Wizard 1

It depends on what action was taken by the NPDB. If you have been barred from practicing a given length of time by them/OIG, you will not be able to practice until that time has been completed in any facilities who receive Medicare or Medicaid (Federal and State) funding. Once that time is over, you can write back to them and find out the process to get yourself back in good standing. This will usually involve filling out a form, answering questions, and making it clear what has changed during the time you were barred from practice. They will notify you when the bar has been lifted (I suggest keeping a copy of this and the original typed letter).

Best of luck to you!

Reinstate her license after requiring some re-education, and a period of supervised probation/practice. I have no way of knowing this for sure, but I bet getting charged and convicted for her mistake has resulted in re-assessing behavior and learning from her mistakes. She's already been pilloried and punished more than enough. What about the system for dispensing medications? Has anyone looked into that? Can we stop being so punitive and scapegoating, and really design a system/systems that can reduce the incidence of these by looking at root causes and fixing them, versus punishing the nurse? Can we start staffing properly and supporting nurses so they aren't in such a hurry all the time? This sets a dangerous precedent for nurses that is ridiculous and uncalled for.

This. I'm an RN that runs a business from home. I know full well that while the sentiments were certainly appreciated for those doing difficult work, the real "rubber meets the road" test is making working conditions safe, staffing properly, getting PPE and not making hospital staff re use it, paying well, and giving a damn about them enough to actually talk to them and make sure they have what they need. Nurses leave for a reason. It doesn't appear that corporate healthcare has learned their lesson, merely bemoaning the lack of nurses. They do the same thing for Nurses Day/Month. Enough with the trinkets. Supply the basics as noted above. Stop trying to fatten the balance sheet on the backs of nurses and to the detriment of patients.

I concur with the suggestion to hire an attorney who specializes in licensure defense ASAP.

Do get a lawyer that specializes in Board of Nursing matters. Do NOT talk to anyone, Board of Nursing, etc without your lawyer present. Get the hair and urine testing done, that may hold you in good stead if the employer did decide to report you, especially since they elected to not get a drug test. This is not a done deal. Find a lawyer. Easier to fight it now than to not fight it and decide later to.

I believe the National Council of State Boards of Nursing has such a course. The url is https://NCSBN.org.

It is a hard thing, but where we are. Kudos to you for looking out for yourself.

I left nursing, eventually started my own business, got my license out of suspension and on probation. Now the state board where I was originally licensed wants to keep me on probation for reasons that I'll not go into here, that have everything to do with my moving to another state and having hoops to jump through that I shouldn't have to. Suffice it to say that I'll likely just stay on permanent probation because of the red tape and money involved to completely resolve it, because I'm just done with that. It isn't worth it to me and there are other options.

Of interest to Indiana nurses and others ... Read in its entirety: Indiana Nursing Board Discriminates Against Nurses Seeking Opioid Help: DOJ

Great article! It masterfully illustrates how important taking a good history is, even with a "young and healthy" G1P1. If the suspicious symptoms such as the persistent headache, "not feeling right" and visual deficits in an otherwise healthy woman are there, don't wait until the BP is off the charts. The neurological symptoms and postpartum status are concerning enough to not wait on getting them seen by a doctor.

Most excellent! Congratulations!

Congratulations! Good on you! *hug* You did it!

I'm pretty sure that even if the licensure status is unencumbered, it stays on NPDB. It also stays on Nursys.com and more than likely can be found on the state's licensure site. Nursys and state licensure sites are searchable by the public.

Definitely change your screen name to a pseudonym. Listen to your lawyer, don't bring details here, and don't talk to anyone that tries to get information. Welcome to AN. You definitely have support here.