Category Archives: self report to Nursing Board

Ohio Nurses: How to comply with a Nursing Board Order or Consent Agreement during the COVID-19 Stay at Home Order

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Many nurses who are currently being monitored by the Ohio Board of Nursing, under the terms of a Consent Agreement or a Board Order, have asked how they can comply with the terms of these Orders, while under the State of Ohio Stay at Home Order in effect until May 1, 2020.

In general, each nurse needs to continue to comply with all terms and conditions of your Board Order or Consent Agreement. If you unable to comply in any way, contact your monitor immediately. While the Nursing Board staff is currently working remotely, the staff has access to emails and they are continuing to respond to questions and requests.

Random Drug testing:

Nurses who have stopped daily call ins to First Source, based upon the Ohio Department of Health Stay at Home Order, need to begin daily calls effective Monday, April 20, 2020.

Random Drug Testing will be scheduled after May 4, 2020. Testing will include hair and blood specimens in addition to urine specimens. These highly sensitive tests will be able to detect if you ingested alcohol, medications or illegal substances in the days or weeks before the test. So, just because you are not submitting to random drug testing does not mean that you can consume alcohol (if prohibited by your Board Agreement or Order) or that you may use medications not prescribed to you or illegal substances.

Any requirement that is not met, such as a missed screen or support group meeting attendance, or a positive screen based on the use of hand sanitizer will be evaluated considering the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Attendance at AA meetings:

You may now “attend” AA meetings online.If you participate in an on-line support group meeting or discussion, please document this on Form #4 and include dates and type of meeting attendance. A co-signor is not necessary.

Here are links for on-line meetings:
(AA)
(CA)
(NA)

If you participate in an on-line meeting or discussion, please document this on form #4 and include the date of the meeting and the type of meeting attended. A co-signor is not necessary. Again, contact your monitor if you choose to “attend” an AA meeting online.

Request to modify the terms of your Consent Agreement:

The Nursing Board has also received multiple requests to remove Board monitoring and restrictions or to modify Board Orders. Board actions will not be held in abeyance or suspended. Board Orders are final and there is no provision to modify a Board Order. The Board will not alter permanent restrictions in Consent Agreements or Orders.

Ohio Department of Health has established an outline for essential healthcare workers, which can be found here.

More info about Covid-19 and Ohio can be found here.

As always, if you have any questions about this post or about the Ohio Board of Nursing in general, feel free to contact Beth Collis or Todd Collis.

Covid-19 and Compliance with Ohio Board of Nursing Consent Agreements and Orders

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If you are a licensee of the Ohio Board of Nursing who is subject to an Ohio Board of Nursing Consent Agreement or Order, Covid-19 might affect your ability to comply with certain requirements of your Consent Agreement or Order including, but not limited to, submitting to random drug testing (for example, if a test site closes or there are restrictions on travel) or attending AA/12 step meetings (for example, if there are restrictions on travel or group gatherings).

Typically, the Ohio Board of Nursing Consent Agreements and Order require a licensee to report a violation of their Consent Agreement or Order within 30 days of the occurrence of the violation.

First and foremost: Do everything you can to continue to comply with all terms and requirements of your Consent Agreement or Board Order. If you cannot comply with a particular requirement of a Consent Agreement or Order, immediately email your Monitoring Agent as soon as you become aware and provide them all details of why you cannot or did not comply, such as inability to submit a specimen at a designated site for any documented reason or any restrictions on travel and group gatherings. If you have legal counsel, you should also email your legal counsel all pertinent details and a copy of your email to your Monitoring Agent.

Below is an email we received today from Lisa Ferguson-Ramos, Compliance Manager at the Ohio Board of Nursing related to compliance with the terms of the Consent Agreement in light of Covid-19:

Attorneys:

Licensees will be advised that any requirement not met such as a missed screen or support group meeting attendance will be evaluated considering the coronavirus (COVID-19). This includes any restrictions on travel and group gatherings or inability to submit a specimen at a designated site for any documented reason. The agent should be notified by email if a requirement is not met.

Enclosed is a link with an on-line meeting directory:

The message above will be added as an autoreply to monitoring agent emails.

Alternatives to the online meeting link above would be considered. The Board will also consider the inability to comply and will update the message to licensees as information or directives change. Please advise your clients accordingly. I will forward this email to the agents.

Sincerely,

Lisa Ferguson-Ramos
Compliance Manager

Please take all appropriate steps to keep yourself and those around you safe. As always, if you have any questions about this post or about the Ohio Board of Nursing in general, please feel free to contact Beth Collis or Todd Collis.

 

Disclosures to the Ohio Board of Nursing

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There are certain matters which must be disclosed to the Ohio Board of Nursing (“Board”) by a nurse license applicant or a nurse who is renewing their license.
The Board’s nurse license application and renewal application includes, but is not limited to, questions concerning felonies, certain misdemeanors, incompetency, professional licensure actions or investigations, mental illness, and substance abuse.
If the reply to any of the questions in the nurse license or renewal application is “yes”, then a disclosure is required. The applicant or nurse in renewal must mark “yes” to any applicable question and provide the Board a written statement of the circumstances underlying the “yes” reply and, for Court matters, Certified copies of certain court documents.
The Board is authorized to take disciplinary action against an applicant or licensee for any of the matters in Ohio Revised Code Section 4723.28. The sanction, if any, the Nursing Board imposes will depend on the individual facts and circumstances of the disclosed matter. Whether the applicant or nurse has other convictions, the acts underlying the offense, how long ago the offense occurred, and whether restitution or probationary terms were completed are typically also evaluated by the Board.

