Nursing Law & Order

Wanda Wilson, CRNA, MSN, PhD named the Executive Director of the AANA

http://www.aana.com/news.aspx?ucNavMenu_TSMenuTargetID=171&ucNavMenu_TSMenuTargetType=4&ucNavMenu_TSMenuID=6&id=23876

Wanda was with the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing Nurse Anesthesia Program for a number of years. Congrats and best wishes!

I am Waist-Deep Working with Criminal Defense Attorneys and I love it!

There used to be a time when as a nurse license defense attorney, I was ankle-deep working with criminal defense attorneys. By ankle deep, I mean I had a few cases where nurses had concurrent representation by a criminal defense attorney. I work the Nursing Board case and the criminal defense attorney of course handles the criminal case. This was maybe 6 years ago.

About three years ago, I would say my nurse license defense practice was knee-deep working with criminal defense attorneys.

I must report as of this year, I am waist-deep working with criminal defense attorneys throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. I am also working with one or two medical malpractice defense attorneys in cases where my client is involved in a nursing malpractice case and I am representing the nurse before the Nursing Board.

I like defense attorneys whether its a criminal defense attorney or a med mal defense attorney because we tend to think alike. Tell me what you see on your side and I will tell you what I see on my side.

Why am I saying this to you? To me this shows that legal cases involving nurses are not just your "run of the mill case" anymore and as such there may be one or more different specialties of attorneys working a case or a particular avenue of the case involving a nurse. Nursing is evolving.

If you have a legal issue make sure you have the right attorney with the right skill set and the right experience working your case or a particular avenue of your case. Its your license, your livelihood, and your case.  

Nursing Professional Associations Are Struggling for Members: Nursing Associations of the Past Should not be the Nursing Associations of the Future

I supported the Licensed Practical Nurse Association of Ohio (LPNAO) in the past by purchasing a booth, donating products, or buying advertisement in program meeting brochures. LPNAO like many other nursing professional associations is struggling financial because membership is decreasing. See the President's message at http://www.lpnao.org/.

Why are nursing professional associations struggling for membership? Why don't nurses support the very professional associations which purportedly represent them and the profession? Do you feel that the nursing professional associations adequately represent the profession of nursing? Are there too many nursing professional associations? There are national, state, local, and specialty nursing associations around the country and the majority of RNs, some three million, yes 3 million, do not belong to ANY nursing professional association whether its a national, local, state, or specialty association.

I must add in fairness to nursing associations/organizations that membership in all professional associations across the spectrum are down because of the economy.

http://www.asaecenter.org/PublicationsResources/ANowDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=44103

http://www.issociate.com/issociate-101/Postings/Association-Help/How-social-networking-could-end-professional-associations/default.aspx

http://www.canadianmarketingblog.com/archives/2009/05/professional_associations_repo.html

http://www.ammr.com/PayingTheirDues.pdf

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/14/AR2008121401638.html

http://meetingsnet.com/associationmeetings/mag/meetings_associations_aim_generation/

http://blogs.capella.edu/askdoctoraladvising/2009/10/07/professional-associations-do-i-have-to/

http://www.publicrelationsprincess.com/2009/10/are-professional-associations-obligated-to-help-job-seekers.html

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/114080275/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

http://www.dcardillo.com/articles/assoc.html

http://allnurses.com/nursing-activism-healthcare/ana-membership-388073.html

See

http://www.nursingworld.org/EspeciallyForYou/Links/SpecialtyNursing.aspx

What does that say to you as a nurse? How many nursing professional association do you belong to at this point? Are you planning to continue your membership?

I belong to the American Nurses Association, the Center for American Nurses, the Ohio Nurses Association, and the Southwestern Ohio Nurses Associations. I pay close to $36.00 a month to belong to all four of these organizations. I also belong to The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA) and I pay $170.00 a year.

I can tell you as one who has been active in nursing professional associations that those who participate in the associations, run the committees, and do the work of the association, don't understand why the majority of nurses don't join. Its almost like "oh those nurses who don't join don't know any better" and "we who do join, belong, and actively participate are doing so because other won't." I have been told that "somone must do the work of the profession even if the majority of nurses don't belong to the association."

