license under investigation

Nurses General Nursing

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so i recently was working as a travel nurse in iowa, i'm originally licensed in wisconsin and california. i was working in iowa under the compact. a complaint was made against me, and i received a letter from my travel nursing agency that this complaint was sent to wisconsin and california. i'm now back in wisconsin, and i am currently attempting to get my old job back at my old hospital. i just wanted to know if i am required to disclose that my license may be under investigation? if i am straight up asked this, i intend to answer truthfully, but if not, i wasn't going to necessarily offer this information. does anyone know if i will be breaking any rules by not disclosing this myself? thanks

Specializes in Surgical, Home Infusions, HVU, PCU, Neuro.

Have you ever had a professional license, registration or certification reprimanded,sanctioned, suspended, revoked, placed on probation, limited or voluntarily surrendered/relinquished it? Are your professional license, registration or certification currently under investigation? Are you now or have you ever been sanctioned or reprimanded by a state or federal licensing or certification agency/authority? These are the questions I have come across in an application. If you had a complaint filed with the BON you would be notified by mail if they decide the complaint warrants investigation. You should be able to access the BON website and get information on the complaint, investigation, notification process and approx. time that it takes. If the complaint is with your travel agency you might want to contact them depending on what said complaint consists of. My guess is that if you make an account on a forum to ask this question with vague details and no clear explanation to which the complaint was made to, you might want to search for legal council for the answer to this question, and if it is involving the BON I would recommend council who is familiar with client representation with the BON.

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Unless you have been notified in writing from the state board of nursing that you are under investigation you do not have to disclose it

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Specializes in PICU, Pediatrics, Trauma.
Unless you have been notified in writing from the state board of nursing that you are under investigation you do not have to disclose it

This is what Ive been told. I still suggest you look up the status of your own license. You can see what they will see when they check on you. Some boards take a very long time, months/years to complete an investigation. You are not obligated to disclose until you have been notified by them that you are in fact under investigation. And even then, you may not end up charged with anything. GET A LAWYER.

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Thank you for all of the replies. I've definitely found this helpful. I apologize, i should have given more information with my initial post. I did, just a few days ago get an email from the Wisconsin BON saying that a complaint had been made, and it is currently under investigation. Unfortunately for me, although this complaint is not true, its a very serious one, i've been accused of diverting morphine. I'm going to be speaking with an attorney before i respond to the BON request for a written statement of the event in question. However this will not be until the end of the month, and i'm probably going to be offered my old job back at my old hospital within the next week. If the complaint were about almost anything else, i would have no problem with just telling my potential employer, but given the seriousness, I really think it would hurt my chances of a job. Maybe I'm wrong but, even after an explanation, I can't help but feel that people are looking at me as guilty until proven innocent.

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I would also like to add that when i look up my license on the BON website, it gives no mention of any investigation. it says my license is active and i'm in good standing. Also, in the email from the BON that i received stating that I was under investigation, the investigator also asked me if i am currently working, and if so, where. this may not mean anything, but it did give me the feeling that they would notify my employer of the investigation if i get the job. i hope i'm wrong about that but, that was the feeling i got.

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Will you be speaking to an attorney who is experienced with nursing licensing issues? If so, they will be familiar with the answers to your questions and can offer the best advice about BON disciplinary investigations. It's the BONs business to protect the public, it's not their business to protect a nurses license, nurses under investigation often feel like the BON thinks they are guilty until proven innocent.

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Try to do everything you can now to prepare for possible financial strain. Anticipate that you may need to find precarious employment and live off of minimum wage for a few months and that you will have increased expenses related to the investigation. It's better to be proactive, consider obtaining a line of credit from your bank before your situation becomes dire, otherwise you may end up maxing out credit cards or using pay day loans and paying higher interest rates than is necessary.

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

I don't believe WI has an option for "under investigation". It's just if you have a mark or not

I would also like to add that when i look up my license on the BON website, it gives no mention of any investigation. it says my license is active and i'm in good standing. Also, in the email from the BON that i received stating that I was under investigation, the investigator also asked me if i am currently working, and if so, where. this may not mean anything, but it did give me the feeling that they would notify my employer of the investigation if i get the job. i hope i'm wrong about that but, that was the feeling i got.
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I believe if the BON was actually involved in the complaint process that you would know where you stand without having to ask. The fact that you don't know where you stand indicates to me that the BON is not involved at this time. You need to speak with a specialist attorney and not post matters like this on this internet. The world can be a very small place and recruiters read Allnurses too.

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Just sayin

It takes YEARS for these "investigations" to have any action taken on them. Call an attorney TODAY!

administrative law is it's own animal. Do not expect any due process.

Throw money at this- get an attorney!

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I believe if the BON was actually involved in the complaint process that you would know where you stand without having to ask. The fact that you don't know where you stand indicates to me that the BON is not involved at this time.

He just got through posting that the BON has notified him in writing that they are investigating him. Sounds like the BON is most definitely "involved at this time."

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i appreciate your feedback, however I DO know where i stand: the BON received a complaint, and they are investigating. i hired an attorney yesterday. thank you all

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