Sometimes careers are ended with false allegations of vengeful coworkers or irrational families or patients, with no fair trial or court of appeals.
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The more I find out about the boards of nursing and their discipline methods, the more I think that there needs to be a reformation of a poorly run, and outdated system. On the one hand, the BON states its primary function is to protect the public. Yet, it often takes months or even years for them to investigate and hand out judgements, leaving possibly dangerous nurses to continue to practice. The boards seem to rely on outdated methods of tracking nurses, and some judgements seem like ridiculous overkill, while others a slap on the wrist.
I recently found out that a nurse who was largely at fault in a sentinel event at my hospital was finally brought to justice after a year, and her license is on probation. After this event, this nurse resigned. She had a Per Diem job at a different hospital, and switched to just working there. It happens that I used to work at that hospital, and contacted a friend there when I found this out. She's still working there. According to the stipulations published on the BON site, she is supposed to be under the direct supervision of a supervisor, who's supposed to be assessing her patients. It doesn't sound like this is occurring.
My concern with this type of case is that 1) If a nurse is possibly a danger to patients, why should it take a year to investigate and hand down a ruling? and 2) Often nurses resign whenever there's a concern. They become like a moving target. Like this gal, they may have another job. Or, they'll move out of state before the BON even gets around to their case. Why, isn't there a national standard to make this impossible?
Then, there are the cases of substance use. From reading the Recovery site here, it sounds like taking a friend's Vicodin for a migraine is treated the same as stealing drugs from your employer and being high on the job. Pot on ones day off is treated the same as heroin. There seems to be a Puritanical approach that is really outdated. I read about people with a DUI when they were 18 having to go through the same hoops as a hardcore drug user and diverter, with expensive drug screening, employment limitations, and inability to give controlled substances.
I also suspect that there isn't always a fair trial for some of these people. I've read about some shocking miscarriages of justice here on Allnurses and other sites. There is a 142 page thread on a popular discussion site with story after story of folk complaining of mistreatment by their BONs. Some complaints are groundless whining, but others have the ring of truth and gross injustice.
I wonder if it's even possible to reform agencies that are only monitored by themselves? One can't take ones case to a higher court. Who monitors the BON? It's kind of like the Vatican, insular and in charge of itself, with very little accountability to outside forces. They can be like all bureaucracies, with some toxic people mostly interested in career preservation and advancement, who can easily fall into the habit of abuse of power over time.
I do think that the current system is not a fair one, neither to the public, nor nurses. I believe we need fundamental reform. A unified, National system on some level would probably be in order. Improved tracking, uniform guidelines on reportable circumstances by employers, and enough personnel to get unsafe nurses out of the workplace ASAP. We nurses need to be be assured of a just system, not one subject to the prejudices of individuals. And, BONs need to be monitored by outside, neutral entities to keep them from going off the rails and ruining lives.
