AllHealthcare

Can an RN lose their license for a simple battery case with a domestic battery case?

Also curious about the woman who lost her license for hosting a pornographic website. On the surface it DOES sound unprofessional, but If it's legal in her area, she's a consenting adult, and does not involve any vulnerable persons, patients, or colleagues...I'm wondering how it merits licence revocation. Maybe her state has a specific prohibiton against it?

I have seen a fellow nurse play solitaire all through her shift almost every shift... that is seriously unprofessional... why is she still a nurse? It seems to me that it is difficult for someone to lose their license, governing bodies give countless "warnings" but I have never seen action taken beyond that....

You assume that licensing boards are comprised of ethical people interested in the truth. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. I am one of a large group of dentists who have been unfairly "disciplined" by the Maine Board of Dental Examiners. There is a severe lack of due process in the licensing system in Maine, and I suspect in most other states as well. The boards are granted a huge amount of power while licensees have little to none. In my case, I had my license revoked in 2002 because the board blamed me with patient abandonment. Nothing could be further from the truth. In actuality, it was one of the seven board members who had reneged on an agreement over office space, which left me temporarily with no facility in Jan. 2002. I scrambled to find another office (after spending the better part of six months searching in 2001), but the board came down on me, blaming me for everything while failing to investigate the board member's actions. It was clear that they were interested in discrediting me, even claiming that there must be something wrong with me and insisting that I have physical and psychiatric examinations done at my own expense (at the time I couldn't even work since they had revoked my license). So I was forced to stop looking for a new office and my practice was ruined. Eventually, with no income for months and no recourse, I was forced to sell my condo in March, 2003 and put most of my things into storage and leave the state. I've been living in limbo since at a house my parents own, trying to find work. Now that house is being sold, so I'm probably going to be homeless. I have only one state to seek work in, since it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to get licensed elsewhere since it would require taking board exams over and my reputation is now severely damaged by the Maine board. Needless to say, the financial and emotional fallout has been very extensive. Other dentists have also been harmed, including another female dentist accused by a former disgruntled employee with sexual abuse (like giving patients lap dances) and other bogus charges. The board accepted these allegations although there was no substantiation and suspended the dentist. There are others also and we are trying to form an organization to bring these abuses to light and warn others about practicing in the state. I'm sure these kinds of abuses extend to other healthcare occupations and other states but it's something you aren't warned about. At the same time, there are growing shortages of healthcare practitioners and it doesn't make sense for the government to be behaving this way and we need to reform the system.

Yow - this is depressing right? - My hope was that there would be a little more "here's what to do if you find yourself in this situation...." As a clinician who works with Nurses (and other healthcare professionals) with addictions, I have a few comments regarding this but alas, not enough space. Addictions (in addition to a progressive disease), diversion of drugs, unprofessional conduct etc... are all symptoms (sometimes we refer to them as maladaptive coping skills) of a field which carries with it an immense amount of stress and the need to think and act quickly in fast-paced healthcare environments. This is sometimes not easy for Nurses and / or clinical teams faced with the present challenges found in healthcare - but it is necessary. The Jones report (2005) stated that everytime a hospital loses a nurse, it costs the hospital between 61 - 67,000 per RN. With Nurses who are addicted, this does not include the cost of medications which may have been stolen or diverted as well as the unknown costs to patients in their care and the effects on the cohesiveness of the clinical team. Most importantly - it effects the physical and emotional health and career of the Nurse involved as well as the effects on his / her family.


So - here's 10 ways to start to cope:


1. If you are an RN in a high stress situation, take care of yourself - make sure you get enough sleep and food to eat. If it's 10:00am and you think you would like some coffee and then 7 hours later you realize you still haven't had that cup of coffee and you've had to go to the bathroom for the last 4 hours, this is not taking care of yourself.


2. Keep the lines of communication open with the members of your team. Yes, you are all "in it" together, if you have had a difficult case or multiple codes, debrief (even if informally for 2-3 minutes) - talk about the effect the day has had upon you and what you have learned about yourself as a person or a practitioner. - express your feelings as 'stuffing them' eventually leads to many of the problems listed above.


3. Be aware of your defenses - the way you manage your stress. I don't know of any RN who walks into a code room and says "eewwwww blood!" - you see overwhelming stuff everyday right? It's our defenses that allow us to go from day to day navigating the emotions that we have. There are appropriate times to talk about how you respond to situations and inappropriate times (see "unprofessional conduct" above). Important to remember is that we have defenses to manage our feelings. Our patients and families are often emotional when we see them as they have to deal with the stress of their family members illness and a lot of acronyms they may not understand in an area which is very overstimulating to them. They may interpret our defenses as uncaring or insensitive. Couterbalance this by asking them if they have any questions regarding care or if they need additional information or support.


4. If you are precepting a new RN or grad - chances are they may not know (due to a lack of experience more then anything else) how to manage the stress of a fast-paced healthcare area. The better you are at "modeling" appropriate coping strategies, the better your preceptee will adjust to the challenges at hand. Review cases clinically but also take a few seconds to 'check in' and make sure they are handling the pace, patients and families and teamwork from an interpersonal level as well.


5. I bet you have a ton of accrued hours to use for vacation that never gets used right? You're not alone. Usually what I hear is "there's no one to cover for me" or "it's too busy now - I'll take it later". And then what usually happens is you either cash out the hours or lose them. USE THEM! Even if it's only to take a few days away - it's rest that you need. Have fun, relax and take care of yourself.


6. If you're at the grocery store and the overhead signal goes off and you're looking for a crash cart instead of listening about the spill in isle 4, you're working too hard.


7. Pay attention to the way your team is coping with the stress they have. If you notice a colleague hasn't shown up since a code a few days ago, make sure you check in with them or have someone give them a call and see how they are doing. The more cohesive and collaborative your team is, the easier it is to check in with them when they are stressed too.


8. If you or a colleague has developed an addiction, get help. Seek treatment or call an EAP (employee assistance professional) or counselor. They can refer you to a program. You've worked hard to get to where you are in your career, you've gained an immense amount of experience in interacting with patients and families - do not throw it away. Get the help you need. Find a treatment facility by checking here http://dasis3.samhsa.gov/


9. If you notice a colleague has developed a problem - discuss it with them. Confronting a problem is not easy for a lot of people but ignoring it all together may have more catastrophic effects. Our colleagues may become defensive if they are not ready to address the problem. This can be avoided by using "I statements" such as "I'm concerned about how you are doing - is everything okay?" or "I was concerned that I didn't see you after that tough code the other day, it was pretty overwhelming huh...". Using 'feeling' words such as "concerned", "overwhelmed" etc.. usually carry more weight then "thinking" statements.


10. Need more information or help - we offer a free newsletter on managing stress and enhancing communication at www.RN-coach.com (see the sign up form which requires a confirmation by e-mail as we don't like spam either). Your information will remain confidential and will not be disclosed to anyone. Most importantly - taking care of yourself and taking care of your team will only lead to better care for patients and families.


S.A.Leys M.Ed., B.C.E.T.S. - RN-coach.com: Supporting Nursing Excellence in Healthcare