Its easy to fall into this self-defeating train of logic and thinking but honestly after participating in several nursing professional associations on the national, state, and local levels for years, I can see why the majority of nurses don't belong to some of these organizations. I don't say this as a slap in the face to any one organization or association but I don't think the powers that be in some associations "get it" or understand what needs to be done or want to do what needs to be done to be appealing to the vast majority of nurses.

What got a small percentage of nurses to join these association twenty or thirty years ago (hell even 10 years ago) is not working. Case in point. Alot of nursing students support the National Student Nurses Association but then don't transition into membership in a nursing professional association. Why?

What do these organizations/associations need to do to get the majority of nurses in the United States to belong to an association/organization?

I look at the American Bar Association. I belong to the American Bar Association and the Ohio Bar Association. There are also a number of specialty bar association like nursing associations. A large percentage of attorneys join the American Bar Association. Don't say its because attorneys have more money because some attorneys make less than what some nurses earn in a year.

I wouldn't part with my ABA membership of the value of the products I receive from the Bar Association and the ABA is involved in everything legal and advocating for attorneys on every topic here in the US and overseas.

With Web 2.0 and online communities and training of a new and the next generation of nurses, the demands of nursing practice and balancing a life outside of your role, the nursing associations of the past should not be the nursing associations of the future.

Free Recording of Legal Issues with Professional Boundaries and Professional Sexual Misconduct

For a limited time (I love the salesman talk don't you!) I am offering a FREE CD. Legal Issues with Professional Boundaries and Professional Sexual Misconduct in Nursing. See https://m360.centerforamericannurses.org/event.aspx?eventID=7426

This offer is available to first 25 nurses who contact my law firm and request the CD.

Please call during business hours 9am to 5:30pm Eastern Time and provide my receptionist with your name, credentials, and complete mailing address. Call 1-888-571-1110 or 513-771-7266.

Act now while supplies last.

You May Need A Nurse License Defense Attorney if....Here's My Top 20

This is copied from website. See http://www.nursing-jurisprudence.com/boardinvestigations.html

Also, in response to a high demand, my law firm is now offering email consultations. See www.nursing-jurisprudence.com.

As a Nurse, you need a license defense attorney with experience in administrative law and procedure involving licensed healthcare professionals if:

1. A complaint has been filed against your license with the Nursing Board or the Office of Attorney General and you were just notified;

2. Your nursing license has been suspended and you need assistance meeting the terms and conditions for reinstatement;

3. Formal charges are filed against your license with the State Nursing Board;

4. An administration hearing is scheduled related to a complaint filed against your license;

5. You received a Potential Violation Report from the Ohio Board of Nursing or a Notice of Complaint from the Kentucky Board of Nursing; 

6. You are planning to self-report to a State Nursing Board Alternative Program for Chemical Dependency;

7. You are involved in a disciplinary investigation in State A and you  reside in a Nursing Licensure Compact State or you are licensed by endorsement in other states;

8. You are asked to sign a Consent Agreement, Consent Decree, or an Agreed Order and don't understand the terms and conditions in the legal document and you don't know how the document will impact your nursing license and your nursing career;

9. You receive a Notice of Opportunity for a Hearing from the Ohio Nursing Board;

10. You are being encouraged by your employer or colleagues to "self-report" an incident to a State Nursing Board;

11. A Nursing Board investigator or any Regulatory Board (Pharmacy Board, Adult & Protective Services, Department of Health, Attorney General, Office of Inspector General, etc.) agent, officer, or investigator contacts you and want to meet with you to discuss any complaint filed against you;

13. A Nursing Board investigator or Regulatory Board agent asks you to provide a written statement regarding the allegations in the complaint filed against you;

14. You received a temporary, summary or automatic license suspension by the State Nursing Board;

15. You were terminated from your employment and told that you are being reported to the State Nursing Board for allegedly violating the Nurse Practice Act and/or Board rules; 

16. A State Nursing Board or regulatory board investigator or agent wants to conduct an telephone interview of you regarding a complaint filed against your license;

17. You have been accussed of stealing drugs and this is reported to the State Nursing Board;

18. You have been contacted by federal, state, or local law enforcement officers and you are being "encouraged" to admit guilt or confess to criminal conduct; 

19 You are a nurse and you have been charged with a crime, felony or misdemeanor. You want to know how a possible conviction or plea to a lesser offense will impact your nursing license if at all; and last but certainly not least 

20. You answer the door at your residence and its an investigator from the Pharmacy Board who wants to speak with you about Pyxis or OmniCell discrepancies.  

