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What Types of Discipline Can I Face Against My Nursing License?
Nurses play an essential role in our medical system, and both doctors and patients rely on them to provide quality care. When you have worked to obtain your professional nursing license, you will want to be sure to do everything you can to maintain that license and continue working in your chosen field. If you are facing discipline to your nursing license, you will want to work with an attorney to understand your options.
Wisconsin Board of Nursing
As part of the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS), the Board of Nursing issues licenses to registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. It is also tasked with establishing standards for nursing schools and investigating complaints against nurses, with the goal of keeping patients free from negligence, carelessness, and harm.
Punishable Offenses
Nurses may be accused of a variety of offenses that could result in penalties to their nursing license. These include, but are not limited to:
- Accessing a patient’s health care records without a medically necessary reason.
- Practicing without an active or valid license.
- Soliciting, borrowing, misappropriating, obtaining, or attempting to obtain money or property from a patient or a patient's family.
- Failing to establish, maintain, or communicate professional boundaries with a patient, including accepting gifts which are more than minimal value, and a nurse cannot accept cash from a patient or a patient’s family.
- Posing, photographing, or recording the body or any body part of a current or former patient, other than for health care purposes.
- Falsifying or inappropriately altering reports, patient documentation, agency records, or other health documents.
- Errors in prescribing, dispensing, or administering medication, including improperly wasting medication.
- Discrimination based on a person’s race, gender, age, sexual preference, marital status, religion, disability, or socioeconomic status while providing services as a nurse.
Consequences
After receiving a complaint, the Board of Nursing and/or the DSPS will investigate the allegations, and a regulatory hearing may be held to determine whether any disciplinary action will be taken. Depending on the offense, the Board may choose to:
- Issue a private administrative warning
- Issue a public reprimand
- Require a nurse to obtain certain types of education, participate in counseling, or attend a drug or alcohol treatment program
- Place requirements on what types of practices a nurse can or cannot perform
- Suspend a nursing license for a certain period of time
- Revoke a nursing license
Contact a Milwaukee Professional License Defense Attorney
Your professional license is important and maintaining a valid license is necessary to continue working in your chosen career. If you receive any request for information from the Department of Safety and Professional Services or the Wisconsin Board of Nursing, you are required to respond and cooperate with their investigation. Not cooperating is another punishable offense; however, you are entitled to lawyer to represent you.
If you have been accused of a punishable offense and are in danger of losing your nursing license, you should contact our Milwaukee, WI nursing license defense lawyers today. We have worked with a wide variety of clients to defend professional licenses, and we can help you determine the best course of action to take to protect your license and your career. Call our office at 414-271-1440 to schedule a consultation today.
Sources:
http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/n/7
https://www.ncsbn.org/673.htm
https://dsps.wi.gov/pages/BoardsCouncils/Nursing/Default.aspx
