Tag Archives: Nursing Board defense attorney

Ohio Nurses: Things To Consider If You Receive a Notice of Opportunity for Hearing from the Ohio Board of Nursing

Posted on by
Reply

Last week, I attended the Ohio Board of Nursing’s bi-monthly meeting where the members of the Board issued final sanctions against dozens of Ohio nurses.  At that meeting, the members of the Board also authorized the issuance of over sixty Notices of Opportunity for Hearing to Ohio licensed nurses.  The Notice of Opportunity for Hearing (or Notice of Automatic Suspension or Notice of Immediate Suspension) outlines specific charges against the nurse, which, if proven, can form the basis for the nurse to have their license revoked, suspended, placed on probation or reprimanded.

There are legal timelines that must be followed for a nurse to request a Hearing in order to defend their professional license.  Failure to timely request a Hearing can bar the nurse from presenting ANY defense to the Board.

There is no routine disciplinary matter when it comes to a nurse’s professional license.  Disciplinary sanctions imposed by the Board may affect a nurse’s ability to practice nursing in the short-term and can also impose permanent practice and/or narcotic restrictions.

If you receive a Notice of Opportunity for Hearing (or Notice of Automatic Suspension or Notice of Immediate Suspension), it is highly recommended to obtain experienced legal counsel to assist you before the Board.  When hiring legal counsel, here are a few things to consider:

EXPERIENCE:

  • Does the attorney have experience with the type of matter for which you need representation?
  • Is this type of matter a usual part of the attorney’s practice?
  • Has the attorney handled any cases similar to your particular matter?
  • If it is a matter where a settlement or hearing may be involved, how many of those matters has the attorney handled?
  • In general for this type of matter, what does the attorney consider to be a good result?
  • Can the attorney explain the process to you?

ACCESS:

  • What is the best way to communicate with the lawyer and how will he or she communicate with you?
  • When can you expect to hear from the attorney?
  • Are there other people in the attorney’s office who can assist you should an emergency arise while your attorney is unavailable?
  • How will you know what work the attorney has done or will be doing on your matter?

COMPATIBILITY:

  • Will you be comfortable sharing your information with the attorney?
  • Do you understand the information the attorney is telling you?
  • Are there different approaches to your situation, and if so, how will the attorney decide which to take or recommend to you?

FEES:

  • How does the attorney charge you?  Based on hours worked?  Fixed fee?  Or some other method?
  • Is payment required up front?  If so, how and when is that money applied to your account?
  • Will you receive statements for the work performed?
  • Will you be charged for expenses (ex:  travel, hotel, postage, copy charges)?
  • Does the attorney accept credit card payments?

This is a general guide and is not legal advice.  Of course, there may be other questions or concerns you may want to discuss with a potential attorney based on your individual circumstances or issues.

As always, if you have any questions about this post or about 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.

 

 

OHIO LPNs – It is time to renew your license to practice nursing in Ohio!

Posted on by
Reply

According to the Ohio Board of Nursing’s website, starting on July 1, 2016, all Ohio LPNs will be able to renew their professional license online.

Important renewal information from the Nursing Board is located at: http://www.nursing.ohio.gov/PDFS/2Renewal_Momentum.pdf

Often, nurses have questions about how to respond to certain questions on the Renewal Application and what information needs to be provided to the Nursing Board in the Renewal Application.

Nurses are required to provide the Nursing Board with truthful and accurate information on their Renewal Applications.  Failure to do so can lead to discipline by the Nursing Board.

Additional Information May Be Required  (from Ohio Board of Nursing website)
• If you are asked to provide court documents or other information that may be required as part of your application, please be prepared to upload the documents electronically through the online system.  This information is usually required of applicants who answer “yes” to one of the additional information questions on the renewal application.  
• No hardcopies of court documents or other information required as part of your application will be accepted. Waiting until a deadline and then realizing you do not have all the information and in the form needed to upload the documents electronically through the online system will prevent you from renewing. 
• Incomplete renewal applications will not be accepted by the system.  If all required documents are not provided electronically, the renewal application is incomplete.

