Many nurses, new and experienced, say they prefer to work at hospitals because there's less risk to their licensure. They make the claim that other settings (long term care, psychiatric facilities, rehab centers, home health, etc.) pose more of a risk to their licenses due to increased nurse/patient ratios, under-staffing, lack of supplies, less support, short orientations, and virtually nonexistent opportunities for important classes such as ACLS.
I commonly hear the phrase, "I'm putting my license on the line by working in a nursing home!"
Well, at least in the state where I live, the vast majority of the nurses have their licenses revoked due to substance abuse issues. In the state where I live, the vast majority of nurses who have disciplinary action taken against their licenses for deviating from the standard of care are working mostly at hospitals. Once in a blue moon, you will see a nurse with disciplinary action for practice issues who is employed for a nursing home or home health agency.
If you get bored or have time, click on the links below where you can read about individuals who have had actions taken against their licenses by the Texas BON.
Haha! My nursing instructor in our first year put the fear of God in us by showing us the TXBON website and telling us she never ever wanted to see any of our pictures up there. I still log on once in a while to see who else did what that earned them a place on the wall of infamy...
I agree that losing one's license is a rare event (though it is certainly life-altering for the license holder), and that most disciplinary actions by a state licensing board are related to substance abuse -- a sad commentary on the pervasiveness of substance abuse in our culture.
However, I think it is worth noting that certain areas of nursing - namely those where nurses practice in high risk situations and/or with relatively more autonomy - are involved in litigation more frequently than other specialty areas. And conviction of a civil or criminal infraction means likely additional penalties against the nurse's license to practice.
LTC is one of those more autonomous areas, as a physician is generally not on site.
hecallsmeDuchess
346 Posts
Haha! My nursing instructor in our first year put the fear of God in us by showing us the TXBON website and telling us she never ever wanted to see any of our pictures up there. I still log on once in a while to see who else did what that earned them a place on the wall of infamy...