How to resolve a "Letter of Admonition"??

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Hello, I am a Registered Nurse & have been practicing since 1999. In 2007 I received a letter of Admonition against my license for failure to report to the Board, an incident which occurred while I was camping, and completely away from my work, patients or career!. The issues surrounding the letter of admonition was a non-related issue that I failed to report to the Board because I had no idea I had to report, non-nursing related issues. This letter is significantly damaging my reputation and ability to be hired with many companies! I'm frustrated beyond imagination and would love some input regarding what I can do about the problem! At the time of the incident & letter, I had no idea it was going to be a PERMANENT red flag against my license and ultimately against me! Has anyone else had similar issues with disciplines against their license? And does anyone have any suggestions for me? At the time of the "investigation", I did not realize how serious this was and that I should fight it! The letter seemed so intimidating and scary, even threatening in a sense, so I just allowed it & did not fight it. Now it's haunting me!

Please do not tell me to explain it right up front, because I have already gone that route, I even wrote an explanation & made it part of my resume at one point, but I took it out because it seemed it was causing me more problems to be upfront about it.

I have asked the Board if there is anything at all I could do to get it off my record, but all I received was an answer of "No! It is permanent and there is no way ti remove it..."

It is so unfair to me, and it is keeping me from getting a job! I have struggled with getting jobs ever since the letter became a permanent red flag against my license. Help!!??!!

It IS scary, and at the time it all occurred, I also had no idea what a "letter of admonition" was either! I am now quite WELL aware of what it is, and how much power it holds. I don't know if every state has this form of license discipline, but here in Colorado, it is alive & kicking! When employers look at an application for employment, they see that I have a discipline against my license, and they toss the app in the trash and move on to the next applicant. They have no time nor interest in finding out what it was about.

A letter of admonition is a discipline against your license, where they do not suspend your license or your right to practice as an RN, but it is a "slap on the wrist" telling you "you were a bad girl, and don't you ever do that again!" I told the investigator at the time, I did not realize I was responsible to report to the board, things which occurred while I was on my own time and that had nothing at all to do with Nursing or my career, her response to me was, "We expect our Nurses to live their lives at a higher moral standard than the average citizen, and remove themselves from any situation which could potentially become a moral problem." I told her I was camping. I had rode with my friends to the camp area, I did not have a way to leave there, even if I had wanted to, and I asked her what she thought I should have done. Her response to me then was, "Walk away from the situation, just leave." I said, "just walk away from our camp, in the pouring rain, into the dark night (this occurred at 11:30pm!) alone, just to not be a part of this campfire?? really?" She said, "Yes."

I appreciate all of the input and your suggestions. I had wondered about contacting a lawyer, but wondered if I had any case, and honestly, I had no idea there were attorneys who are specifically for nurses! I again, appreciate the advice and will begin the process immediately.

Thank you all for taking the time to read and respond to me!

Raedeen

xoxo

I'm hoping you still look are this site. I, too, received a LOA in Colorado in 2010, practicing nurse since 2006. Have been dealing with it since and have had a lot of difficulty getting a good job. How have you been dealing with this?

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