If you have questions concerning how to respond to questions in your Renewal Application, what information you need to include, and/or what Court documents you need to include with your Renewal Application, it is recommended that you obtain experienced legal counsel to help you complete your Renewal Application.

The attorneys at the Collis Law Group offer a 1-2 hour consultation to meet with a nurse, review all relevant Court documents, and assist the nurse prepare any necessary or required  response to a question on a Renewal Application.  In most cases, we offer this consultation for as low as a flat fee of $500.00.  Feel free to contact one of the attorneys at the Collis Law Group at 614-486-3909 to schedule a Renewal Application consultation.

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 the Collis Law Group by phone at 614-486-3909.  For more information about the Nursing Board, please feel free to visit our website at www.collislaw.com.

Although legal in other states, nurses have been disciplined for testing positive for marijuana in Ohio

Posted on by
Reply

Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana in some form.  Four states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for recreational use.  Some states allow residents to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and to even grow up to six plants.  While there have been various marijuana initiatives in Ohio, to-date it is illegal to possess, sell, or cultivate marijuana in Ohio.

Historically, the Ohio Board of Nursing has taken a strong position against marijuana usage.  For example, where a positive test for marijuana in an employment drug screen is reported to the Board, the Board routinely places the nurse on probation for a period of at least one year, which typically includes random drug testing and can include narcotics as well as practice restrictions.

Even if a nurse has traveled outside of Ohio and consumed or smoked marijuana in a State where it is legal, if the nurse returns to Ohio and is reported to the Board for a positive drug screen, the nurse should expect to be subjected to discipline by the Board.

In our practice, we have seen nurses reported to the Board because they failed pre-employment drug tests who were subjected to discipline including at least one year random drug testing.  A nurse does not have to be actively practicing nursing in order be found by the Board to be impaired. By simply testing positive for marijuana, a nurse can be subjected to discipline.  Employers are required by law to report to the Board any suspected violation of the Ohio Nurse Practice Act.

Before you consider using marijuana on your next trip to Colorado or Washington, realize that if you test positive on a drug screen – even weeks later when you return to Ohio – you should anticipate that you will be reported to the Board and subjected to discipline.

As always, if you have any questions about this post of the Ohio Board of Nursing in general, please contact one of the attorneys at the Collis Law Group LLC at 614-486-3909.

 

It’s important to have an Experienced Attorney for your Nursing license defense

Posted on by
Reply

Nurses often report to us that they are concerned that they will appear to the Nursing Board to be “hiding something” or trying to be uncooperative if they have an attorney represent them before the Ohio Board of Nursing in a disciplinary case or at a Hearing.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Obtaining experienced legal counsel to help a nurse through the Nursing Board’s disciplinary process can be beneficial for the Nurse to understand the process and to assist the Nurse with resolution of their case.

Nurses are often surprised to learn that if they proceed to a Hearing without their own legal counsel, in most cases, they will be the ONLY nurse in the Hearing room.  At the Hearing, the Nursing Board is represented by their own attorney from the Office of the Ohio Attorney General, who is assigned to prosecute the case on behalf of the Nursing Board.  In certain instances, a representative of the Nursing Board, who is also an attorney, will also appear at the Hearing on behalf of the Nursing Board.  The Hearing is conducted in front of a Hearing Examiner, who is also an attorney.  If the Nurse does not have their own legal counsel at the Hearing, the Nurse will be at the unfortunate disadvantage of having to present their case on their own without the benefit of their own independent legal counsel.

In some cases, nurses are offered a Consent Agreement, which is an agreed upon Contract which outlines disciplinary terms in lieu of proceeding to a Hearing. Consent Agreement are drafted and negotiated by the Board’s lawyers. If the Nurse does not have their own legal counsel negotiating the Consent Agreement, the Nurse will be at the unfortunate disadvantage of having to negotiation with the Board’s attorney a binding Contract without the benefit of having their own independent legal counsel to be able to more fully consider whether the Consent Agreement being offered is in their best interest..

