I survived the Board of Nursing

I have been a nurse for over 30 years. I was working as a Nursing Director for a non-profit organization supporting adults with intellectual disabilities. I had worked there for several years but the stress was taking its toll, so I decided to move on to something less stressful. A full two months after I left, I received a letter from the board of nursing stating that there was a complaint against my license. Nurses Professionalism Article

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Where do I begin? I have been following this site for years and it has been a source of both comfort and anxiety. The following describes my ordeal handling a complaint against my nursing license.

I was almost physically sick as I read page after page of allegations of neglect, poor judgment, failure to follow nursing standards -the list went on. To be honest I could not believe what I was reading, much less begin to understand where all this was coming from. Many of the complaints were about areas that I was not even responsible for. The letter gave me 10 days to respond to the allegations. My first instinct was to get a lawyer; I let my husband talk me out of it. He was convinced, as I was, that I simply had to respond to the allegations and they would go away. HOW WRONG I WAS!! Foolishly I thought that if I simply explained what really happened the situation would be resolved.

I submitted my carefully crafted response and waited for the board to exonerate me. After four months with no response, I contacted the board to find out what the status of the complaint was. After some transfers, I was informed by the board's lawyer that they were moving forward with disciplinary action. I did not know what to say or do - I was in complete shock. I managed to ask what recourse I would have, I was told that I would be able to request a settlement hearing once I was formally notified of my charges. I immediately contacted a lawyer. BEST MOVE I MADE. She carefully reviewed the information and submitted a letter to the board that all further communication was to come through her. I then sat and waited for nine long months for the formal charges. I prayed, worried, stressed, and cried my way through those months. If it had not have been for the support of my husband I would not have made it through the whole ordeal.

Finally, I received an email outlining the charges - all eleven of them. I was devastated, but once I got myself together I sat down and carefully read them. Charge, after charge I had clear evidence to refute. I contacted my lawyer who had already requested a settlement hearing. I went over the charges and my evidence to refute the charges. She spent two days carefully crafting a response to each allegation and attaching supporting evidence.

The settlement hearing came a month later - I can't explain how I felt looking into the faces of the board members and explaining complaint after complaint. I was an exemplary nurse, who had never had a bad report or performance evaluation and here I was practically begging for my license.

The board had not conducted ANY type of investigation, had not contacted my former employer, requested records, or interviewed me -NOTHING! It took all of 30 minutes and I was dismissed to wait for their decision.

Later that afternoon, I got the best phone call from my lawyer, all charges were dropped - case closed. That's it - it was finally over. Needless to say this has left a bad taste in my mouth. The board could just as easily have taken my livelihood away from me without doing their due diligence. Looking back I am so disappointed in an entity that supposedly is in place to protect the public yet failed to conduct a proper investigation on allegations that turned out be completely false.

Specializes in PICU, Pediatrics, Trauma.

Yes agreed. Whatever happened to being able to question your accusers? Is that the prosecuting attorney or the people who bring the complaint? Who technically are the accusers? I have a case now where the statements made by another nurse are totally false as well as other inconsistencies. I found this out once the discovery came. I know these statements and others had a big effect on my case. My hands are tied. My lawyer didn't recommend a hearing.

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BeenThere2012 said:
Yes agreed. Whatever happened to being able to question your accusers? Is that the prosecuting attorney or the people who bring the complaint? Who technically are the accusers? I have a case now where the statements made by another nurse are totally false as well as other inconsistencies. I found this out once the discovery came. I know these statements and others had a big effect on my case. My hands are tied. My lawyer didn't recommend a hearing.

The whole problem is that with the BON it is "administrative", not "legal" per se. The rules are very different. And that's how the BON "traps" the nurse-----because nurses are usually not schooled in legal process and because they're terrified when they find out that there's been a complaint filed against them. They don't know what their rights are----the BON makes the nurse thinks they have no rights, and that is not true.

Just because your lawyer didn't recommend a hearing or request one doesn't mean that you still can't get one. Your hands are not tied. If you received the statements from the nurse in discovery, then you should be aware of who the nurse is. If not, use your right to file a Freedom of Information Act request for information. Since the BON is a government entity, they are bound by the same laws and must disclose the information you ask for.

