Protecting your license

Katnip, RN · Mar 27, 2006

Protecting your license means staying withing your scope of practice, questioning orders that may harm a patient, and documenting well so that when questions about your care do arise, you should be covered.

How do you lose your license? Carelessness. Drug/alcohol abuse on the job, or sometimes even off the job. Abuse of patients. Going outside your scope of practice and harming someone.

A lot of it is common sense.

Loss of license isn't common, but it does happen. Most BONs publish a list of nurses who are on probation or have lost their licenses and the reason why.

BRANDY LPN · Mar 27, 2006

Mine got reprimanded b/c my ex (not compulsive liar ex from the other thread, I just REALLY know how to pick 'em) made up a completely fabricated story and got me turned into the BON during the middle of a nasty custody battle. I did absolutely NOTHING wrong. It was not even patient related, it was about my dd actually.

purplemania, BSN, RN · Mar 27, 2006

It is important to know your practice act for the state(s) in which you practice. Many require a code of "professional conduct" that may not have anything to do with your nursing practice per se. For instance, if you are found guilty of a felony such as stealing a car, you could lose your nursing license. Anything drug or alcohol related, and issues regarding your treatment of other people (like having a cuss fight at Walmart) could cause you problems. It is best to just be nice & play well with others. When that is not possible get a lawyer to do your fighting for you.

HARRN2b · Mar 27, 2006

Can a bankrupcy keep you from getting your license. My husband had a heart attack, major bills and then bankrupcy. This concerns me.

Altra, BSN, RN · Mar 27, 2006

See if your BON issues a listing of disciplinary actions, possibly online or as part of a newsletter (quarterly, semi-annually, etc.) In my state 75-80% of the offenses are related to substance abuse.

Misty1 · Mar 27, 2006

Can a bankrupcy keep you from getting your license. My husband had a heart attack, major bills and then bankrupcy. This concerns me.

No :)

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Mar 28, 2006

Is it so hard to maintain your license?

It is so hard to earn a nursing license; however, it is so simple to lose that very same license. And once someone loses a nursing license, the process of becoming re-licensed can be an uphill battle.

Honestly, it is easier to just maintain the license by covering your rear-end the first time around.

Tony35NYC · Mar 28, 2006

I just wonder how do nurses lose their licenses or put their license in jeopardy?

You also have to be careful of the assignments that you are given and know when to refuse, especially as a new and inexperienced nurse. If something goes seriously wrong and the patient is harmed not only can you be sued but you will also be blamed for attempting to deliver care that you were not adequately trained to give.

You also always have to be careful, even when the task you're performing is within the scope of nursing practice because you can make a mistake, especially when mixing certain meds or improperly titrating certain drips. And, even if a medication is ordered you have to use good judgment to know when giving it will cause harm to the patient (i.e. certain doses of a seemingly harmless med can be dangerous for renal patients, or may be incompatible with some other drug that the patient is taking, etc.) I've seen cases where there were numerous consulting physicians writing conflicting orders for a patient, pharmacy may not catch the mistake in time and you can never assume that it is safe just because a doctor wrote it. Even if the physicians write bad orders YOU are the one who will be blamed because your are the one who gave the medications to the patient and the BON will say that you that you are an unsafe practitioner because you should have checked.

This is one reason I will never let medication aides pass anything to my patients, not if I'm to be held accountable for the consequences.

toughtimes RN · Jan 16, 2011

Nobody told you that teachers and nurses are not allowed to be human? The most unforgivable sin seems to be fraud of any kind. My best advice is to listen more then you talk when you start your first job to see the culture of your environment.

steelydanfan · Jan 16, 2011

My best advice is to read and commit your states Practice Act to heart. I cannot BELIEVE the nonsense some nurses were told by management to be law and were subsequently followed. If a pt. had been harmed or had complications under these conditions; the nurse in charge WOULD have lost thier license.

The usual causations are: narcotic abuse/diversion and GROSS negligence; ie giving a whopping overdose of something you should have known to be harmful, or ignoring blatant symptoms without an attempt to intervene.