Being a licensed registered nurse in California is a difficult journey. You must undertake intensive training, obtain experience on the job, and remain alert and mentally sharp. The process of obtaining a professional license after training is also complex. You must undergo a lengthy and tedious process and pay a substantial amount to be certified to work within the state. Sadly, losing your license is easier than obtaining it. So many issues can result in disciplinary action by the Board of Registered Nursing, including a single violation or accusation.
However, the result of the disciplinary process after an accusation or violation depends on the strength of your defense. Thus, you must engage a skilled attorney to fight for your career and reputation. Our San Jose License Attorney support can protect you from losing your license and any other harsh disciplinary action by the board. We help medical professionals defend their livelihoods in San Jose. We could compel your licensing board to dismiss your charges or be more lenient when disciplining you.
Understanding the Role of a Registered Nurse
Registered nurses are the majority of healthcare professionals in various hospitals, emergency rooms, nursing homes, and other areas where medical assistance is needed. They work directly with patients, doctors, and other medical professionals to enhance the well-being of patients. Individuals or families employ some nurses to care for ailing kin. Their service is invaluable in the healthcare sector.
Your service as a registered nurse goes beyond providing primary care to ailing patients. You also offer health and wellness education to improve the patient’s well-being and prevent medical issues in the future. You also help in rehabilitation centers, ER settings, and intensive care. Sometimes, you must also administer anesthesia, work as a midwife, assist surgeons and other medical experts, offer pediatric care, and help in mental institutions. This shows the wide range of skills you need before obtaining a license as a registered nurse. Your training must also be intensive and extensive since you are a patient’s primary caregiver.
The nature of a registered nurse’s job exposes them to the danger of lawsuits, allegations, and other forms of complaints. You could be accused of offering excessive medication, patient negligence, incompetence, exceeding your mandate as a nurse in service delivery, or failing to refer patients. When these allegations arise, the Board of Registered Nursing must investigate and take action to protect patients and the public. This can affect your reputation, license, and livelihood.
Fortunately, you can defend yourself if you face a professional misconduct violation. The board allows you time to prepare your defense. It also allows you to provide evidence and statements to counter the allegations. A skilled license attorney can help prepare the most compelling defense to fight a possible license revocation or suspension. If your defense works, the board can drop the allegations or choose a more lenient penalty for your actions.
Reasons Your Registered Nursing License Can be Revoked or Suspended
When applying for a registered nursing permit, you must take a test to demonstrate your understanding of the law and the general standard of operations for registered nurses. The board also ensures you understand the dos and don’ts of your profession to avoid a regrettable violation. If you violate the set standards, the board will take action against you. This could result in the cancellation or suspension of your professional license. These are severe consequences as they affect your livelihood. Here are examples of violations that can cause the board to revoke or suspend your license:
- If you commit a sex crime, like, rape, sexual abuse, or sexual battery
- If you demonstrate unprofessional behavior towards the public and your patients, including failing to maintain patient confidentiality
- If you abuse or mistreat a patient, including excessive use of force against them
- Acting irrationally in a manner that affects your job performance
- Having a physical impairment that affects your service delivery
- Exceeding the scope of your license in service delivery
- Operating without a valid license
- Substance abuse or misuse of alcohol, drugs, and other controlled substances
- Violating any drug-related law
- Committing fraud, including medical and insurance fraud
- Committing particular crimes like DUI
- A criminal arrest or conviction that affects your integrity as a registered nurse
- Being fraudulent or dishonest with employers, colleagues, patients, or their families
- Being incompetent or negligent
The Board’s Mission
In addition to issuing permits to qualified registered nurses, the Board of Registered Nurses must ensure all certified nurses offer quality and safe services throughout California. Its role includes supervising the performance of licensed nurses and taking action against nurses who go against the set code of operation. However, this is not its primary mandate. The board’s primary role is public safety. Everything it does must be geared towards safe and professional services to the public. Hence, the swift manner in which the board acts whenever it receives a complaint of unprofessional conduct regarding a registered nurse.
The board protects the healthcare sector from incompetent, unprofessional, and negligent nurses. When an allegation against a nurse is received, the board must investigate its authenticity before taking the necessary action. If a claim is unsubstantiated, the board will dismiss it. However, suppose there is concrete evidence against you. In that case, the board will investigate the matter and call for a hearing to determine the proper discipline to use against you.
Disciplinary procedures by the board are usually not handled like criminal proceedings. Thus, you could be disadvantaged if you are unprepared to defend your livelihood or reputation. The board will use the evidence against you to determine the right action. If you defend yourself, the board can reconsider its discipline and opt for a case dismissal or a more lenient penalty. Thus, you must prepare well for the hearing with the service of a qualified license attorney. An experienced attorney can use various strategies to obtain a favorable result, including mitigating factors or introducing evidence to counter the board’s case.