If the accusations are false and you can prove they are false, do it. Request a hearing, get your ducks in a row and then the nurse that made the false accusations will have to testify at the hearing if the BON wants the accusations to stick. Your attorney can make the nurse that filed the complaint appear & testify. The problem is that the BON makes the nurse prove that they're innocent & lays the burden of proof on them rather than putting the burden of proof on the complainant to prove that the allegations are true, like in criminal court.

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Specializes in PICU, Pediatrics, Trauma.
NurseDiane said:
The whole problem is that with the BON it is "administrative", not "legal" per se. The rules are very different. And that's how the BON "traps" the nurse-----because nurses are usually not schooled in legal process and because they're terrified when they find out that there's been a complaint filed against them. They don't know what their rights are----the BON makes the nurse thinks they have no rights, and that is not true.

Just because your lawyer didn't recommend a hearing or request one doesn't mean that you still can't get one. Your hands are not tied. If you received the statements from the nurse in discovery, then you should be aware of who the nurse is. If not, use your right to file a Freedom of Information Act request for information. Since the BON is a government entity, they are bound by the same laws and must disclose the information you ask for.

If the accusations are false and you can prove they are false, do it. Request a hearing, get your ducks in a row and then the nurse that made the false accusations will have to testify at the hearing if the BON wants the accusations to stick. Your attorney can make the nurse that filed the complaint appear & testify. The problem is that the BON makes the nurse prove that they're innocent & lays the burden of proof on them rather than putting the burden of proof on the complainant to prove that the allegations are true, like in criminal court.

Thank you so much for the information. Unfortunately, I already accepted the BRN's charges as my lawyer told.me it would.cost upwards of $40,000 to go to a hearing and he didn't think we would win. He said the BRN in my state "often" rejects the judges decision , and they are allowed to do that based upon non binding arbitration. I made an error in a med administration, but they based the severity of charges saying I didn't have the 2nd RN present at the time. I DID. She was watching me. She stated I didn't call her into the room to do the procedure. No I didn't "call" her into the room because She came into my room at the pre-designated time as PLANNED and walked with me to the pump etc...there is.even more detail here. Too long for this post....

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Specializes in Home Health (PDN), Camp Nursing.

i never felt with the BON thank God, but I had a criminal complaint filed against me for my work in homecare. Four months of being blackballed by every employer. A pathetic investigation by the local and state police. Then wrangling a letter from the DA saying that there was no evidence and they were declining to prosicute. I was lied to by every detective, and no one cared about the fact that I was loosing my house because I couldn't get a job. The system sucks. None of them are for your benefit as a Nurse. If you get in a situation where a complaint has been made FIGHT with all your resources because your at a severe disadvantage, and no one cares what's right.

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Specializes in PICU, Pediatrics, Trauma.
BeenThere2012 said:
Thank you so much for the information. Unfortunately, I already accepted the BRN's charges as my lawyer told.me it would.cost upwards of $40,000 to go to a hearing and he didn't think we would win. He said the BRN in my state "often" rejects the judges decision , and they are allowed to do that based upon non binding arbitration. I made an error in a med administration, but they based the severity of charges saying I didn't have the 2nd RN present at the time. I DID. She was watching me. She stated I didn't call her into the room to do the procedure. No I didn't "call" her into the room because She came into my room at the pre-designated time as PLANNED and walked with me to the pump etc...there is.even more detail here. Too long for this post....

I re-read my response to your post, and realize this sounds very vague. Obviously, there is more to the story and I am farther down the road than simply being charged....I have so many questions and concerns about the way our BRN/BONs function. I obtained my lawyer as soon as I knew I was being reported. I had the VP of our union helping before that. I did all I could to bring the truth and details of the whole incident to light. I fully cooperated with the hospital (not sure that was entirely the best decision), my manager (Department manager) was fully behind me and supported me the best way she could under the circumstances and with the constraints she was also under. The whole process took approximately 3 years. I question if I had a good lawyer or if in fact, there really wasn't more that could have been done in my defense.

