Representing Yourself Before the Board of Nurses

I heard from a nurse who is facing possible action before the Board. She had asked a nurse friend about hiring an attorney and was told that the Board of Nurses is nothing to worry about, that they will understand what happened and because she is a good nurse nothing will result from the complaint. A quick look at the newsletter shows that this is not true. Many "good" nurses receive disciplinary action by the Board. Some of those actions were not deserved and some may have received harsher restrictions than what was warranted. How can this happen?

The Board's mission is to protect the public, not the nurse. For more on this read "The Nurse Police." Since the Board is not responsible for protecting the nurse, they are interested in resolving complaints against nurses in the fastest way that also protects the public. The Board is not in a position to tell nurses the best ways to defend themselves. The Board is not the nurse's friend, that is not their role. So, who is available to advocate for and protect the nurse? Administrative Law Attorneys with experience before the Board of Nurses.

Nurses that would never think of representing themselves in a malpractice lawsuit will think nothing of going on their own before the Board of Nurses. While a lawsuit can cost you money, losing with the Board can cost your career. There is also the issue of time and knowledge. Nurses are busy working, taking care of their families, and living their lives, they do not have the time to learn administrative law (the type of law involved with regulatory agencies) and to deal with the Board. I attend many hours of continuing education a year in order to remain current with Administrative Law issues and there are even attorneys that cannot keep up with the changes in all the areas of law, so how can a nurse be expected to have the time? A survey was conducted with nurses that had been through disciplinary actions and they highly recommended that nurses not represent themselves and that they spare no expense in hiring the best attorney. Many of my clients are nurses that are under their second investigation and because of the problems they encountered with the first investigation, they decided that they learned from the first time and that it was in their best interest to hire an attorney this time.

Coming next: What is the "best attorney"?