Can I Be Mandated to take the H1N1 Vaccination? What happens if I refuse?

Oh, the joys of at-will employment and healthcare organizations.

See the Ohio Nurses Association website at:

http://www.ohnurses.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Health_Care_and_Nursing_News&CONTENTID=5042&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm

See the American Nurses Association website at:

http://www.nursingworld.org/H1N1

Nursing Students and Criminal Convictions: He Said and She Said

The Holidays are fast approaching and I am staying busy with my law practice. I am getting into the Christmas spirit and we are planning to have our Christmas Palm tree in the living room again this year. We are putting a colored (I think red or pink) tree in our bedroom window. We are also placing a tree or something near the fireplace in the family room and downstairs in the rec room near the bar (which should be interesting for folks who have too many gin and tonics). We are also having Thanksgiving dinner at our home this year. I enjoy cooking however we have a large family so my mother, grandmother, and I will split the menu and we will have other family members bring a small side dish, a dessert, or drinks.

I received a really distressing email from a NCLEX Applicant who is having trouble obtaining a license because of criminal convictions. The applicant was crying because she stated "I would not have went to nursing school if I would have known I would have these issues getting a license." This Applicant is a single mom, recently divorced who has 18k in student loans for associate in nursing.

If you are a nursing student, considering nursing school, or you will be sitting for the NCLEX and you have criminal convictions, you need to speak with someone, preferably an attorney with experience representing nurses in licensure matters before you complete your initial application for licensure by examination. Click here and see the info on my website related to NCLEX applicants and suitability for licensure.  http://www.nursing-jurisprudence.com/legalservices.html

Now I know your nursing instructor(s) probably told you to "just complete the application and you will be fine" but I would suggest that you speak with an attorney about your situation to obtain objective counseling and advising not just about your suitability for licensure but also about any hurdles you may face with employment.  Most if not all healthcare employers are conducting criminal backgrounds checks in states around the country.

I know you may think I am saying this because I am a money hungry lawyer (well I do like money and I am usually hungry) and I just want you to contact another money hungry attorney but I say this sincerely. You need to make informed decisions and too many of us are doing things because "we were told to do this by so and so." When you are dealing with something as precious and fragile as your license, your career, and your livelihood, you should not rely on "he said and she said" to make these important decisions.

DUIs R Us: There Isn't a One Size Fit All Approach for the Implications of a DUI in Nursing

I received at least 6 emails this week from nursing students, NCLEX applicants, and nurses from around the country related to one or more DUI/OVI/DWI convictions and its impact on employment, suitability for initial licensure and renewal, and placement in clinical sites. I always respond to emails because I know there are alot of us out there who need assistance and don't know where to turn.

You should contact the following for assistance:

1. an administrative law attorney in your state or jurisdiction for assistance;

2. a nurse license defense attorney in your state or jurisdiction for assistance; or 

3. contact The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA) for a referral to the above in your state or jurisdiction.

If you live, practice, or are seeking licensure in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, you can schedule a consultation with my office. I cannot answer your question(s) unless you are a client or unless you schedule a legal consultation. For additional information about legal consultations, see my website at www.nursing-jurisprudence.com and click on consultations.

The cost of a 30 minute telephone consultation is $150.00 and the cost of a 60 minute telephone consultation is $250.00. I also schedule in-person consultations at my office for nurses in the Greater Cincinnati area (my office is really easy to find off I-275 on Reed Hartman Highway) or if I am traveling to area. We can schedule telephone consultation the same day if needed depending on my schedule. On average, I have between 5-15 legal consultations with NCLEX applicants, nursing students, RNs, LPNs, and/or APRNs a month. A legal consultation is a one-time event. http://www.nursing-jurisprudence.com/consultations.html

To pay for a legal consultation, go to website and click on the online payment tab. The payment can be made via debit or credit card and it posts immediately. You will then receive a phone call and/or email from me, my assistant, or my receptionist about scheduling the consultation. http://www.nursing-jurisprudence.com/onlinepayments.html

For additional information about the difference between a legal consulation vs. legal representation, see my website at http://www.nursing-jurisprudence.com/consultations.html.