It truly was an honest error. I am NOT a careless, irresponsible nurse or employee for that matter. I follow policies, report concerns and errors I find as we are told to do. I come in extra and work OT when needed. I have sat on committees and was actually recruited to serve on a house-wide committee to develop Nursing Shared Governance for the hospital. I am honest and law abiding. Never even had a poor evaluation in all my years of practice. After the event, I was continuing to be a preceptor to new grads, mentor for new hires, etc. If I was such a poor nurse, why would they continue to have me in those roles for the remainder of the 2 years I continued to work there? I resigned because my family was relocating to another city.

Throughout the investigation process I never had a clue as to which way this was going to be spun. All I could do throughout the whole process was tell the truth, answer all questions, and comply with requests from the BRN investigator. At the time of the incident, even the parents were very concerned about me...seemingly more so than even for their son as they knew he suffered no ill effects, and I had been caring for him for a few weeks at that point. They trusted me and understood what happened as full disclosure was given. At no point did it appear that the family would file charges.

The whole thing has turned into a nightmare worse than I ever would have suspected. Going through the process was the most stressful, anxiety producing and painful thing I have ever experienced, second only to loosing a loved one. And that was all I expected it to be. I knew there quite possibly would be some form of reprimand or "price" to pay, but never suspected to the degree that eventually occurred. It has all but ruined my life as I knew it. We have now gone through all of our savings, sold a car, sold belongings, cut back on everything possible to cut back on, etc., since I have been out of work for almost a year. I haven't yet found anyone able to hire me with my license under probation. I have had many interviews, and several offers only to have them rescinded once it reaches the corporate level. I had one that went all the way through all those, only to be rejected by the BRN....wouldn't give permission for me to have that position because there would have been a few hours in home care as part of the position, unsupervised. I started applying for other types of jobs but because I have done nothing else for 34 years, they are all minimum wage positions.

As I have said in other posts on this site when the subject comes up, I absolutely will not allow this to be just about me. I have felt from the beginning that something must be done to change the way our BRNs function. At this point in time, I have no idea what form that will take. I dont know where to begin. However, if it takes me to my deathbed, I will participate somehow, some way to effect change.

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I am a new grad and have yet to start my first job. I have been told multiple times that carrying personal is the way to go, and after reading this post, my decision to obtain it ASAP has been solidified. Do any of you carry malpractice insurance, and if so, does anyone have any recommendations on good policies/people to go through?

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Specializes in Critical Care.

To KCMnurse do you know who complained against you a patient/family or your previous employer? Was your employer mad at you for leaving?

How much did it cost for all the legal fees? If you don't mind letting us know, just to have a ball park of what getting a lawyer costs if we're ever in such a situation?

I know the BON is not our friend, thankfully through the grace of God I've never had to deal with them.

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quazar said:
It's stories like this that push me closer and closer to the edge of leaving nursing altogether. I'm so glad you kept your license and it was resolved.

Me too. I've never had any actions or complaints against my license, nor any legal troubles of any kind, but if all it takes is one person to set things in motion like this...well, then, we are each and every one of us living in a sand castle.

That is no way to live.

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Specializes in Urgent Care, Oncology.

This smells like Florida...

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
James W. said:

Perhaps you ought to consider filing a claim for wrongful prosecution?

Your BoN clearly needs to revise its approach, & it may take a lawsuit to get them up to speed.

Of course it is the primary duty of a BoN to ensure public safety via regulating nurse conduct, but nevertheless - it is incumbent on them to act in accordance with professional values, too.

Basic issues like natural justice & the merit base of the case appear lacking in this instance, prosecution of which has quite evidently been the cause of needless angst & other costs to you.

Slap a defamation suit on the false complainants, too.

When it takes them 14 months to get to a resolution, it's pretty hard to make a case for protecting the public. You can kill a lot of people in 14 months.

No, they're just frighteningly incompetent. A lawsuit might be in order. How many other people have had to go through this in your state?

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Does the BON just go further with every complaint they receive?

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Specializes in Family Practice, Med-Surg.

"How much did it cost for all the legal fees? If you don't mind letting us know, just to have a ball park of what getting a lawyer costs if we're ever in such a situation?"

This is the reason for getting ! They pay your costs to defend your license against the board of nursing. They will provide or recommend an attorney. I have carried my own malpractice insurance for 40 years.

Google it. Pay attention to the ads you get in the mail. Don't do anything else until you buy it. The cost is reasonable.

Don't be in the position of having to pay legal costs out of pocket.

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