated with dignify and respect--first from yourself.

My bet is that you can advocate for others with the best of them, but when it comes to you, you do a lot of suffering.

How do I know? Been there, done that. Didn't lose a license, but lost an opportunity for a good job, wasn't allowed to work on a particular Army post, my reputation was thoroughly damaged.

It's a long time ago, and I don't think of it very often, but when I do, I still get a little sick inside.

Try to take a step or two toward retrieving something of what you had. Maybe you won't go all the way, maybe you will. But you'll feel better having done something and had an outcome.

With you in spirit.

ZZTopRN, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2004

Chris:

Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. Boy, would I ever like to advocate for other nurses. At this point I am putting all my energy into studying for the board. I am also going to get that arrest record expunged. I am certainly curious about what is in it. What I have to do is order a background check to get it.

Thanks again for listening.

mv