You have to pay for and schedule a legal consulation with me if you want me to provide with a legal opinion or provide you with legal advice and counseling.

I do not offer pro bono (free) license defense or nursing law services.

Why am I saying this again? I had a nurse contact my office this week at least 8 times in a 2 hour period. She told the receptionist that she was a client and she needed to reach me ASAP and it was a matter of extreme importance and urgency. My assistant returned the call initially and the nurse told my assistant that she would only speak to me. I contacted the nurse and her first response was "thank you for calling me back, I am sorry about lying to your staff about being a client, but I really need to ask you a few questions."

I politely asked the nurse to stop speaking and instructed her to pay for telephone consultation online and I would be happy to answer her questions about the impact of a recent felony conviction on her KY and OH RN license later that evening. The nurse hung up on me.  WTfrack:(

You can contact TAANA at www.taana.org for a referral to an attorney who may offer pro bono services in your state or jurisdiction. You can also contact your local or state bar association for an attorney referral. You can also search the internet to find an attorney in your area who may be able to answer your questions without charging a fee. You can contact your State Nurses Association or Specialty Nursing Association for assistance or contact the State Nursing Board.

State Nursing Board Complaints and Nurses: It Can Happen to Anyone

Even the best nurses who are expert practitioners can be reported to the State Nursing Board. Nursing Board complaints don't just happen to "bad nurses" or nurses with a drug addiction. You can go to work on Monday, a situation can arise at work, and the outcome of the situation may be your termination and the filing of a State Nursing Board complaint against you for failing to practice in accordance with one of hundreds of standards for safe nursing practice or failing to act in accordance with company policy and procedure and jeopardizing patient safety.

What do you do then? Most nurses don't have professional liability insurance which would cover attorney fees before the State Nursing Board. Also employers are mandatory reporters so alot of State Nursing Board complaints are filed by hospitals, nursing homes, home care agencies, etc. against nurses.

I will say this again. Alot of State Nursing Board complaints are filed by employers. Yes, the same employers who you are depending upon for liability insurance are the same employers who will term you and report you to the State Nursing Board faster than the speed of light, sound, and smell.  

Does your employer's or former employer's insurance provide you with attorney representation before the State Nursing Board? No, of course not. Don't make me laugh.

When a nurse tells me "I am covered by my facility's policy and that's why I didn't purchase professional liability insurance" my next question turns to the retainer fee for representation.

Most attorneys want several hundred or a few thousand dollars for a retainer. I think this is why most nurses continue to represent themselves before the State Nursing Board. I also believe that most nurses think the State Nursing Board is "their friend." I am also asked does having an attorney "anger" the State Nursing Board. I continue to hear this.

I am meeting more and more nurses who simply don't have the resources or funds to hire an attorney for representation, counseling, and advising in a State Nursing Board matter. For those nurses I say the following:

1. Can you represent yourself knowing that you don't know until you know and when you know it, its usually too late?

2. Can you borrow the money from your 401K, 403B, or a relative or family friend?

3. You can represent yourself and get the best case scenario (State Nursing Board complaint is closed) or you can represent yourself and get the worst case scenario (license revocation) or anything in between. Are you comfortable with this? If so, by all means represent, counsel, and advise yourself. Again this is what the majority of nurses do when a State Nursing Board complaint is filed against their nurse.

If so, do your research and move forward. Most of these nurses I find however only see the facts and their situation from their own perspective i.e. that "I didn't do anything wrong and there is nothing that I would have done differently."

This is one of the pitfalls with self-representation. You are wearing rose tinted sunglasses and you can't see the sun no matter how bright it shines because of your perception of the situation or incident.

What are the other pitfalls to self-representation in a State Nursing Board matter?

1. You cannot be objective when you represent yourself;

2. Okay representing yourself before the Board is one thing. But how do you counsel and advise yourself if you are not familiar with the law, legalties, and legal issues that flow from State Nursing Board complaints?

