HHS asked to open access to disciplined nurses database

Today nurses are expected to be god. No mistake and no error. Im concerned about opening of files. I have seen many hospital go after nurses to remove them because they plain dont like them or they have spoken up for safety reason or wrong doings. I have also hospitals go after a nurse because she could refute what was being said. As we go along we are taking on so much responsiblity and more patient loads. Each hospital doesnt care if you get a write up or if you loose your license as long as they are left untouched. Through my experience, they are destroying excellant nurses by broadcasting such an act. You can be set up through the institutions and be made guilty no matter what.

ny state does have a website where you can look up whether or not someone has had a disciplinary problem and what action was taken. Use the link below. It's very interesting the things some nurses have done. Some of the misconduct are directly nursing related, some are not. Here are some examples of misconduct. I did not add the "action" or resulting judgement. The actions are listed right with the misconduct for each nurse, on the website below if you want to see typical penalties.

http://www.op.nysed.gov/rasearch.htm#month - go towards the bottom of the page, click on any month/year, then click on "nursing"

some examples of misconduct:

• summary: licensee admitted to the charge of conduct in the profession, which evidences moral unfitness, to wit: Diverting controlled and non-controlled substances for his own use
• summary: licensee did not contest the charge of falsely indicating on her application for licensure as a registered professional nurse in the state of new york that she had received an associate nursing degree (is actually a lpn)
• summary: licensee admitted to the charge of altering a patient’s record to reflect the flow rate for the patient’s t.p.n. To be consistent with the flow rate ordered by the physician
• summary: licensee admitted to the charge of administering insulin to 5 different patients when the order called for heparin to be administered
• summary: licensee admitted to the charge of having been convicted of willful violation of health laws and endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person.
• summary: licensee did not contest the charges of committing medication administration and documentation errors, copying and retaining a patient’s records, administering medications without a physician’s order, and violating the terms of probation previously imposed by the board of regents
• summary: licensee admitted to the charges of having been found by the commissioner of health to be in violation of section 2803-d of the public health law; having been convicted of petit larceny, driving while intoxicated, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the 3rd degree, and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the 2nd degree; and failing to report a conviction on his re-registration application.
• summary: licensee admitted to the charge of signing the signature of a doctor to a prescription without authorization to do so
• summary: licensee did not contest the charges of failing to properly assess a patient and failing to notify a physician of the patient’s deteriorating condition
• summary: licensee pled guilty to the charges of having been convicted of falsifying business records in the 2nd degree; of providing false answers to questions on a nursing employment application; and of conduct which evidenced moral unfitness to practice the profession in that, subsequent to an order of a court that she surrender her license to practice as a registered professional nurse in the state of new york, she applied for a position in a hospital as a registered professional nurse, made false statements on the employment application for said position and accepted an offer of employment as a registered professional nurse at said hospital.
• summary: licensee was found to be guilty of having been convicted of course of sexual conduct against a child in the 2nd degree, a class d felony
• summary: licensee admitted to the charge of having been convicted of possession of child pornography
• summary: licensee admitted to charges of having been convicted in november 1992 of attempted murder in the 2nd degree, a class b felony, and assault in the 1st degree (2 counts), a class c felony

ok, that's enough, it's getting depressing.

absolutely, all hospitals and nursing homes should have access to disciplinary records for all professions that are required to be licensed. I was totally surprised to know that other states do not make disciplinary records available. As you can see, joe citizen can access these records as well in ny state.

definition of professional misconduct in ny state
professional misconduct is defined in education law and in the rules of the board of regents. Professional misconduct includes the following:

• engaging in acts of gross incompetence or gross negligence on a single occasion, or negligence or incompetence on more than one occasion
• permitting or aiding an unlicensed person to perform activities requiring a license
• refusing a client or patient service because of race, creed, color, or national origin
• practicing beyond the scope of the profession
• releasing confidential information without authorization
• being convicted of a crime
• failing to return or provide copies of records on request
• being sexually or physically abusive
• abandoning or neglecting a patient in need of immediate care
• performing unnecessary work or unauthorized services
• practicing under the influence of alcohol or other drugs

jeanne