Finding a job with pending accusation

[aspirationpneumonia]

Hi guys, I'm looking for words of encouragement or success stories.

I'm an ER nurse with 6 years of experience. The past 3 years I've been having the time of my life doing travel nursing. unfortunately my last contract was cancelled 4 days before my start date because of low census ("we hired too many nurses - sorry"). 2 days after this cancellation I'm notified by the board that I have a accusation against my license.

Early last year (2019) I had a emergency verbal order to restrain a confused patient that came into our department in respiratory distress. The patient was pulling out lines and grabbing at the nursing and RT staff. After the ABG came back the physician ordered BiPAP and the patient was placed on BiPAP while restrained. Long story short the intensivist came down stairs and found this patient restrained while on BiPAP and was not happy.

The ER MD denied any knowledge of the restraints and the intensivist reported me to my agency who then in turn "had to" report me to the board.

Now, a year later, and after 6k in lawyer fees, I'm facing the possibility of probationary measures placed on my license.

As I write this I am unemployed in central California. My agency states they cant work with me until the case is closed. In spite of shining letters of recommendation by every job I've ever worked facilities won't interview me with the pending investigation. My last contract wants to hire me but everything is on a hiring freeze because of CoVID - 19.

Has anyone been through this and can you offer words of encouragement or advice?

I'm stuck here in my lease away from home and ruminating about all the possible negative outcomes. Nights are long and days are slow.

Any advice, please - no negativity.

[rzyzzy]

12 hours ago, 42pines said:

Thank you for your response.

Interesting. You say that they can "see" that one of your license is under investigation.

Do you know if the BON sees other than what I see when I look up my license and only see "unencumbered?" Do you see, in yours state, "under investigation?

Bon’s from other states will request all documents related to any prior/current complaints, founded or unfounded - from any state you’ve ever been licensed in. nursys only shows what is/was available on that state’s public portal.

In my former state, anyone under investigation gets a notification in red on the state’s website I.e. = “under investigation, for kicking puppies”

After the state’s investigation is completed, the scarlet letter goes away from the website, but all documentation is still available by written request, to anyone who cares to ask for it. Nursys doesn’t show the scarlet letter, unless the complaint was founded/ resulted in discipline.

[Tracy653]

I’m in Arkansas. Nothing showed up on my liscense check until after I accepted their offer of discipline. In saying that, I highly recommend that you get a lawyer. Afterward, you will have difficulty getting or keeping a job.

[Uroboros, APRN]

Healthscare oversight entities like the BON bring whole new meaning to:

"Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat"

(the burden of proof is on the one who declares, not on one who denies)

Seems we spend our careers in a world where hardened criminals have more legal rights and immediate litigation defense than healthcare professionals who devote lives and small fortunes in education and training. Reform is needed. I'd advise anyone not involved in your state lobbyist networks do so immediately. Maybe with enough time and money nurses can learn to work together instead of against eachother, to make real changes in a system that is clearly not for us but against us.

[42pines]

Right on Uroboros! For the above post.

Right off! Urorboros, for stating: “…believe it or not you will be thankful for this experience.” For that is like saying “enjoy your severe 3rd degree burns, now you know to be more careful around gasoline”. Trust me, as one who is going through this hell—there is no “thankful” for being keelhauled, especially if the action that led to it was caused by another which we seem to agree on since you mentioned, “…the scared ER doctor threw you to the flames…” Maybe we and the OP would prefer seeing the ER doc keelhauled. Maybe in this case it’s the ER doc who deserves to be disciplined not the OP who took the VORB.

Regarding your quote, which I enjoyed, all in America, who are accused hear the Miranda warning (“you have a right to refuse to answer…”), uh…oh, except nurses who must “co-operate fully,” and if deemed to be not co-operating quite enough can be disciplined for that alone.

In my case the BON’s places the burden of proof solidly in opposition to your quote. In my case I’ve watched the Chief Investigator (a legal “shooting star,” a quote taken from a newspaper unrelated to my case) search, incisively trying to find some, any, critical weak point of damnation. She has not appeared to have taken the impartial trier of facts point of view, but seems adamant upon finding her “conviction.” That is wrong and I’m expecting that it will backfire.

I’m hoping that eventually, after investigation, the investigator will see 37 baseless complaints and or perhaps 36 baseless with one very weak, un-provable “not enough documenting,” as what it is: a witch hunt, and drop the entire batch in totality. (Note: I will fight an alleged impropriety of documentation for I believe I documented appropriately.) If not, it will be the most singular messy case that any complainants have ever created in my state, for I am fully prepared to move forward to subpoena documents and propound interrogatories. Oh, but wait… the BON doesn’t like that. A nurse that wants to refute evidence…oh no, unheard of…impertinence!

Interestingly, state Courts take a narrow view, almost always deferring to the quasi-judicial nature of the BON’s, and why not—BON’s, after all, should know best since it’s about nursing. There is however one area in which all state Courts will intervene and that is question(s) about evidence.

I’ve done quite a bit of reading on complaints and sure, there are the “drug use,” DWI’s, theft and other “simple and straight-forward charges, yet complaints initiated frivolously, simply to do harm appear common. Want to “get back,” at that nurse who took “your job?” Simple, file a complaint and that person is thrown into a nightmare, a hell of sorts. And the terrible reality is, in most, if not all states, that you cannot take legal action for defamation because the entire proceeding is “privileged.”

OP is in an interesting position, as am I in that the defamation (which must be proven) was two-part. OP’s defamation was technically defamed by the ER MD who “denied any knowledge.” And OP’s attack could be (and perhaps should be) aimed at that ER MD, not the interventionist who placed the privileged complaint to the BON.

Many say, “hire a lawyer,” but few say, “mortgage your house, first.” Therein lies the rub—any lawyer that can handle such a case with its need for discovery, as is the case with OP will run up a tab 3-10x the quoted $6,000. I’m Pro Se but most are unwilling to do that.

If OP’s lawyer does even an “OK” job though, I think that the BON’s action, if any, will be something akin to “get some more education” in this area. I base that on no patient harm done, and hopefully a question as to why the ED doc “denied any knowledge.” This sort of discipline is not going to be an issue with OP’s agency and OP is likely to be back in the saddle again in the months ahead. Though one really must ask the final question which is: “Why has OP’s investigation taken 15 months…?” Murder investigations take less time than that.

I do agree, "...can learn to work together instead of against each other, to make real changes in a system that is clearly not for us but against us. "