My 2 Cents

Are You Looking for Free Legal Advice?

Guess what? You won't get it here.

I receive at least three to ten phone calls a month from nurses who essentially want legal advice without establishing an attorney-client relationship. I've been an attorney for almost 11 years and in private practice for 7 of those years so its easy to identify those callers.

I cannot and will not provide advice or counseling to anyone without establishing an attorney-client relationship. This protects me and it protects the nurse also.

Some attorneys offer free legal consultations. I don't. Most attorneys who offer free legal consultations often handle cases on a contingency basis and therefore use the free consultation as means to screen cases for merit.

I don't handle contigency cases and I don't sue anyone or any agency. I use flat fees for the majority of my cases. I use hourly billing for insurance defense work and institutional clients, like hospitals, schools of nursing, etcs.

My law practice involves representing, counseling, and advising nurses in licensure and professional practice matters. I defend nurses who have been reported to the Indiana, Kentucky, or Ohio Board of Nursing. I also represent nurses before federal and state regulatory agencies and counsel nurses on labor, employment, clinical, and contractual issues.

If you have a workplace issue, contact your state nurses association first. You can speak with a staff person there and they may be able to assist you. You can also contact the state board of nursing for information about nursing practice issues.

However if you want legal advice and counseling from an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction; schedule a consultation, either via phone or in-person with an attorney in private practice.

I have said this many times before....I think this is one area where state nurses associations and/or national nursing associations can provide a real and identified need AND fill the void between worplace consultations and legal consultations for the 3 million RNs and several hundred thousand LPN/LVNs in the United States.

What do you think? Most dentists and physicians have an attorney either on retainer or  whom they have utilized for business transactions. Nurses for the most don't have an attorney on retainer for legal services related to professional nursing practice.

Luke and Leia: the Saga in our home continues

I had four toy poodles. In June 2007, Paulie had a seizure and died. I still have three toy poodles: Amidala, Anakin, and Petie. Like so many of you, I am attached to my dogs.

I have two new puppies; two 8 week old labrador retrievers. Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa Skywalker. Both of course are characters from the Star Wars Movies. I call them Lukie and Leia. I considered Frodo from the Lord of the Rings but since Frodo didn't have a sister or love interest.....

Petie and Paulie. The names are from the movie Good Fellas. If you are familiar with the movie, you might remember this line at the wedding....This is my cousin Petie and my nephew Paulie...

Queen Amidala is from the Star Wars movies. Everyone knows that Anakin Skywalker became Darth Varder and later became Anakin Skywalker before his death. You might remember this line from the movie, ....Luke, I Am Your Father!

Yes, I am a Star Wars Fan and I do love my dogs! I will post pictures soon.

Until then, May the FORCE Be With You!!!

Nursing Administration: Scope & Standards of Practice

This is from the American Nurses Association website:

The draft Nursing Administration: Scope and Standards of Practice document is available for public comment until February 20, 2008. The workgroup is interested in your comments about clarity and completeness of content. What gaps need to be addressed? Any other recommendations for improvement? Don't worry about grammatical errors. Those will be addressed in during later reviews and editing activities. Please use the online comment form to submit your comments. (See below.) If necessary, please contact ANA staff members Carol J. Bickford, PhD, RN-BC, at carol.bickford@ana.org [301-628-5060] or Yvonne Humes, Senior Administrative Assistant, at yvonne.humes@ana.org [301-628-5070] for questions or other information.

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I don't think the majority of us as nurses appreciate the legal, ethical, and professional importance of the ANA Scope and Standards of Practice.

Are you familiar with the ANA Scope and Standards of Practice applicable to your practice area? To purchase see www.nursesbooks.org.

ANA Likes Hillary Clinton; This Blogger likes Obama

The American Nurses Association has endorsed Hillary Clinton. See http://nursingworld.org/FunctionalMenuCategories/MediaResources/PressReleases/2008PR/ANAEndorsesClinton.aspx

This blogger likes Barack Obama. See http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/semr?source=SEM-register-google-obama-search-national.

Nurse Convicted of Vehicular Manslaughter

The Cincinnati Enquirer regularly mentions that an individual is a nurse when he or she is charged or convicted of ANY crime. It makes the paper in Cincinnati and this week alone THREE instances of criminal conduct involving nurses was mentioned in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

I don't think its a case of Nurses Gone Wild!

Its a reflection of the garden variety criminal conduct you see with American citizens; it just so happens this individual is a licensed professional or a licensed healthcare professional.

See this article. This nurse fell asleep after driving home from a 12 hour shift and struck and killed a man.

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008802150395.

Nurse convicted of:

Physician indicted for:

Lawyer recommended for disbarment for:

Teached accused of misconduct related to:

Criminal conduct and convictions for licensed professionals don't mix well. More and more cases in my law practice involve criminal conduct, criminal convictions, and nursing licensure.

Are You Active in the Profession?

This is from the ANA website. See www.nursingworld.org.

The ANA Nominating Committee has extended the call for nominations for a slate of candidates to be presented to the House of Delegates for a vote at its June 25-27, 2008 meeting in Washington, D.C. The deadline for the submission of nominations for the initial slate has been extended to February 25, 2008.

The following are the open slots which are available:

President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, five Directors-at-Large positions including two Staff Nurse Directors-at-Large,  five Congress on Nursing Practice and Economic Positions, and four Nominating Committee positions.

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I was elected to the Congress on Nursing Practice & Economics at the 2006 House of Delegates in Washington, DC. Its a four year term. I would encourage you to consider running for the Congress.