 
Except for certain limited instances, self-reporting criminal convictions prior to renewal is not required. However, criminal convictions are reported by the Court to the Board and it is recommended that a nurse consult with legal counsel to determine if it is in the nurse’s interest to self-report a conviction prior to renewal.
It is recommended to consult with legal counsel familiar with Board matters to determine if disclosure of a particular matter is required in an initial or renewal application and, if so, what information is required or recommended to be provided to the Board.
As always, if you have a question about this post or the Ohio Board of Nursing in general, please feel free to contact one of the attorneys at the Collis Law Group LLC at 614-486-3909 or email me at beth@collislaw.com.

How a DUI may affect your Ohio nursing license

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Happy New Year!

Over this holiday weekend, I have received calls from several health care professionals who have been charged with a DUI inquiring how or whether a criminal charge may affect their license to practice as a nurse in Ohio.

First, it is important to understand that the Ohio Nursing Board may take a disciplinary action against a nurse for certain criminal convictions, even if the charge does not relate to the practice of nursing. Second, it is important to understand that a DUI is not considered a “minor traffic violation”.  A DUI, even if reduced to a lesser offense, such as disorderly conduct or reckless operation of a vehicle, is still of concern to the Nursing Board and may result in a sanction to the nurse’s professional license.

If you have been charged with a DUI, you should seek competent legal counsel to assist you through the criminal case process.  In certain instances, you may be accepted into a treatment program which, if successfully completed, may result in no criminal conviction or the charges may be reduced to a less serious offense.

A conviction for a DUI or certain other criminal offenses may result in negative consequences for your professional license.  While you are not required to immediately notify the Ohio Nursing Board that you have been charged with or convicted of a criminal offense, you may need to disclose the criminal matter when you renew your professional license, depending on the matter.  At the time you renew your license, you should consider hiring legal counsel to assist you to accurately respond to the questions on the renewal application and to prepare any documents necessary or required by the renewal application.

The way in which the Ohio Nursing Board handles your criminal case will depend on a variety of factors.  In determining what sanction, if any, that the Ohio Nursing Board might impose, the Ohio Nursing Board will consider factors including but not limited to the following:

  • the seriousness of the matter;
  • whether the matter relates to your professional practice;
  • whether the matter is your first criminal matter; and
  • whether you fully cooperate and complete any requirements of the Court.

Depending on the circumstances of your matter, the Ohio Nursing Board can order the nurse to submit to a chemical dependency assessment to determine if treatment is needed and/or can require the nurse to submit to a period of random drug testing.  Additionally,  the Ohio Nursing Board has the authority to suspend a nurse’s license and/or can place the nurse on probation.

If you need treatment, you should obtain comprehensive treatment. The Ohio Nursing Board does not maintain an approved list of treatment providers.  The nurse may choose any treatment center that will provide them with the treatment needed for their addiction.

As always, if you have any questions about this post or about the Ohio Board of Nursing in general, please contact one of the attorneys at the Collis Law Group at 614-486-3909 or email me at beth@collislaw.com.

When should you self report to the Ohio Board of Nursing?

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In certain instances, it may be beneficial to self-report to the Nursing Board, even if not required by law.  How and when should this be done?  There are no simple answers.

In Ohio, the Nursing Board can take a disciplinary action against a nurse who has been convicted of a felony, a misdemeanor committed in the practice of nursing and a misdemeanor involving a “crime of moral turpitude”.  Many crimes fit under the definition of a “moral turpitude”, such as assault charges, domestic violence, sexual imposition, child abuse, neglect, just to name a few.

The Nursing Board is also always on the lookout for nurses who are impaired in their ability to practice because they suffer from drug, alcohol or mental health issues.  The Nursing Board is authorized to take a disciplinary action against a nurse who is unable to practice according to acceptable and prevailing standards of safe nursing care without appropriate treatment, monitoring, or supervision.

When you renew your nursing license, you must disclose to the Nursing Board any convictions that you received since your last renewal.  You must also disclose to the Nursing Board if you have been diagnosed with a substance abuse, dependency, or mental health issue which impairs your ability to practice.  However, as you only renew your license every two years, there are instances where you may want to self-report a conviction or diagnosis to the Nursing Board PRIOR to the time you are to renew your license.  However, WHEN to self-report, WHAT information should be reported, and WHAT supporting documents or information you should provide to the Nursing Board all depend on the individual facts and circumstances in your case.

Therefore, before you self-report to the Nursing Board, you should consider seeking experienced legal counsel to assist you to determine WHEN is the best time to self-report and to make sure you provide correct and complete information to the Nursing Board.

As always, if you have any questions about this post or the Ohio Board of Nursing in general, please feel free to contact one of the attorneys at Collis, Smiles and Collis, LLC at 614-486-3909. You may also look for more information at http://www.collislaw.com.
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