3. You may not be familiar with the State Nursing Practice Act and Nursing Board regulations;

4. You may not be familiar with the process and procedure for State Nursing Board investigations;

5. You may not be familiar with the process and procedure for State Nursing Board hearings; and

6. You may underestimate or fail to appreciate the severity or seriousness of the allegations in the Complaint and therefore the rationale of any action proposed or taken against your license.

I had a nurse ask me during a legal consultation, what would I do if I was being investigated by the State Nursing Board? I responded, I would hire an attorney. I have professional liability insurance for my nursing practice.

I will also say that in the event a complaint is filed against law license (knock on wood), I will retain an attorney. I have legal malpractice insurance which covers this as well.

More Nurses Will Look to the Internet and Web 2.0 for Solutions to Legal Issues

I am reading the End of Lawyers by Richard Susskind. http://www.susskind.com/endoflawyers.html

This is a very thought provoking book and an excellent read. I am reading this book this month as I map out for law and consulting practice goals for 2010 and beyond. What are your goals for your nursing practice? I also take the time to review my practice goals and business plans for years prior. I started writing out practice goals and business plans in 2003.

I am planning to roll out new products and services in my consulting and law firm in 2010 now that I have hired a legal assistant who works close to full-time to assist me with administrative and clerical components.

Richard Susskind says in his book that because of the proliferation of the internet and IT solutions (which is only beginning) consumers in the future will look to the internet and Web 2.0 for legal solutions to problems. My first thought was is this why nurses gravitate to online nursing chatrooms, boards, and forums and seek advice and counsel from peers on a wide variety of issues ranging from clinical practice to personal to financial to legal.

Do these online nursing chatrooms, boards, and forums provide nurses with the anonymity and asynchronous communication demanded by more net savvy professionals who are busy with their own personal and professional lives but still need the nourishment and feedback of peers?

What does this mean for a nurse attorney like myself whose law practice is limited to representing, counseling, and advising nurses? I find this intriguing and also frustrating. Its frustrating because I see everyday what happens when nurses represent, counsel, and advise themselves in the highly regulated healthcare environments whether its before the State Nursing Board and in a number of other settings. Frustrating but in the words of Kurtis Blow, "these are the brakes." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kegfsV7g-tM

1. Some do okay representing, counseling, and advising themselves  and never seek attorney involvement or advice.

2. Others (a growing percentage) don't want to pay for an attorney (which is understandable) but begin to doubt their abilities to represent, counsel, and advise themselves even though they have a fan club of other nurses, a significant other, and family members saying "You didn't do anything wrong", the "State Nursing Board has bigger fish to fry than this silly case" and my new favorite "don't worry about it, it will all work out for the best in the end." 

These nurses then try to "hit up" nursing license defense attorneys around the state for "informal advice." I can smell money and after speaking with you for a few minutes I will know your intentions; its obvious. After 8 years of license defense before State Nursing Boards you know the nurses who are fishing around the shark tank. These nurses have no intention of hiring an attorney but just want to obtain the opinions of several different attorneys who practice license defense on the merits of their case.

3. Other nurses will say let me talk to someone first and then I can will represent, counsel, and advise myself. Sometimes I get calls from these nurses a year or two later when things didn't turn out as planned.

4. Then other nurses will say and this percentage is also growing slowly as I think nurses are saying this is my license, my livelihood, and without it, I can't practice nursing or smell the money. More nurses are saying I need legal assistance and I need it now, let's get started. I like these nurses:)

I see online nursing forums, boards, and chatrooms as a tool when used constructively can of course be beneficial to nurses. But the real world sets in and you know I have to keep it real on this blog. The majority of nurses in State Nursing Board matters across the country represent, counsel, and advise themselves so maybe the online nursing boards, forums, and chatrooms are already serving as the "nursing law attorneys" for the next generation of nurses. Whether you call it the unauthorized practice of law or the proliferation of bootleg, watercooler lawyers, it happens everyday and all day on the net and it will continue in the forseeable future.

There has to be a balance because the information, advice, and counseling you receive from others about your legal matter may not be accurate whether this information is provided online or in-person. Maybe using the internet and web 2.0 for issue spotting and then seeking more specific legal advice and counseling on your situation and determing if there is a need for legal representation. Do you need to hire an attorney or is this something you can handle on your own?

