Anyone ever get their license back after revocation?

determined_nurse · May 4, 2011

Question for SWS RN. Apparently I cannot PM until I've had 14 posts...hmm.

Anyway, did you apply to be removed from the OIG exclusion list prior to your exclusion end date? It is my understanding that there are mandatory and permissive exclusions based on what the extent of the issue was. And the times range anywhere from 2-10 years, or until you are reinstated with your license. I have a permissive exclusion for 2 years, I was placed on it based on erroneous information. I never lost my nursing license. The exlusion paperwork will not be sent to me since it is too early (per the website) to come off the list. I appreciate you sharing your experience in previous posts relating to OIG and how you were able to be removed from the list. Any more info would be great!! Thanks.

luckylpn · Sep 22, 2011

I am new to this so please bear with me. I have been in the medical field for 25 years. 12 years as a cna,9 years before going to nursing school in 98. i have been an lpn for 13 years. my mother passed away suddenly at the age of 51 in 2005,she was my best friend in the world and i lost that. i dealt with her death,or so i tought, in 2007 i was in rn school,working 2 12 hrs jobs 6 days a week,5 children at home,one of which was a newborn,well 3 months old. I was working at the heart hospital and one night i gave a patient her morphine and i have given that drug several times to many patients, this patient stated,"ahh,i fell so much better,that takes all my pain away and makes me forget all that has happened". For some off the wall reason,i wantedto feel that same way,that would take all my pain away,from everything. i have never done any drugs before this. I was hooked and for 17 days i diverted morphine. it had the adverse reaction for me,it was like speed. i was awake and could go on the schedule i was on. i was never asked about this at my job. i moved to oklahoma for 2 months and moved back home. When i went to renew my license,which only took 3 to 4 days to get back,i didn't hera anything from the board and finally received a letter stating that i was being investigated for diversion. to make a long story short,it started out to be 6 month key restriction, no one would hire me and i had to take care of my family. so i didn't tell the employer about knap. i was caught and my license suspended for 6 months, did that,got my license back,continued in the program with ua's going to na and doing my recovery. after 20 months of being in the program,successfully, i forgot to call and just so happens it was a testing day so therefore i didn't test and that was noncompliant with the board so they suspended me for a year during this year i showed positive, this was due to my niece,she was upset with me because i told her that she needed help with her addiction and i was here to help her and we could do this together.she knew what was going on with the board and my nursing and things like that. she put percocet in my coffee and the next day i had to test and it showed positive,so therefore the board has revoked my license. this just happened in july of 2011. i am still continuing my na meetings and doing my recovery but now i have no license and basically starting over. i am dealing with my niece as well but that is another topic. i live in kansas and they are a tough borad. has anyone dealt with KSBON or is there a lenght of time i should wait to ask to be reinstated, how do i go on with this process. please advise....

gr8fulnrs · Sep 24, 2011

wow. first of all, let me give you a great big hug! I can relate to what your are saying in a lot of ways. the 6 month narc restriction is a doozey, i went through that too. and i get that this basically means is you have no more livelyhood to support yourself, because who wants to hire a nurse that cant pass meds. I ended up taking a job that didnt have controlled substances (school nurse) and took a huge cut in pay. I never had considered not being honest about my nursing license probation to many prospective employers, because by the time I started looking for work I had enough 12 step work in me to become entirley honest and just try to do the next right thing. I also know that Boards of Nursing are tough, i'm not sure if one is tougher that any other. I have Az. and I think they are tough! Just keep in mind they are there to protect the public, thats what helped me! I had huge resentment towards my Board of Nursing and actually did some step work around it, now I'm alot more clear and humble in this process. I'm getting ready to step down to "on-site" supervison from an RN, and I do have my key privilages back, so there is hope for you too. I've been on probation for 5 years now, and I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just keep going to meetings, turn stuff over to your HP and try to do the next right thing-you will know! God Bless.

matata · Sep 25, 2011

Hi Luckylpn,

I feel you pain and trouble. all I can say is trying to quiet yourself a little bit and continue with your program. This is one of the sure option that can help you get back to the profession. Keep going! you can do this.

smv73 · Sep 25, 2011

QUOTE:
You can get off this list without getting your license back, it takes a lot of work and a good lawyer but it can be done. I hope that one day someone who "matters" will see the inclusion of sick people on this list as inherently wrong but until that day, get in recovery, decide what path you want to take and contact an attorney who has dealt with this before.

Please note:

I agree with a lot of what you said about the OIG list and the ramifications. I found out I was on it last year about 7 years after the incident happened. I WAS NOT NOTIFIED IN ADVANCE-I found out the hard way....anyway, I was able to have my name removed from the list without legal intervention. In fact, I did it by myself. I contacted the lead attorney at the att generals office in Washington, DC. I asked what could be done. They sent me a packet with information on how to go about it.

I had several friends, business associates and former supervisors write a short letter on my behalf. Basically stating that I would never defraud the Medicare system, good moral character, etc.

THey really are more interested in fradulent practices than drug/alcohol addiction...in fact, that was not an issue at all.

I called the lead attorney weekly, she was most helpful and understanding.

THe entire process took from May 30 until August 1, about 2 months.

It felt great when it was over, and I was glad I advocated for myself. I recieved an official letter stating my name was removed and checked the next month it was published and it was.

Good luck, it can be done....I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

s

This is great story, SWS! I, too, am in the position of needing to get off this list. I have a surrendered licence from all the way back in 2001. After I surrendered, I immediately began working in the medical device industry as clionical trainer of medical equipment - a well-paying career that still allows me to use my brain and clinical education that doen't require a license. Truth be told, I'm quite good at what I do and love it....MUCH more than I enjoyed working as a clinician, in fact. I just assumed this is what I would make a long-term carrer out of, so after I surrended my license, I simply fell off my probationary program. As everyone here probably is aware, it is SOOOO financially punitive having to cover the costs of weekly tox screens and therapy out of pocket.

