How to Lose Your Nursing License? Here's My Top 10 Ways

Keep your head up Dave Letterman. You are not the first and you certainly won't be the last man who admits to  "doing the nasty" with a person other than your spouse while married:(

Losing your license can be temporary (suspension, non-permanent revocation) or permanent (permanent revocation). This isn't legal advice but here is my Top Ten Ways Nurses can lose their license:

1. Practicing as a Nurse and you have a chemical dependency or impairment and you are unsafe to practice;

2. Practicing as a Nurse and you have a mental illness or impairment and you are unsafe to practice;

3. Practicing as a Nurse and you have a physical impairment and you are unsafe to practice;

4. Tampering with medications;

5. Having sex with clients or patients or failing to establish and maintain boundaries with patients/clients;

6. Practice deficiencies, i.e. not having the knowledge, skills, or abilities to safely practice in your specialty;

7. Being convicted of certain crimes (felonies or misdemeanors) when you are nurse and whether this impacts your suitability for licensure;

8. Falsification or fraud on a renewal application or the endorsement application. This means you failed to disclose something you are were required to disclose;

9. Any type of Intentional, willful, gross negligence, or reckless conduct or inaction in the workplace that results in actual or perceived harm to the patient or resident; and

10. A criminal conviction which is directly related to your practice as a nurse or occurred during your nursing practice.

Comments

[Sean]

I think I remember the saying... "DO-NO-HARM". It applies to any and everything. Great list!

[latonia]

Thank you for your comment Sean. You made a good point, First Do No Harm.

[R. Holbrooks]

I have a quick question. I have a friend who has JUST gotten out of rehab for cocaine and prescription addiction. Can this effect her ability to get her nursing license? She is supposed to start school in January. Thanks.

[latonia]

That's good to hear that your friend received treatment for the addiction and I hope your friend is on the road to a solid recovery. I would suggest that you advise your friend to contact a license defense attorney who represents nurses and schedule an appt. to discuss the situation. Its not a quick question you are asking; the question requires legal counseling and advising and I would highly suggest your friend contact a nursing law attorney immediately to discuss his/her suitability for licensure in the future and whether or not this will have an bearing on his/her ability to complete clinicals.