I love this book! Is it the End of Lawyers? For some sure but not for this one. Why? I am hungry, creative, lean enough to make mistakes or misteps with developing products/services and revamp, and eager to embrace the apparent and obvious trends with web 2.0 and nurses and figure out a way to offer a product or service in my law or consulting firm. Onward and Forward!!!

Center for American Nurses November 2009 Newsletter

See http://www.can.affiniscape.com/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=278.

I Appeared before the Board without counsel and signed a Nursing Board Agreement without counsel: What Can I Do Now?

I spoke with a nurse today who was upset that she wasn't told that she could have had attorney representation before the Board.

1. Why didn't the State Nursing Board tell me I could have an attorney to represent me before the State Nursing Board?

ANSWER: You can hire an attorney to represent you in any legal proceeding. As a professional, you need to be informed of what your rights and obligations are in any matter involving your license, career, and professional nursing practice. Some State Nursing Boards will indicate in correspondence to a licensee in a pending investigation or matter "You have a right to retain an Attorney." Some State Nursing Board don't indicate this in correspondence to a licensee. Therefore as professional you need to have an awareness of what your rights, obligations, duties, and responsibilities are in any investigation, appearance, complaint, or other formal/informal matter related to your nursing practice.

2. Why didn't the Board tell me that I could have an attorney to represent me when I appeared before the State Nursing Board?

ANSWER: SEE ABOVE.

3. Why didn't the Board or/and Board Staff tell me that I could have an attorney counsel and advise me before I signed a State Nursing Board Agreement, Agreed Order, Consent Agreement, or Board Contract?

ANSWER: SEE ABOVE.  

Conflict Management: Past, Present, and Future legal webinar

https://m360.centerforamericannurses.org/event.aspx?eventID=11011

Ohio Board of Nursing Meeting: November 18-20, 2009 (Rules Hearing November 18, 2009)

See http://www.nursing.ohio.gov/Upcoming.htm.

Would You Surrender Your Nursing License? RN to the End

Would you surrender your nursing license? Have you surrendered your nursing license? If so, why?

My motto is "RN to the end" but I am questioning under what circumstances would I be willing to surrender my nursing license. I worked hard for my nursing license and even harder my law licenses but I question under what circumstances if any that I would be willing to walk away.

Would I surrender my license if its suggested or would I be the one nurse who is screaming "if you want my license you will have to take it" or "give me liberty, give me death, but I am keeping my nursing license" at a State Nursing Board hearing?  

My recovery assistant, Jack "Jackie" Stem, is a former CRNA who surrendered his nursing license and privilege to practice as a CRNA in Ohio. He will tell you that if didn't surrender his nursing license, he probably would not be alive because of his battle a decade or so ago with addiction. He is proudly clean and sober and active in the CRNA recovery community. He will tell you, you can call him and he loves to talk:) that "life doesn't stop because you no longer have a state nursing license." Call Jack at 513-328-7253. He has turned his struggle into a career assisting nurses with recovery issues. See www.jackstem.com and www.peeradvocacyforimpairednurses.com.  

RN, LPN, and the APRN titles are protected by law so if you don't have a license you can't call yourself a "nurse" but even without a title, you have the education, experience, and training. Are you still a nurse at heart even if you don't have the State Nursing Board sanctioned title of RN, LPN, CRNA, NP, CNS, or CNM?

More and more of us are voluntarily surrendering our nursing licenses, most of the time it is because of a pending State Nursing Board complaint. Would you "go out swinging and fighting" in the event of a possible revocation of your nursing license or would you surrender your license?

For those of us who did surrender, what are you doing now?

In some states, a voluntary surrender is like a suspension and at some point you can apply for reinstatement of your license. You may have to sit for the NCLEX Exam again. Its more like a non-permanent revocation.

However in some states if you surrender, you surrender your privilege to practice as a nurse in that particular state permanently. Its a permanent revocation and surrender of your privilege to practice nursing forever and always.

What are your thoughts?

Free Webinar: Retirement Planning for Busy Nurses

My 401K with the American Bar Association took a hit last year and I thought well I guess I will work until I die. Its looking a little better now and so is my IRA.

Are you ready for retirement? When do you plan to retire? Are you planning to retire?