Well finally, the List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE) has caught up with me. I only vaguely remember receiving the origial letter from the OIG ten years ago and I wasn't quite sure what it meant at the time. Now all of the hospitals that I work in are cross-referencing the LEIE monthly and my enjoyable career has gone down the tubes. I've been clean/sober for eleven years.....my life now is simply not representative of what happened all those years ago. I changed the people, places and things in my life that were the main contributors of my addiction, and I have no demons anymore....plain and simple. I NEED TO GET OFF THIS LIST!!!

Sorry....I envisioned making the above info more succinct. What I'm looking for is to understand in more detail exactly how you got this off the ground with the DOJ Attorney General's Office? What do you mean by Lead Attorney?? is the top attorney who handles lawsuits dealing with the OIG?? Basically, I want to start this process of appealing to the OIG, and I'd love more specifics about how to go about starting it.

Any help you can offer would be incredibly appreciated.

Thanks,

S

smv73 · Sep 25, 2011

A quick question....thed OIG FAQ states that if you apply for reinstaement and get denied, you can't reapply for another year. I am assuming that this would've applied to you as well.....yes??

smv73 · Sep 25, 2011

WOW....after quoting you twice, I just CAREFULLY reread your post and I need a quick clarification.....did you accomplish this WITHOUT having had your license reinstated or did it occur after your license was reinstated??

Devildog · Apr 4, 2012

I am posting this as a cautionary tale. I was on this blog a year ago while filing the paperwork to remove my name from the OIG exclusion list. Just so you know it took me an entire ten(10) weeks to receive a positive answer and most of the form was not applicable. Also, READ the entire instructions included carefully before rushing to complete the form.

I disclosed my entire history to my employer which you should do.

I currently have a great job and everything was wonderful until recently when an insurance provider contacted my employer to verify that I was the same person who was on the exclusion list and wanted an explanation. There is no explanation. I was on the exclusion list and now I am not. I believe the insurance provider is working with outdated infomation. My employer was great, is forwarding the letter from OIG, and cannot believe this situation because they have checked and I am not on the list.

The moral of this is to have ready the letter which you receive from the OIG stating that you are off the exclusion list handy if not already in your personnel file. Do not lose the letterremoving you from the OIG exclusion list, make multiple copies and place in many places.

Good luck

BigSurKay · Apr 26, 2012

Hi All!!

What a fantastic site. I stumbled upon you doing a google search.

I am not working as an RN after they filed an accusation against me. It's a pretty good one and I did the deed (over medicated with ativan and drove the car into a ditch. Pled guilty to reckless drving). Now I have responded to their request for a administrative hearing, which is the first week of August 2012, briefly spoken with a lawyer.

Can I negotiate a surrender of my license myself? any pitfalls to watch out for? This is is California.

Devildog · Apr 26, 2012

To BigsurKay,

Sorry you have these problems. You really should obtain the services of an administrative lawyer if you have the money . If you can access prior BON meeting see if there are any names of lawyers that constantly are defending nurses.

Talk to the lawyer about surrendering your license. I would not offer this unless this was not your first time with problem. You will do much better to have them suspend your license for a fix amount of time and then you reapply for reinstatement. Surrendering says something totally different. Be careful.

This is your BIG problem. The BON can/will report you to the HHS office of Inspector General(OIG). Look it up on the internet. This is a total NIGHTMARE FOR YOU. The minimum time they will exclude you from work is 5 years. This means you can do nothing anywhere in healthcare. You canot work in Househeeping in a hospital, nursing home,nada,nothing.

This is a draconian law and most people have no idea that it even exists. The process to be removed is a pain as I have described above. Maybe a good lawyer can negociate that your name is not be submitted to the OIG. I am not sure if it is mandatory for a state BON to submit your name to the OIG, but you certainly do not want this. I have found that state boards are normally reasonable but this exclusion list has no flexibility. You just receive a letter in the mail saying,"you are excluded for so many years".

Hopefully California has a program for healthcare professionals to attend meetings,drop urines and you can continue working as a nurse. Florida does and it works well.

Good luck and let everyone know what your outcome was.

subee, MSN, CRNA · Apr 26, 2012

BigSurKay: There are SOOOOOO many people on this website who are in ugly predicaments because they DIDN't hire a lawyer. Look for Jackstem"s posts...he became a lawyer after addiction as RN. His posts will refer you to lawyers expert in this area. California's program is understaffed and punitive. DO NOT GO WITHOUT A LAWYER!!!!! You can lose your livlihood for this lack of detail. I'm assuming that you did not divert the drugs from your employer. Big plus for you. You didn't fail a drug screen at work. More good news for you.

You want to be able to walk away from this with no permenent ding on your license. It can be done if you're smart about it.

jackstem · Apr 27, 2012

Thanks for the plug subee. One correction...I'm not an attorney...haven't even played one on TV (I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express though). I do work with a license defense attorney when she has clients with Substance Use Disorder issues.

One of the things I tell nurses and student nurses whenever I speak to a group is to buy your own Liability Insurance with a license defense clause. That way you have coverage should the defecation hits the ventilation. The cost of an attorney when compared to lost wages because you screwed up is small. Boards of nursing aren't there to hekp the nurse, they are there to protect the public.

There are those who believe an attorney isn't worth the time or money. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I'm not sure I want to take my chances in an adversarial system without someone who knows the rules of the game.

Jack