There are many regulations that nurses here in Pennsylvania are required to comply with. Being accused of having violated state nursing regulations can be an incredibly serious matter. Such accusations can lead to a nurse facing disciplinary action from the state’s Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs.
Recently, the bureau put a nurse from Lebanon on probation. According to the bureau, the nurse committed violations of state nursing regulations. The Lebanon Daily News article which reported this story did not have any details regarding what specific regulations the nurse allegedly broke. It did mention that the bureau found that the nurse had opioid dependency.
The nurse’s probation will go for two years. Included among the requirements of her probation are that she has to submit to random testing for drugs.
The bureau put the nurse on probation after opting to stay the license suspension it had initially placed on her in relation to the alleged regulation violations. Reportedly, the stay and the probation were part of a consent agreement. Consent agreements usually are the product of negotiations between the bureau and an accused professional.
One of the many questions that can come before a nurse who has been accused of misconduct and is facing the possibility of disciplinary measures from the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs is: should I negotiate a consent decree with the bureau? Many different factors can play a role in whether or not pursuing a consent decree is the right choice for a nurse. License defense attorneys can provide nurses with advice when it comes to this issue and the others that can come up in relation to allegations of professional misconduct.
Source: Lebanon Daily News, “State bureau places Lebanon nurse on probation,” Jan. 25, 2014