Nurses become healthcare professionals because they have empathy for others. Their big hearts and desire to heal the world spur them toward the field.
Unfortunately, the privilege of providing comfort to patients in formal settings can disappear. Medical boards have many rationales for revoking the right to perform nursing duties.
Issue #1: Missing child support payments
All 50 states have laws saying courts may suspend a nursing license due to not paying child support. Depending on where the infraction happens, a nursing license may stay invalid until the unpaid amount comes through. There could also be a deadline by which the money must appear. Failure to comply means the loss of the license permanently. Those having trouble managing child support bills should take action posthaste.
Issue #2: Abusing patients
Physically hurting someone is a clear cause for concern. Such harm often comes with visual cues that are difficult to deny. Other types of abuse present more subtle hints but deserve the same attention. Neglect, emotional mistreatment and financial exploitation are complex accusations. Resolving them often demands intense effort on behalf of investigators.
Issue #3: Taking drugs
Nursing remains one of the most stressful jobs imaginable. Work pressures plus access to narcotics is a recipe for prescription drug addiction. Impairment increases the odds of deadly errors. Thus, nurses indulging in intoxicants are putting their licenses at risk.
Losing the ability to be a nurse can be crushing, emotionally and monetarily. The good news is that, in many instances, it is possible to reinstate a nursing license.