You cannot work forever and working up until you die full-time probably isn't healthy but you are seeing it more and more these days. I am 38 years old now. I don't want to retire at 55 but I would like to be able to down shift around 50 or 55.

My sweetie and I have a monthly financial planning meeting where we review our expenses, income, and goals. It gives us a reason to eat at the Cheesecake Factory and it forces us to discuss money and finances. Before we got married we reviewed each other credit reports and the works because we wanted to approach our marriage as a team (although we have been living together for a number of years anyway).

Its never too late or too early to plan for retirement as a nurse. The Center for American Nurses is sponsoring a free webinar for nurses on retirement. See

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/492433170

KY and IN Licensed Nurses: Please Renew Your Nursing License TODAY!

The deadline for renewal is October 31, 2009. But guess what, the 31st falls on a Saturday and State Nursing Board offices are closed on Saturday. If you wait until the 31st, when will your application be processed since the Board offices are closed on the weekend.

I met with Kentucky Nursing Board staff yesterday for an investigative meeting. After the meeting a comment was made about the number of nurses who haven't renewed their license. The deadline for renewal in Ohio was August 31, 2009. I renew my licenses early as I am easy to be distracted. I also calendar the deadlines for renewal of my nursing and law licenses.

Renew your Indiana Nursing Board  and/or Kentucky Nursing Board license today.

Patient Safety and Medical Liability Reform

See http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/FACT-SHEET-Patient-Safety-and-Medical-Liability-Reform-Demonstration/.

Where does nursing fit into this equation? What do you think?

Negligence to Malpractice: the Professional Practice of Nursing is Evolving

The Center for American Nurses has recently published a new e-book on nursing negligence and malpractice, the title is "Negligence to Malpractice: the Professional Practice of Nursing is Evolving."

http://www.can.affiniscape.com/storelistitem.cfm?itemnumber=22

The e-book can be purchased for $9.95 at the Center for American Nurses website at www.centerforamericannurses.org. Click on the link above or go the Center's website and click on the link for the Online store.

Is it the End of Lawyers? Not this one. Is it the End of Nurses? Not this one.

I ordered a book titled the End of Lawyers by Richard Susskind from Amazon. It should be delivered this week. http://www.susskind.com/endoflawyers.html

Is it the End of Lawyers? Maybe some law firms and attorneys will go the way of the dinosaurs but not this one. Some lawyers and law firms don't want to see themselves as a business and only want to look at the practice of law as profession. The practice of law is a profession and business and both of these concepts are very important.

I remember being told "a law practice representing nurses isn't a viable concept." Really! I did things my way from the beginning for better and for worse and the kinks are rolling out. I am not a traditional attorney and I did not want to have a traditional law practice with traditional clients and a traditional law office. I was told 10 years ago that attorneys shouldn't be consultants and you should focus exclusively on the law. Whatever. I have a law firm and a consulting firm and one of my goals for next year is to grow my consulting practice.

I love working on the marketing, advertising, selling, and business development practices in my law and consulting firms. I started my law practice from scratch like my Mississippi Mud Pie (which is soooo delicious by the way) and therefore I learned early that you have to market yourself, differientiate your law practice from the thousands of other lawyers out there, practice law, and keep your clients happy.

It may be the end for some lawyers but not this one, baby. I am the only RN-JD who practices law in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana and represents, counsels, and advises nurses in State Nursing Board and professional practice matters. This didn't happen over night but I have worked hard and I am still working hard to develop my law practice and run my business. I don't have any plans to hire additional attorneys as I like working one or one with my clients because this isn't just a job or something I do to make "a buck."

It depends on your perspective. Are you just here? Are you just living life? Are you just going through the motions and you are oblivious to the path and the destination being plotted? Or are you fulfilling your destiny like Luke Skywalker? Use the force, Luke!!!

Maybe I have watched one too many Sci Fi movies but life is so much more interesting when you are striving to be the person you dreamed you could be and each page that you turn in this massive book called life is a journey.  

Is it the end of nurses? Do you see nursing as a profession and a business? Is the practice of nursing a business? Are nurses prepared by nursing schools/colleges to see the practice of nursing as a business and a profession?

How are you positioning yourself for the nursing workforce of the future?