Working On Expired License

[KPowder]

My good friend was just informed by our facility she has been working for 8 months on an expired license. What are the possible ramifications for her and our facility?

[kp2016]

The facility will most likely report this to the state BON. BON will probably give a fine and probation. I have no idea if the facility will fire your friend for this but I think it is likely.

[TriciaJ, RN]

Depends on the state.  I'm betting your friend will have to pay a stiff civil penalty to be reinstated.  Her employment status will depend on what kind of contract she has and how forgiving her employer wants to be.

Funny  the employer doesn't track licensure and chase people down for renewal verification.  I'm sure most, if not all of my previous employers did.  Likewise the CPR cards.

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

Odd that it was the facility that had to bring this to your friend's attention. Was there a particular reason why the nurse lost track of her own license status?

[CharleeFoxtrot, BSN, RN]

19 minutes ago, Jedrnurse said:

Odd that it was the facility that had to bring this to your friend's attention. Was there a particular reason why the nurse lost track of her own license status?

^this.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

I find this very odd. In Indiana,  RNs have to renew by October 31st on odd years,  LPNs October 31st even years. Employers generally have us print out and turn in verification of renewal, which is tracked. I'm just surprised that this isn't the case where your friend is

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

27 minutes ago, Hoosier_RN said:

I find this very odd. In Indiana,  RNs have to renew by October 31st on odd years,  LPNs October 31st even years. Employers generally have us print out and turn in verification of renewal, which is tracked. I'm just surprised that this isn't the case where your friend is

It's weird how the different states manage licensing dates. I am licensed in six states (it's a long story and yes, I am getting a multi-state as soon as I move this Spring) and some are smart like here in IN where everyone re-ups on the same date. Another state does it every 2 years on your birthday. Yet another has it every two years but the pool of nurses is divided into two groups based on initial licensure date- so half re-up one year and half the next. 

Yet ANOTHER reason we need national licensing standards. 

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

On 4/14/2021 at 11:18 AM, meanmaryjean said:

It's weird how the different states manage licensing dates. I am licensed in six states (it's a long story and yes, I am getting a multi-state as soon as I move this Spring) and some are smart like here in IN where everyone re-ups on the same date. Another state does it every 2 years on your birthday. Yet another has it every two years but the pool of nurses is divided into two groups based on initial licensure date- so half re-up one year and half the next. 

Yet ANOTHER reason we need national licensing standards. 

That is crazy! But still, you would think the facility that had employed this nurse would be on the ball. Someone dropped that ball, as well as the nurse. Someone in HR or nursing management should have a spreadsheet, or other tracking tool, to help prevent that 

ETA: I'm licensed in 3 other states, and have reminders on my calendar for all of them (thank goodness IN joined compact, this renewal will be better), but when I worked those states with varying renewal policies, someone always let me know, plus I get a reminder via email from each state BON 

[Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN]

3 minutes ago, Hoosier_RN said:

Someone in HR or nursing management should have a spreadsheet to help prevent that 

Since the hospital is responsible for keeping the public safe by assuring that all staff are licensed, this is exactly right. Once I renewed my license well in-time and awaited the notice from the office that I had to show it to them. When I hadn’t gotten it six weeks later I sidled up to the hospital risk manager, showed her the receipt and the current license, and told her about my experiment, asking if she’d like to know how long it would take them to catch on. When we approached six months we spilled the beans. They fixed that, LOL. 

[nursel56]

On 4/14/2021 at 12:41 AM, TriciaJ said:

Funny  the employer doesn't track licensure and chase people down for renewal verification.  I'm sure most, if not all of my previous employers did.  Likewise the CPR cards.

My experience is even the most slack agency I ever worked for had a zero tolerance policy on expired licenses and CPR cards.

KPowder-- hope your friend will not repeat that mistake. Hard to imagine a nurse not knowing when her own license expires, though. 

[Davey Do]

Back in 1986, I came into work as an LPN one evening shift at Weed Rover Township Hospital was met at the time clock by the DON.

She told me that my license was expired and I needed to bring it in ASAP. I said, "Sure- I've got it. I'll bring it in tomorrow". The DON replied, "No, go home and get it NOW!"

I asked, "Will I be paid for this?!"

It seems that very day, a policeman needed to see the driver's license of one of the paramedics from the hospital who was on a run. The paramedics driver's license was expired.

Ew. Bummer.

So the DON was hot to make sure that all licenses were up to date.

Another situation occurred with me back in '90 after I had passed RN state boards and received the results in September. I brought in some form from the state to Weed Rover's HR  that I said I could works as an RN, and began doing so. Now, in my memory, I believed the form said that I had six months to apply for and get the actual paper license.

That December 1990, I quit Weed Rover and got a position at St. Anomaly's Health Center the next January. St. Anomaly's HR informed me that I had no current RN license, and I said, "Yeah, I've got his form here that says I can work as an RN until I get my actual license.

"Nooooooooo", they said, "We need your actual license."

Ew. Another bummer.

It makes me wonder if I was working at Weed Rover from September to December under false pretenses, as the current records show that my RN license is dated from February 1991.

And: What's the statute of limitations on license fraud?

 

[CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN]

On 4/17/2021 at 1:54 AM, nursel56 said:

My experience is even the most slack agency I ever worked for had a zero tolerance policy on expired licenses and CPR cards.

KPowder-- hope your friend will not repeat that mistake. Hard to imagine a nurse not knowing when her own license expires, though. 

I know my clinic (FQHC in Connecticut) has no idea.  I renew my nursing license on my own, because the state sends me emails reminding me when the date is approaching. However, my BLS was expired for close to a year before I realized it. The only reason I DID realize it was that I started graduate school and the university required it. 
 

In my state, the nursing licenses expire in your birthday month. Which is easier for the state, because it means there’s a rolling number of re-applicants each year. But it makes it harder for facilities to keep track, I’m sure, than if they all expired dec 31 or something.