Chadprepton's protips to the Maryland Board of Nursing (MBON) Disciplinary process - the Chadening

Okay for whatever reason you got kicked out of the rehab program now and you don't know what to do. You will most likely have to meet with the board. The moment you get a letter saying you've been kicked out of the rehab program is the time to get a lawyer that not only deals with professional nursing licenses, but the NURSING board itself. This will cost a lot more than the rehab program.

This board can take over 6 months just to ask you what happened. Yes, half a year until you are contacted or longer. It's very possible your license is still active with no record until then. This is a great time so show how you are dealing with your problem (or not).

Waiting on the board to contact you: Go. to. meetings. Go everyday. Until you meet the board. Yes, I'm serious. And yes it will matter. I printed out sheets that could hold 30 signatures a page. I had over 7 pages before they even made contact. Get a sponsor and work with them. This person might be willing to write a letter on your behalf. Get into inpatient treatment, PHP, or IOP. Make sure you have prefect attendance, clean urines, and are working on your problem, the consolers will vouch for you. Prove to them you are trying. Keep documents of everything you are doing for your recovery and work with your lawyer.

Once the contact you: Most likely to will sit with an investigator. You may have to swear under oath your statements, and they might be recorded. So write down everything that happened and what you expect they might ask. Be ready to answer some very hard questions. Your lawyer might be able to help. But you have provide the answers. Don't lie.

Contact with the board: After over 7 months of staying clean, being in treatment, working a program, my experience was I got a letter saying my license was placed on emergency suspended. As in, stop working today and see us in a couple of weeks. yes even after all of that I still had my license suspended before I could talk to them. I was working as an RN and had to quit my job. It sucks, but then you have a small, small, chance.

The 1st board hearing: This is to lift the emergency suspension. You go before the whole board. The board will state their case with an assistant attorney general. Your lawyer will state your case but remember this is going to be an uphill battle. Some may have won it but I lost and my license stayed suspended. Then what? Well you are offered a settlement conference.

Settlement conference: This is optional. This is a chance for you to negotiate with key board members and not with the whole board. This is your absolute best chance you have that getting your license back or minimizing the impact. Take it. But know and assistant AG will be there and your lawyer comes too. Depending on the complaint Maryland has guidelines on what to do with your license. Such as 1-3 year suspension. Remember all the stuff I mentioned before? Thats going to save your a** in the long term. If you come in and have actually worked on things and show remorse, that will make a massive difference. The range for what I did was 1-3 year Suspended and a 3000 fine.

Due to the prep work I did they gave me the lowest option, 1 year.

Due to the lawyer that I paid for the fine was completely dropped.

It could have been 2 more years and thousand of more dollars. Be careful.

After everyone agrees you sign the documents. *Your suspension doesn't start until after the documents are received and signed by the MBON* Yes the months you've already had your license suspended doesn't count.

Other options: You don't agree with the settlement conference or you want to meet the whole board: You are allowed to. But this is bad. You may not get as good of a chance to negotiate the punishment, you might get the same punishment you would have been offered anyways but wasted more months waiting for it to start. If you decline the board's offer at the settlement you risk losing that offer.

You don't agree with the board: You have one last "chance". You appeal to the Maryland Court of Appeals. At this point expect a massive bill from the lawyer (3 times he/she augured for you). This would be based on if what the punishment the board gave you was constitutional. I haven't found a lawyer or a nurse that has ever gotten to this point. Why? The guidelines used are voted on by the state congress and signed by the governor. Lots of lawyers have seen them and have all signed off on them as being constitutional. You might be able to sue for how long they took for your case to be heard. I have never heard anyone doing this. It would be hard to show cause. This is the brick wall option. If you can't win here - which is going to be very hard to do - you are out of options. The board's order will take affect.

Yep, the longer you fight them the longer the punishment drags out. If you agree to the order it will start and the sooner it will end. If you keep fighting this whole process will take well over one year with your license suspended and THEN you start the actual suspension.

But it doesn't end here. They always give you a way to get your license back in the future. I've had friends who had there's revoked and was given a path to get it back. Which will be the final protein guide tomorrow lol. If you need help with the board in MD you are welcome to PM me.