What would cause a nurse to lose his/her license?

Nurses General Nursing

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Pre-nursing student here....I'm asking the above question because I keep seeing people mention, on various threads, that they refuse to work on a floor where there are too many patients per nurse, because they don't want to risk losing their license - I assume because they feel they would end up providing sub-quality care.

Now, I can imagine the logical things which would cause people to lose their license...getting arrested for a felony, showing up to work high, stealing from patients, stealing drugs from a facility, being generally incompetent (although I can't imagine too many incompetent nurses would make it through grueling nursing school and NCLEX exam...) but why would being on a floor with too many patients be the nurse's fault?

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Because the nurse did not protest the assignment and continues to work under those conditions. If you knowingly accept a dangerous assignment and something happens to your pt, you are responsible. Saying later on that "I had too many pts" will not work because you KNEW you had too many pts and didn't protest the assignment. By "something happens to your pt" I mean something that could have been turned around or prevented with timely intervention. If you haven't checked on your pt for several hours and you find him dead, and it turned out he started having problems an hour or two ago but you don't know that because you never checked on him, you could be in trouble.

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Specializes in icu, er, transplant, case management, ps.
Because the nurse did not protest the assignment and continues to work under those conditions. If you knowingly accept a dangerous assignment and something happens to your pt, you are responsible. Saying later on that "I had too many pts" will not work because you KNEW you had too many pts and didn't protest the assignment. By "something happens to your pt" I mean something that could have been turned around or prevented with timely intervention. If you haven't checked on your pt for several hours and you find him dead, and it turned out he started having problems an hour or two ago but you don't know that because you never checked on him, you could be in trouble.

And here in Florida, you had better put your protest into writting. Your facility is going to hang you out to dry if anything happens. And so will the BON.

Woody:balloons:

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Wow, that sounds like it puts nurses in a bind. If you refuse to take an assignment, I would think it wouldn't make you too popular with your boss. Then again if they're trying to force you to work in an unsafe situation, I guess you shouldn't be working there anyway.

Under what circumstances are you allowed to refuse an assignment?

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Specializes in Hospice, Med/Surg, ICU, ER.
Under what circumstances are you allowed to refuse an assignment?

Under any circumstances you choose: it is YOUR license. A patient does not become your responsibility until you ACCEPT the assignment. No one can "force" you to accept report on any patient.

However, you'd best be able to back up your decision or you could be fired. And in right-to-work states, you might be fired even if you are able to justify your decision.

You will have to decide at the time - what is worth more" my job, or my license. A job is a job; your license is your livelihood.

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Specializes in icu, er, transplant, case management, ps.
Under any circumstances you choose: it is YOUR license. A patient does not become your responsibility until you ACCEPT the assignment. No one can "force" you to accept report on any patient.

However, you'd best be able to back up your decision or you could be fired. And in right-to-work states, you might be fired even if you are able to justify your decision.

You will have to decide at the time - what is worth more" my job, or my license. A job is a job; your license is your livelihood.

Here, In Florida, the BON and employers have a very strange way of determining if you have accepted your assignment. In the past, it has been held that a nurse accepted her assignment merely by clocking in and reporting to work. And the employer has filed a complaint, with the BON, that the nurse abandoned her/his patients by refusing to work. And the BON has held that a nurse had abandoned her patients. Along with the lack of support, short staffing is one of the major reason's I stopped working staff, six months after arriving here.

Woody:balloons:

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Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Medsurge.

All I can say is to back Woody up...Florida is great for Models, Retirees and Surfers. But, watch out RN! BON is out to get ya! Really! An 8-10 pt assignment on cardiac medsurge, get real!

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Specializes in icu, er, transplant, case management, ps.
All I can say is to back Woody up...Florida is great for Models, Retirees and Surfers. But, watch out RN! BON is out to get ya! Really! An 8-10 pt assignment on cardiac medsurge, get real!

The Florida Board of Nursing has always been a bit over eager to investigate any complaint, warrented or not. One can get investigated here just by someone making a complaint. I left this state in 2000, never intending to return. I allowed my RN lcense to laspe. You can immagine my surprise when I went to check my status three years later and found REVOKED listed. My license was revoked because I decided to allow it to laspe. I have never had a single complaint made against me, here in Florida or up in New York. And despite having held a Florida license for twenty years, if I wish to reactivate it, I must submit a copy of my NYS boards and pay more than $200. For that price, Florida can keep it's license.

Woody:balloons:

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Specializes in Hospice, Med/Surg, ICU, ER.

I work on a general med/surg floor - mostly medical with some tele thrown in for good measure. Our max load is 7 pts at night. There have been a few nights when I could safely taken one or two more, but our usual seven is at the very edge of safety.

I can't imagine taking 8-10 on a regular basis! :trout:

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Specializes in icu, er, transplant, case management, ps.
I work on a general med/surg floor - mostly medical with some tele thrown in for good measure. Our max load is 7 pts at night. There have been a few nights when I could safely taken one or two more, but our usual seven is at the very edge of safety.

I can't imagine taking 8-10 on a regular basis! :trout:

I hate being one of those ten patients, on tele, on the 7PM to 7AM shift.

Woody:balloons:

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Specializes in Long Term Facilitly.

How does this apply to long term care? I have twenty or better residents at a time.

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Specializes in icu, er, transplant, case management, ps.
How does this apply to long term care? I have twenty or better residents at a time.

It depends on the position you are holding. If you are an R.N. or L.P.N., you can be responsible for all the patients on a unit. If you are a CNA, you are responsible only for the patients you have been assigned.

Woody:balloons:

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