License Revocation

[auwrestler197]

All this talk I hear about people fearing losing their license, does anyone know someone personally that has lost their license because of a mistake they made?

Thanks.

[fultzymom]

I went to school with a guy who passed LPN School et worked. He then went on et failed last quarter of RN x2 so then you have to sit out for a year and start the whole program over (RN). He then went for a job working as the RN in a facility until they learned that he really only had a LPN license. They reported him to the BON and he got his license revoked perminately. I should say that this guy was the nicest guy you would meet but then got mixed up in drugs and everything went down hill for him. I will also say there were ramifications for that facility because they did not check his license BEFORE he started working.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

There was an LVN who was the night time charge nurse at a LTCF. One of her alert female patients was displaying the three Ps of an MI: puking, pain, and perspiration. This charge nurse ignored the woman's requests to be sent to the ER for 1 whole hour. Instead, she went to the break room to enjoy a cigarette.

When the nurse finally decided to call an ambulance, the patient had died. The patient's 2 surviving sons sued the nurse and the facility, and were awarded an undisclosed amount. The charge nurse was reported to the Texas BNE, and voluntarily surrendered her licensure permanently. If she didn't surrender it, they were going to revoke it.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Also, I know of another nurse who was working in a small group home for the mentally retarded. The incident occurred during dinner, when about 20 patients were eating. The nurse decided to leave the building for break, and placed a CNA in charge of monitoring the patients while they ate dinner. A female patient with Down's Syndrome aspirated while feeding, and the CNA was not trained in BLS or the Heimlich Maneuver. There was no licensed nurse in the building, because the one nurse had left.

The patient died, and the sister sued, winning a $1.9 million judgment in civil court. The nurse was reported to the BON, and subsequently lost her licensure.

[fultzymom]

Here is another one I just thought of: A nurse worked the Alzheimers Unit in a LTC. She did not like being "locked" in on the night shift so she turned off the system. Patient got out and it was winter time. Patient died of hypothermia. Nurse lost her license. Not sure what about the facility. A fellow student told me this happened at her unit. I then saw in our Momentum Magazine where a nurse lost her license for it. What are people thinking?!?!?!:trout:

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Here's another one that came to mind. . . A nurse was working the lockdown Alzheimer's unit of a facility in my city in the late 1990s. A demented resident somehow escaped during her shift, and managed to walk 2 miles by himself before being struck by a car and killed on a busy thoroughfare. The family sued the facility and was awarded an undisclosed amount. The nurse in charge of the patient's care was reported to the Texas BNE and had her license revoked.

[NurseCard, ADN]

I can't think of anyone I know who lost their license due to a mistake or negligence, but I have known about four nurses with drug problems. One of them was a girl who I went to nursing school with who sadly, never even WORKED as a nurse due to major health problems that got much worse after she graduated and before she could really start working as a nurse. So she never worked as a nurse but apparently was caught "misappropriating" some pain medication and the BON found out about it.

Very sad. She's really a great person.

[catlynLPN]

I knew an LPN who lost her license due to drugs. She got a patient's morphine patch, drew the contents up into a syringe and shot it up her vein. She almost died. Lost her license, but now she's working in a lab, away from contact with any drugs.

I know of another case that's ongoing right now, but I'd better not post the details due to it being current.

[mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP]

The Missouri State Board of Nursing publishes every quarter everyone who has either had their license censured, put on probation, revoked or voluntarly surrendered.

99% of the revocations involve not following thru with the the probation requirements which usually consist of: No working nights, weekends, holidays. No contact with controlled substances. No home health work. No agency work, etc......Drug tests on demand....and the list goes on and on.

You can also look up anyone on the website and if they've ever had anything filed against their license, it's listed along with the disposition.

[azor]

i cant remember of any case but i sure know someones licence can get revoked depending on the extent of the demeanour.thats why one really need to be extremely careful with her acts.

[njbikernurse]

Well, if a mistake includes diverting drugs, then yes I do know someone who lost their license due to a mistake. Two nurses, in fact. Both very good nurses who took good care of their patients but not themselves. On the flip side, I have seen many nurses who gave scary bad care (possibly even negligent care) and are still practicing today. I don't really know how to interpret that..............

[elkpark]

I have never known a nurse to lose her/his license because of "a mistake" -- it has to be something much more serious. I have known several RNs who lost their licenses because of systematic drug diversion and abuse over time, and one who lost her license because a client died in restraints while she was the charge nurse on the unit and it was found that she went back after the fact and falsified the client record. In all the cases I've been personally aware of, the persons eventually got their licenses back and returned to nursing (in the case of the specific persons I'm thinking of, that is a really scary thought! :) )