I attended a public hearing as a field trip at the Florida State board of nursing. One case - I saw was of this large, robust male LPN who has a psych disorder - bipolar i assume. He was working as a nurse and got off of his shift at night from some rehab facility, and randomly picked a woman driving her car to stalk and attack. He opened her car door when she got home, beat her up, put her in the car, drove her to his house as a kidnapping case and thank god somebody saw him and a civilian attacked the nurse to defend the woman until cops came. He had his license suspended.
At the hearing he told them he was off of his medication, and didn't mean to do it....and the board allowed him to keep his nursing license under the stipulation that he be monitored for taking his medication.
I wanted your feelings on this matter, because me personally..I was upset by the ruling. I cant see this man as my families nurse with such violent tendencies...but maybe I'm being biased.
So then what would the cure be for this particular situation??? I dont see a way to prevent this in the future. Would any of you say to prevent this type of incident in the future that all nurses with any mental illness(from postpartum or clinical depression to bipolar disorder and substance abusers as well) anyone who might possibly relapse...do they surrender their liscenses over to their state board JUST IN CASE? The thought of that scares me ! Is it possible to blanket all MI sufferers together like that, with no regard to whether the particular individual has ever exibited violence to self or others??? Is it safest to just assume that a violent outburst is surely in their future and therefore surrendering their liscense is the only possible route to prevent another situation like this man created? Not one of these statements sits well with me....I think any nurses should be held accountable to the highest standards of the law in a case like the OP was talking about BUT...is it feasable to expect no nurse working to have ever been Dx'd with ANY mental illness? Should it be a requirement to obtain liscensure that one has never been tx'd for or Dx'd with a mental illness in any form?
I guess the point I am struggling toward here is this is sticky territory and if conditions like those listed above were ever enacted a genuine nursing shortage would soon follow....I dont pretend to know a solution , or the best way to handlle this but I dont think IMHO anything I mentioned above would be a progressive move for the field of nursing, but would rather set the profession back...but that brings us full circle....where should the line be drawn in regards to nurses with mental illnesses?!?!
Sorry, but this is frosting my cake...this man's actions were organized and deliberate. He left his place of employment, choose a woman to follow, developed a complex plan of action to attack and beat her, then carried it out successfully. It's only AFTER he gets caught that he blames his actions on a psychiatric disorder that only medication can control???!!! Fiddle-faddle. Sounds like a psychiatric diagnosis all right, one known as anti-social personality disorder, a diagnosis that is characterized by a lack of remorse, high degree of manipulation, and lack of willingness to accept responsibility for one's actions. A diagnosis that, by the way, doesnotrespond to medication. Can't put a conscience in a pill. I hope that the jury is able to see through this person's self-serving abuse of the mental health system, and put him someplace where he is no longer able to stalk and harm anyone.
Sorry for the rant-this just really hit a sore spot. Thank you all.
I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed this thread, not because of the situation, but because it has challenged me into thinking a little more about this subject. In the end I think we have to trust that the BON knows what it is doing. Besides, if a judicial hearing should follow, and the man is sentenced, then I suspect that he will not be able to practice in nursing anymore simply because his backround check will reveal violent behavior. Just a thought. Have a good night.
I'm not defending his actions, I am simply trying to look at it from another perspective, the OP doesn't give us a lot of information, does the patient have a history of violent outbreaks? Did the victim provoke him? Has he been proven in a court of law? It sounds to me like there are two victims in this case. If this man has children and this is his only income, taking away his license would also take the food out of his children's mouths.
I don't believe for one moment he was provoked. His were the actions of a sex predator and there was no excuse. I wonder what would have happened if someone didn't intervene when they did.
Specializes in icu, er, transplant, case management, ps.
I would like to post a bit of information that I am aware of, concerning the Florida Board of Nursing. In an initial and renewal application, an individual is asked if they have received care or are under the care of a physician for any mental health issues, including medication. Failure to answer or to lie results in suspension and/or revocation of one's license. Second, this individual has not been found guilty yet. Even in this state, he is innocent until proven guilty in a Court of Law. And that hasn't happen yet. And trust me, if and when he is found guilty and sent to prison, his license will be revoked. As for his continuing to work. No one knows, certainly not the first poster, she only attended the Board's hearing. Trust me, no employer would continue to employ him, not in this right to work state. Nurses have been let go for far less.
aloevera
861 Posts
You would think so....