suspended license

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated here! I have been an RN for 15 years in every realm of nursing,but my license has been recently suspended indefinitely due to an honest narcotics mistake in a long term health care facility last January(2004).In the meantime,I have been unable to obtain a nursing position and know that I have done enough time in inpatient settings,so chose to take another route and pursue forensic nursing.Because my license is suspended and the state holds that the MSO4 count was off when I was in charge(the only RN in a 62 bed facility,supervising LNA's,suctioning,etc with no backup),what are my perspectives for future employment as a forensic nurse? I am currently enrolled on the Kaplan college certification course and am wondering if it's a waste of time-I'm 2/3 done! Anybody with any similar circumstances,insight,advice,orexperience,please reply. JMB62
If you don't have a license, you can't function as a nurse in any capacity, even forensics.But you can become a death investigator for an M.E.'s office. You can sell your nursing background as an asset, but still cannot call yourself a nurse.But the reason for your suspension will always have to be reported also.

cyberkat Thanks-that's what I thought....would i need to apply for a position in the mE's office as if it were a regular job? Find an opening and go for it or present and sell myself to them and make them realize how much they need me?(same thing,i guess) jMB62

Quote from jmb62Any feedback would be greatly appreciated here! I have been an RN for 15 years in every realm of nursing,but my license has been recently suspended indefinitely due to an honest narcotics mistake in a long term health care facility last January(2004).In the meantime,I have been unable to obtain a nursing position and know that I have done enough time in inpatient settings,so chose to take another route and pursue forensic nursing.Because my license is suspended and the state holds that the MSO4 count was off when I was in charge(the only RN in a 62 bed facility,supervising LNA's,suctioning,etc with no backup),what are my perspectives for future employment as a forensic nurse? I am currently enrolled on the Kaplan college certification course and am wondering if it's a waste of time-I'm 2/3 done! Anybody with any similar circumstances,insight,advice,orexperience,please reply. JMB62

I would not give up that easy. I would make an appeal to the board of nursing, get a lawyer and fight it. If the narcotic count was off due to you actuallytaking it, (not accusing) just hypothetical.. then there is a program to attend and keep your lilcense. If the count was off and it is just unexplainable, you should have had to submit a drug test ( usual policy in most places) and if this test were clean, then you should be able to fight it. Don't give up and accept "just A Job" you are a nurse... appeal it and try to keep your license. Good Luck to you.

Hi,I agree with Monica. It's never too late to go back and fight it. Even if you don't want to practice anymore, save your good name. The burden of proof is on the accuser. If you (and all who had access) weren't pee tested, something's amiss. Usually a department head will help resolve the issue, and it might take some digging, but I've found it's usually clerical in one way or another.Polygraph doesn't PROVE a blessed thing. Do your homework, find your resources, meagre as they are, Tappan and such, and fight the good fight.

Narc count was off last week, took a little looking, but we found the error.I had given a prn med at the same time two days in a row, and had been distracted when filling out the narc book. I looked back and saw the time, and thought I had already filled it in. Lucky for me, I had put it on the MAR. Scared the begebbies out of me.

Yes, regular people can apply to the M.E.'s office. You can put your nursing background on there.Nurses make good DIs because of our assessment skills and our ability to know the variations of normal and what isn't normal.As far as the narc count business, have you hired a lawyer to help you with this? If you have insurance, the insurance will pay for the lawyer.

Quote from cyberkatYes, regular people can apply to the M.E.'s office. You can put your nursing background on there.Nurses make good DIs because of our assessment skills and our ability to know the variations of normal and what isn't normal.As far as the narc count business, have you hired a lawyer to help you with this? If you have insurance, the insurance will pay for the lawyer.

We are not the only ones who handle narcs, anyhow. RPhs, Staff Clinical Coordinators, God knows how many people we don't know about have access to our codes in the dispensing systems. I did see a (Night) housekeeper blamed for an incident, but it was a CVOR, and the meds were brought before the case and returned after all under control of the anesthesiologist. Nonetheless the (non-caucasian) dope fiend with a broom was reassigned to a nonsurgical area thereby eliminating yet another threat to the nation's children.Do you really think that in an 'innocent until proven guilty' environment it would be so easy to screw a particular nurse? Ever read what to watch out for in a nurse as a potential narc thief? I forget where it was published, but can be found. Some of the (profiling) factors are 'history of surgery(?), frequent change of jobs, depression, aggression, et.c.' I didn't see breathing of air listed as a profiling criteria. But then I didn't see MDs, administrators, and the like listed as potential offenders, either. Nice to know who you can trust. I think a lot of this crap is urban legend turned self fulfilling. Then there's always the ugly story about the MD that lured the nurse into becoming his mistress by getting her hooked. This would make for a great 'myth busters'. "...yes, I'm leaving her, it's just not the time to tell her... have another percodan and relax."

what state are you in??? i would not go down w/o one hell of a fight!!! i have seen alot lesser sentence, for alot greater "crime", in ny. go to the office of the professions website in ny & look up some of the board actions!!! get a good attny....i know i am "just" an lpn, but i worked too hard to get my license to be a scapegoat, or to loose it for an honest, human mistake....lesson here...always count whenever you get the keys or give the keys, always!!!! 5 mins worth of counting, could mean the rest of your carrer!!! how scary!!!

Hi...Sue their butt for slander & libel. Nothing has been proven. Remember O.J.? Found innocent in criminal court, guilty in civil court. An alleged theft has occured, and by gum the culprit should be found. If your license has been affected by an accusation, you have been accused of theft, and deserve a day in court. Then a day in civil court for failure to prove allegations that have slandered your good name. Apparently 'double jeopardy' does not apply, which really perplexes me. If you are innocent of murder, how can you be guilty of wrongful death?It's like me and the M.D. who assaulted me. No one in this one horse town would do anything about it, I tried, got promised and patronized, and he's off in Europe. Should have broken his arm the moment bodily contact was made...but we all have our regrets.

Similar thing happened to acquaintance who was a fairly new nurse. The narcotic count was off, and due to his inconsistant documentation (due to understaffing and overwork) there was no way to *prove* he either did or did'nt do "the drug-misdeed". He was told by board of nursing that if he pleaded "guilty" he could go to drug rehab, and if he followed all their rules for rehab and aftercare and follow all the restrictions on his license, he would be treated as a "recovering addict" and could maintain his license and continue to work.However, if he continued to deny that he did the deed, and pleaded "not guilty", he would loose his license permanently and could be prosecuted, even though his "only crime" was shoddy charting practices NOT misappropriating narcotics.He said he would NEVER plead "guilty" for something he didnt do, and if it meant he couldnt practice nursing, it was THEIR loss, not his. He now working in the construction field.Follow up: several months later, the REAL culprit (a co-worker) was apprehended and admitted that they had "done the deed" and taken the drugs, and further that to cover their tracks, they had let this unfortunate man "take the fall" rather than fess up and admit that the man was an excellent nurse and was only guilty of "not charting as well as he should".