On another note. This is the first year in a long time where I am not running for a national, state, or local office in a nursing professional association. Why? I am tired and my law practice is keeping me busier than ever.

Don't get me wrong, I am still involved. However I decline committee invitations more readily now than I did in the past. I was asked this week to sit on the planning committee for a national convention. I declined very eloquently.

I am attending the ANA House of Delegates in the Ohio Nurses Association delegation in June. I was elected as an ANA Delegate at the Ohio Nurses Association Convention in October 2007. I was elected as a Center for American Nurses Association delegate at the ONA Convention. I am attending the Center for American Nursing Membership Council Meeting and LEAD Summit in June.

See http://centerforamericannurses.org/.

I will be in D.C. from June 21st-June 27th attending professional association meetings and I am looking forward to it. Are you active in profession?

I credit Karen Bankston, PhD, RN who is the CEO of the Drake Center in Cincinnati, Ohio and Margaret Wheatley, PhD, RN a nursing professor at the Francis Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University and former past president of the Ohio Nurses Association with encouraging me to become active in the profession.

Nurses and DUI Charges: Don't Drive Buzzed or Drunk!!!

This has been an interesting year already. I have received three phone inquiries from nurses about DUI charges and its nursing licensure impact.

A RN in Cincinnati, Ohio was sentenced to 6 years in prison this week (the article appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer) for a car crash that left one dead and another seriously injured. Her blood alcohol level was twice the legally permissible level.

Do not drive intoxicated! If you have a few drinks (beer, shots, wine, etc.) then have someone drive. Don't drive. Catch a cab or have a friend or family member pick you up. You may not think you are drunk but don't take that chance.

In the end the extra effort can save lives, your employment, and your nursing license. Also when a licensed professional is charged with a crime, the headlines say:  Nurse Charged with DUI, Lawyer Charged with Theft Crimes, Teached Indicted for Misconduct, etc.

Whether or not you have to report a DUI conviction depends on the state(s) where you are licensed. If you have been charged with a DUI or DWI, contact a licensure defense attorney associated with The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA) for a consultation. See www.taana.org.

Portfolios, Presentation, Publication, and Promotion Conference

I attended a nursing conference today sponsored by the Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky chapter of STTI. The conference, The P's and Q's of Writing for Promotion, Publication, Presentation and Portfolio was well attended with almost 100 attendees at the Sharonville Convention Center.

I especially enjoyed the afternoon breakout sessions on Competency and the Professional Nursing Portfolio and Designing a Professional Poster Presentation.

I don't normally leave nursing conferences feeling refreshed and excited. I found the material very much applicable to my legal practice. The sessions I attended were as follows:

Disseminating your Evidence: How to Get Published. The keynote speaker was Marilyn Oermann, PhD, RN, FAAN.

Strategies for your Publication: View from an Editor, Reviewer, and Authors. This was a panel presentation.

Designing a Professional Nursing Portfolio

Professional Portfolio: Providing Evidence of Competence

I do a far amount of writing and publication; well, not as much as I used to, but its adequate. I also speak frequently on legal issues in nursing and submit abstracts for national, regional, and local poster presentations. Professional portfolios are hot and I have some ideas here that will be launched on my website in the near future.

Negotiations with SEIU and State of Ohio

Collective bargaining negotiations have begun with the State of Ohio and the SEIU. The SEIU represents the 7,000+ IPs in the State of Ohio. Keep in mind less than 1,750 voted in the favor of the Union. Several hundred of the independent providers are RNs and LPNs.

The SEIU has asked the State of Ohio to deduct dues payments directly from each indepedent provider's pay. The Union is seeking a fair share agreement. Fair Share meaning all IPs would pay union dues even if they are not members.

Also Governor Strickland issued Executive Order 2008-02S. This allows for independent child care home providers to organize under collective bargaining.

ONA New Director of Health Policy: Is it just a job for her?

I received the Ohio Nurses Association Member Update this week. This was mentioned in the update:

ONA Welcomes Terri Tran as Director of Health Policy

ONA is proud to announce that Terri Tran, RN, JD has joined ONA as the new Director of Health Policy, formerly held by ONA's Deputy Executive Officer, Jan Lanier. Look for an article about Terri in the March/April issue of the Ohio Nurses Review.

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Ms. Tran's previous employment was with the Ohio Board of Nursing where she was an Adjudication Coordinator. As an Adjudication Coordinator and Board Attorney she drafted Consent Agreements (a contract that constitutes action against the license of a nurse, whether its a public reprimand, probation, suspension, and/or revocation) and worked in the Compliance Section of the Board of Nursing.

As an attorney with the Ohio Board of Nursing her role was to advocate for public and protect the public from unsafe nursing care. In her new role as the Director of Health Policy for the Ohio Nurses Nurses, she is advocating for Ohio nurses and the professional practice of nursing. Wow, what a change! 

I don't think I could make that type of career and employment leap personally. That would be like me as a defense attorney winding down my practice and then accepting a position with the Ohio, Kentucky, or Indiana Boards of Nursing prosecuting complaints against nurses. I couldn't do it; defending nurses is a passion and a career for me, not just a job.

I transitioned from hospital based peds to adult home care seven years ago and it was tough and there was a learning curve with the meds, disease processes, charting, environment, etc. I like adult med-surg home care cases now and don't usually take peds cases.

Could you? Would you? Could you and have you work both ends of the spectrum?  Or do you look at it as being a job until something else comes along? All of us however have had positions where we work to pay the bills and until something else comes along. Are you waiting for something else to come along or do you have the dream position description now?