Possible Outcome of an Investigation By the Board of Registered Nursing
When someone files a complaint against you with the board against you or the board learns about your unprofessionalism, negligence, or incompetence, it will notify you of the issue, pending investigation, and a hearing. Investigations can take days, weeks, or months, depending on the severity of the matter. The board can suspend your license temporarily, pending the outcome of its investigation, if you are a risk to public safety. Once the investigation is over, the board will hold a hearing to hear the matter and determine the proper discipline. Remember that all this is critical for public safety.
If, after the investigation, the board does not find credible evidence to act against you, it will dismiss the allegation. You will be notified of this to continue your service delivery as a registered nurse. If the board has suspended your license, you can apply for reinstatement immediately after receiving the notification to continue serving your patients. A skilled attorney can help you through these complex processes. They can also talk with the board during the investigation to trigger a favorable outcome for the case.
If, during the investigation, the board obtains compelling evidence against you, it will hold a hearing to discuss the matter and the proper discipline for your professional misconduct. You must attend the hearing well-prepared to fight your allegations to avoid losing your license and livelihood. Your attorney can attend the hearing unless the board needs your presence. Your attorney will also present your evidence and statement on your behalf, and anything else that could help your situation. They will keep you informed throughout the hearing and all administrative processes.
If the evidence against you is compelling, the board must punish you for the misconduct and warn registered nurses against similar behavior. The board uses citations, fines, and reprimands for lenient allegations to caution unprofessional registered nurses against their unprofessionalism. The fine can be cheap or expensive, depending on the details of your case. You will need your attorney’s help to fight for a fair amount and prevent a public citation or reprimand that can damage your reputation. Remember that you need an attorney to ensure your interests are presented to the board for a fair ruling.
If the allegations against you are serious, or someone was hurt due to your unprofessional behavior, the board will take sterner action against you. This could be through license suspension or revocation. This will affect your livelihood since you cannot earn a living with a suspended or canceled license. Although license suspension seems fair, it could be challenging to reinstate your permit after the suspension. Additionally, you will face difficulty if you or others depend on your license for a livelihood. Thus, you need an attorney to defend your license or fight the suspension or revocation.
Your attorney can convince the board to dismiss your charges, especially if the evidence against you is weak, the allegations are unsubstantiated, or you have already taken steps to rectify your behavior. If you face a license revocation, the board can reduce your charges and suspend your permit for some time as you work on the issues that caused the violation. Depending on the nature of the allegations, your lawyer can advocate for probation rather than of suspension or revocation. This will keep you working and earning a living as you correct your behavior.
The Role of Your Attorney in the Administrative Process
Obtaining a certification to work as a registered nurse in California is complex. Only qualified individuals are certified after years of training and retraining, acquiring the necessary experience, and passing the required examinations. You must also demonstrate dedication and passion towards helping the needy. This makes it difficult to lose a license that has taken so much from you to acquire. Thus, defending your license should be a top priority once you receive a notice of investigation from the Board of Registered Nursing. You can do it successfully with the assistance of a skilled license attorney.
An attorney plays a critical role in the administrative process. First, they will analyze it to advise on its nature, implications, and possible penalties. You require this to prepare well for defense. It will also help you realize the risk your professional license is in so you can put all your efforts into defending it. Your attorney will take time to understand the facts of your case, review the evidence against you, and investigate possible outcomes based on previous cases and the information on the board’s website.
Your attorney will also ensure you know your rights and work hard to defend them. Your rights should not be violated, regardless of the gravity of your charges. The board must follow the due process and ensure you are well informed and notified, even if you face grave allegations. The board must also allow you to present your defense for a fair hearing.
Your license attorney will defend you during the hearing and fight for a favorable case resolution. Remember that the board will not take your side at any given time since its primary mandate is public safety. Your attorney will ensure that your interests are considered in every administrative process step. They will introduce evidence during the hearing, prepare compelling statements, and bring up mitigating factors to help your case.
If you lose your license during or after the investigation, your attorney will help you regain it. The process of reinstating a suspended or revoked license is complex. An experienced attorney knows the procedure and requirements to help you navigate the process successfully.
Find a Reputable Professional License Defense Attorney Near Me
If you are stressed about losing your registered nursing license due to disciplinary action, you should seek the help of a license attorney. Even a minor allegation about professional misconduct or criminal acts can affect your license. However, an attorney can use the right strategies to defend your license, depending on the nature and severity of the allegations.
At San Jose License Attorney, we know how difficult obtaining a nursing license in California is. We know about the lengthy training you had to ensure and the money you paid for training and certification. We will fight alongside you until you are happy with the resolution of your case. Contact us at 408-850-3740 to learn more about us.
