Whenever you obtain a professional nursing license, the possibility exists that you could also lose that license at some point. Of course, you undoubtedly want to avoid such a possibility and continue working in your chosen field. Therefore, you may wish to understand what actions could lead to the loss of a nursing license and what you could do if you find yourself at risk for license suspension or revocation.
Unfortunately, numerous actions or situations could result in license revocations. These few examples lie among the ways such an outcome could come about:
- Diverting medication: In other words, diverting medications means taking medicines for reasons other than giving them to the prescribed patient. Narcotics, sleeping pills and anti-psychotics are among the most common types of medications diverted. If you get caught carrying out such an action, the chances of losing your license significantly increase.
- Substance abuse: In many cases, individuals may take medicines because they suffer from a substance abuse problem. In addition to the risks diverting medicine presents, working while impaired could also result in negative impacts to your nursing license. As impairment may hinder your ability to carry out necessary duties, a serious mistake could result in substantial consequences.
- Negligence: Negligence commonly leads to issues among medical professionals. If you should have carried out an action but failed to do so, liability for resulting damages could fall on your shoulders. If serious or fatal injuries are among those damages, you run the risk of losing your license.
- Breach of privacy: Most individuals know that laws bind doctors, nurses and other medical professionals from disclosing patient information to outside parties. A simple slip-up could result in a privacy breach and additional complications for you. Though a minor infraction or accidental disclosure may not necessarily lead to issues with your licensure, acts of spreading information about a patient or providing unnecessary parties with information regarding a patient’s condition could land you in hot water.
If you have received notice that your license is at risk due to any of the above mentioned actions or other potential infractions, you may wonder how to address the predicament. Of course, you should remember that any information you disclose to investigating parties could come back to impact you and your potential for license suspension or revocation. Therefore, you may wish to fully explore your rights and options.
In order to approach your situation in a meaningful manner and protect yourself and your nursing license, you may wish to consult with an experienced Pennsylvania attorney.