surrender my license

allnurses Guide · Sep 30, 2018

Surrendering your license is a deeply personal decision. I would not rely on the opinions of strangers to make it. A lot depends on what you have to fall back on. Will you need to go back to school for more education for a new career? Will that new career require a professional license? Do you have access to funds to tide you over until you find something else? Do have strong support from family or friends.

Most of the people on this forum have decided to preserve their license and are working towards that goal, but it's not easy. There are days of aggravation and frustration, of eating baloney and beans, no vacations, random drug screens and demands that make you feel as if you are on the leash of a cruel master. It is all doable however and many, myself included have successfully completed these programs.

Whatever you decide - good luck to you.

Hppy

Big Blondie, ASN, BSN, MSN, APRN · Sep 30, 2018

I never encourage anyone to surrender their license. During the dark time of the process each of us have endured I would bet most would say they considered relinquishing their license. And for me I am happy that I didn't. It is a personal decision. Someone telling you what you can or can't afford is flat wrong. Dig deep. Hold your head up and walk through all this BS and come out on top. You decide. Either way it isn't easy. But it is doable. Many have gone before us and succeeded with much worse circumstances. Hang in there!

Jas10, BSN · Sep 30, 2018

I was on the verge of doing this and my lawyer kept prolonging talking to me and making me really think about it before I realized I just couldn't. I needed to fight for it and go through what I just couldn't avoid. My background is in pharmaceutical sales (before nursing) and thought I could just get back into that and walk away from nursing but you see the OIG list is a huge part of it all and can't afford to be on that list, the national practitioner data bank is checked for every background check , and I just can't afford to work a simple retail job that would barely cover my student loans. These are shallow reasons in the end, for me, and my deeper need is to keep after what my dream was and where my heart really lies. My situation is a different one and yes, I put myself into this situation but also with help of a narcissistic and spiteful ex who thought he'd try to ruin my life with formal complaint of lies. The BON ran with it and added it onto my license without investigation so now I get to relive what life was like with him when I have to explain myself and my license over and over again but I become stronger every time I do. It's tough but I'm happy I decided to fight and keep it. This road is tough and we all are fighting our own personal fight (whatever that may be) and yet treated all the same in the program which can be unfair in some ways but I feel the best part is we are all intelligent and open hearted on this board That we respect and support each other. It is a personal decision to decide what to do with your license but after a year of deciding what to do and finding it nearly impossible to make it without going through this I say really think before you do.

Randomnurse3 · Sep 30, 2018

Surrendering your license is a deeply personal decision. I would not rely on the opinions of strangers to make it. A lot depends on what you have to fall back on. Will you need to go back to school for more education for a new career? Will that new career require a professional license? Do you have access to funds to tide you over until you find something else? Do have strong support from family or friends.
Most of the people on this forum have decided to preserve their license and are working towards that goal, but it's not easy. There are days of aggravation and frustration, of eating baloney and beans, no vacations, random drug screens and demands that make you feel as if you are on the leash of a cruel master. It is all doable however and many, myself included have successfully completed these programs.
Whatever you decide - good luck to you.
Hppy

Curious what other alternatives are there for nurses who truly can't afford the program right now? If you can't afford the program and you don't surrender your license what will happen to them?

allnurses Guide · Oct 1, 2018

Curious what other alternatives are there for nurses who truly can't afford the program right now? If you can't afford the program and you don't surrender your license what will happen to them?

If you simply cannot afford the program and you don't surrender - your license will be suspended or revoked. You can apply at a later date for reinstatement but no matter how long it's been (6 month or 6 years) you will still have to go through a monitoring program to regain licensure.

It goes without saying that in the interim you are working a program of recovery to bring to the table when you apply.

Hppy

SpankedInPittsburgh, DNP, RN · Oct 1, 2018

Yeah I tell nurses all the time that they should assess if the nonsense that this program brings with it is worth it. You are the only person that can answer that question. If I was a little younger I'd start a new career. If I was a little older I'd take early retirement. However, nursing is my chosen career and frankly I need the paycheck every two weeks. After all this BS from the BON nursing will only be a job to me & a means to an end.

Having said all that, you don't have to surrender anything. Simply reject the offer and they will either suspend or reject your license. Later if you decide if you want to come back to nursing you can but the road is harder. In my nurse support group there are two nurses in that situation.

Good Luck