What should I ask the Board of Nursing?

diane227, LPN, RN · Sep 30, 2009

The Board of Nurse is in place to protect the public and to assure, to the best of their ability that nursing is practiced in a safe manner. They are not there generally to assist the nurse, although my dealings with them in the past when I was a director of nursing (in Texas) were fair and impartial. I suggest that your questions be profession and that you do not become antagonistic toward them. You might ask "what services are offered by the board to the nurse who commits an infraction to help them?'. "Does the board ever report incidents that occur to law enforcement?". Give us a follow up after the meeting. I would be interested to know the outcome.

pagandeva2000, LPN · Sep 30, 2009

The Board of Nurse is in place to protect the public and to assure, to the best of their ability that nursing is practiced in a safe manner. They are not there generally to assist the nurse, although my dealings with them in the past when I was a director of nursing (in Texas) were fair and impartial. I suggest that your questions be profession and that you do not become antagonistic toward them. You might ask "what services are offered by the board to the nurse who commits an infraction to help them?'. "Does the board ever report incidents that occur to law enforcement?". Give us a follow up after the meeting. I would be interested to know the outcome.

I can say that the BON has been very informative and quick to respond in my experience with them. I have no problems emailing them to ask questions and they have sent me copies of policies to back up what they advise. I know they are really to protect the public moreso than the nurse, so, I try and be very precise with my questions as well as civil in my interactions with them.

elkpark · Sep 30, 2009

I can say that the BON has been very informative and quick to respond in my experience with them. I have no problems emailing them to ask questions and they have sent me copies of policies to back up what they advise. I know they are really to protect the public moreso than the nurse, so, I try and be very precise with my questions as well as civil in my interactions with them.

I have always had v. positive, pleasant experiences with the BONs in the states in which I've practiced, too. It's important, though, for nurses (esp. students and new grads, who are the ones most often unclear) to understand clearly that the BON is a regulatory board, not a nursing advocacy organization. :)

pagandeva2000, LPN · Sep 30, 2009

I have always had v. positive, pleasant experiences with the BONs in the states in which I've practiced, too. It's important, though, for nurses (esp. students and new grads, who are the ones most often unclear) to understand clearly that the BON is a regulatory board, not a nursing advocacy organization. :)

Agreed...I would NEVER confide in areas that I could have goofed in...

PrisonrNurs · Oct 6, 2009

Give us a follow up after the meeting. I would be interested to know the outcome.

Our class met with the board today. It was interesting and honestly, I wish it could have been longer than an hour.

Anyway, the meeting did go well. I imagine some of you were expecting me to make an ass of myself and try to debate the BoN on some issue. Well, needless to say, I was civil, but I did ask a few "thought provoking" questions. Many of the other students asked scenario questions so I thought I'd throw one at her, which is based on a real incident that happened.

We help manage young offenders who by definition are wards of the state. In one of the cases, the nurse was ordered by the physician to administer a Gardasil vaccine. The parents of the youth absolutely forbade it. The nurse, also the supervisor of the facility, was torn between the wishes of the parents and her duties as a nurse to follow the doctor's orders. She consulted the attorney general, who advised she follow the wishes of the parents. She did, and the nurse was accused of insubordination by the physician and subsequently disciplined.

I saw this as an ethical dilemma and asked the Board what the prudent course of action would have been in this case. All the Board could offer was some terse laughter as well as a deer-in-the-headlights look. After a few seconds the Board representative did state that she would need more information before she could comment. I just dropped the issue after that.

It was very interesting and as part of our clinical assignments, we will be shadowing the board during one of their sessions later in the year. That will be exciting to say the least.

pagandeva2000, LPN · Oct 6, 2009

Our class met with the board today. It was interesting and honestly, I wish it could have been longer than an hour.
Anyway, the meeting did go well. I imagine some of you were expecting me to make an ass of myself and try to debate the BoN on some issue. Well, needless to say, I was civil, but I did ask a few "thought provoking" questions. Many of the other students asked scenario questions so I thought I'd throw one at her, which is based on a real incident that happened.
We help manage young offenders who by definition are wards of the state. In one of the cases, the nurse was ordered by the physician to administer a Gardasil vaccine. The parents of the youth absolutely forbade it. The nurse, also the supervisor of the facility, was torn between the wishes of the parents and her duties as a nurse to follow the doctor's orders. She consulted the attorney general, who advised she follow the wishes of the parents. She did, and the nurse was accused of insubordination by the physician and subsequently disciplined.
I saw this as an ethical dilemma and asked the Board what the prudent course of action would have been in this case. All the Board could offer was some terse laughter as well as a deer-in-the-headlights look. After a few seconds the Board representative did state that she would need more information before she could comment. I just dropped the issue after that.
It was very interesting and as part of our clinical assignments, we will be shadowing the board during one of their sessions later in the year. That will be exciting to say the least.

I think that you brought up a very good scenerio...I mean, the parents said no... Did she document that the parents refused the vaccine? I can't see how she was disciplined. Many times, patients I work with in GYN refuse things that the doctor ordered. I document the refusal in the chart, get the patient to sign the refusal form, inform my charge nurse and physician...nothing happened to me. Unbelievable! Thanks for sharing!

elkpark · Oct 6, 2009

I think that you brought up a very good scenerio...I mean, the parents said no... Did she document that the parents refused the vaccine? I can't see how she was disciplined. Many times, patients I work with in GYN refuse things that the doctor ordered. I document the refusal in the chart, get the patient to sign the refusal form, inform my charge nurse and physician...nothing happened to me. Unbelievable! Thanks for sharing!

I believe the issue in the scenario is whether the parents have the legal right/authority to give or withhold consent if a child is a "ward of the state," or does the DSS or DJJ staff member responsible for the minor give/withhold consent. That's a sticky, very specific question which would depend on state law, and I certainly don't criticize or question the BON member for not having a response to that question on the tip of her tongue -- she was savvy enough to realize that, since she doesn't deal with that sort of issue on a regular basis, she would be ill-advised to just announce to a group of students whatever initial thought popped into her head. The smartest response she could give was just what she said, that she would need more information.

I do deal with this sort of question all the time, working in child psych with lots of kids who have been taken away from their parents and are in DSS custody. In our situation, it is DSS who legally gives us consent for any medications or treatments, not the kids' parents, even if the parents are still involved and the kids will eventually be returned to them. I'm not sure, though, what the specific legal status is of kids in state custody because they're in DJJ custody.