Learning your medical license is under investigation can seem overwhelming and confusing. After all, you arrive at work each day to provide exceptional care to your patients. Now that your license is in danger of suspension, you might not realize there are actions you can take to help you manage the situation and successfully defend your license.
It is important for you to understand the nursing investigation process so you do not make mistakes that create complications or cause you to lose your professional license erroneously.
Determine the cause for investigation
You may think you can get to the bottom of the matter quickly alone. Depending on your particular health care role, you might be able to. Think about the things the last few months of your professional life. Did you do something at work that would call into question your character, professionalism or innocence? Have you recently used narcotics or received criminal charges? Even if you cannot determine the cause on your own, you should not ignore the possibility that someone made a report about an incident regarding you. Determine what the cause is so you can develop a good defense to mitigate the consequences.
Prepare for the investigation
Once you figure out the cause of the investigation, you should prepare yourself for what is to come. Dealing with any legal matter that could result in you losing your professional licenses is stressful enough without having to navigate the investigation alone. Besides presenting your best behavior, you must watch what you say. During the investigation, you may need to answer to an investigator. Avoid saying anything that could incriminate you or make you accountable for the charges you face.
You should also take steps to protect your license. Once you find out why your professional license is in danger of nullification, you might want to speak with legal counsel to learn if the investigation has merit and gather evidence to support your defense to the licensing board.