To Surrender or Not Surrender

I think that with how comprehensive Nursys has become, I'm not sure much would change, but I don't know the specifics regarding your situation & I'm not a subject matter expert.  I do know some people who have had license action & been monitored by the board who later, after they completed the terms of their consent, their license later reflected as "unencumbered" rather than having a permanent mark on them, but these people, as far as I can remember, were universally monitored for drug use issues. 

In my lay opinion, surrendering your encumbered nursing license is not going to make the problem go away.  If you do this, it's quite possible that this will create problems later, either with renewing your CO license or attempting to endorse to another state.  And, as @Brandon1981 mentioned a Nursys report will likely show that your AZ license was encumbered while active, as well as potentially listing it as having been surrendered.

If it were me, I would not take any action regarding the AZ license without first discussing it with an attorney experienced in representing nurses with similar problems before the Board of Nursing.

If you are unable to locate an attorney locally you might consider the American Association of Nurse Attorneys.

Best wishes.

Another thing to consider is that every professional license you apply for asks if you have ever had discipline on another license. There's very few things you can do without a professional license. I'm so disgusted by the power tripping Nazi BON's who force us into unilateral contracts of adhesion (IPN =Ineptly Pernicious Nags) with  no objective  criteria for terms of completed performance.   I decided to go to law school. We all have to start standing up to bullies  that criminalize mental health issues and permanently ruin our lives. Involuntary manslaughter can get expunged as a criminal offense but not a BON disciplinary action for smoking a joint 25 years ago. That black stain lives on Nursys for your great grandkids to see after you've been dead 40 years. Legislatures and state governors are going to be forced to pay attention and provide oversight to this unbelievably atrocious abuse of power or there are going to be no nurses left to take care of their crusty butts when they hit 80 and crap their bed. 
Rant over ? 

debkj said:

. Involuntary manslaughter can get expunged as a criminal offense but not a BON disciplinary action for smoking a joint 25 years ago. That black stain lives on Nursys for your great grandkids to see after you've been dead 40 years.

I agree. criminal convictions that lead to the BON disciplinary action can also be expunged- but the BONs usually just redact whatever was expunged criminally from the already provided consent agreement. 

I have seen a small number of states that offer expungement of consent agreements, once terms are met and the license is then unencumbered- but there has to be at least 10 years of no other discipline. 

debkj said:

Another thing to consider is that every professional license you apply for asks if you have ever had discipline on another license. There's very few things you can do without a professional license. I'm so disgusted by the power tripping Nazi BON's who force us into unilateral contracts of adhesion (IPN =Ineptly Pernicious Nags) with  no objective  criteria for terms of completed performance.   I decided to go to law school. We all have to start standing up to bullies  that criminalize mental health issues and permanently ruin our lives. Involuntary manslaughter can get expunged as a criminal offense but not a BON disciplinary action for smoking a joint 25 years ago. That black stain lives on Nursys for your great grandkids to see after you've been dead 40 years. Legislatures and state governors are going to be forced to pay attention and provide oversight to this unbelievably atrocious abuse of power or there are going to be no nurses left to take care of their crusty butts when they hit 80 and crap their bed. 
Rant over ? 

I'm curious how this is working out for you what with deciding to go to law school. I have been so back & forth debating to pursue something else, but than with the fear I'll waste my time and won't be able to get a license in something due to having to report the disciplinary action on a license on basically any application for any license or certification. Curious what your thought process is on this?