Your worked hard for your Nursing license. The Nursing Board has its own lawyers.  Representing yourself at Hearing or in negotiating a Consent Agreement could result in the Nurse taking an action not in their best interest or agreeing to a disciplinary term they did not understand. An nursing license defense attorney with experience in these matters can help the Nurse understand the process and assist the Nurse with resolution of their case.

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 Collis, Smiles &Collis, LLC at 614-486-3909 or email me at beth@collislaw.com.

 

Who Monitors the Ohio Board of Nursing?

Posted on by
Reply

The Ohio Board of Nursing’s mission is to “actively safeguard the health of the public through the effective regulation of nursing care.” http://www.nursing.ohio.gov/ The Board is responsible for issuing licenses to nurses, to regulate the education of nurses, and to discipline nurses who have violated the provisions of the Ohio Nurse Practice Act. (R.C. 4723). However, most nurses are surprised to learn that the Nursing Board is not created to “protect” nurses but has been created to “protect the public”.

In its role as an administrative licensing agency, the Board holds immense power. The Board has the power to license, deny a license, suspend or revoke a license. The Board can initiate an investigation, may order a licensee to a psychiatric or chemical dependency evaluation. (R.C. 4723.28(G)). However, the Board is not required to complete investigations in any time frame (no statute of limitations) and the Board is NOT REQUIRED to notify a nurse if and when an investigation has been closed. I often contact the Board after an investigation has been pending for months (or even years) to learn that the investigation has been closed and that the nurse was never notified that it was closed.

There is a check and balance system in place for the Nursing Board. Prior to denying an applicant a nursing license, or taking an action against a nurse (ie. suspending or revoking their license) the nurse is entitled under the U.S., Ohio Constitutions and Ohio State law (R.C. 119) the right to due process of law. This means that prior to denying a license or disciplining a nurse, the Board is required to provide the nurse with notification of the charges and a right to be heard (a hearing). Failure to timely request a hearing may bar the nurse from providing any evidence on their behalf.

An adverse decision of the Board may also be appealed to the local Court of Common Pleas. However, most nurses have neither the money, time nor inclination to appeal an adverse decision of the Board to the Courts. This is an expensive process that can take years to complete. In addition, the Courts are reluctant to reverse a decision of the Board and have shown that it will NOT reverse a sanction of the Board simply if it feels the sanction is too harsh.

A second check on the Nursing Board is the Office of the Ohio Inspector General. The Inspector General’s office is the Watchdog that is responsible for investigating state employees and state agencies. Complaints may be filed with the Inspector General by going to their website at: http://watchdog.ohio.gov/FileaComplaint.aspx

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 at (614) 486-3909.

Be honest when filing an application or renewal with Ohio Board of Nursing

Posted on by
Reply

Honesty is always the best policy when working with the Ohio Board of Nursing.

Professionals should know that before submitting information to a licensing authority the information must be accurate. Whether it is submitting the responses on an initial application for a license, or answering the questions on the bi-annual renewal of a license, the responses must be truthful.

However, I am often asked, “how will the Board know if I answer a question on my renewal application or original application incorrectly?” We never know how the Board may be notified of a violation of their laws and rules. Complaints to the Nursing Board can be anonymous, and the complainant is immune from liability (absent a finding of bad faith in their report). This means that you can be reported to the Board without your knowledge and you will never been provided with a copy of the complaint or the name of the complainant. (O.R.C. 4723.28(H) and (I)(1))

You may have a neighbor, employer or co-worker file a complaint against you with the Board alleging that you had a DUI that you failed to disclose to the Board or violated a section of the Ohio Nurse Practice Act. If you have reported this infraction on your application and/or on your renewal, it goes a long way to possibly having the investigation closed with no disciplinary action. However, if the Board goes back and pulls your application or renewal form and finds that you failed to disclose this information to the Board, the Board has the authority under O.R.C. 4723.28(A) to take an action against your license for providing false or fraudulent information to the Board.

Even without a formal complaint, the Board has the authority to open its own investigation if it learns of a violation of the Nurse Practice Act. If a Board investigator reads a news article about a nurse who has been charged with a DUI or is admitted into a diversion program by the Court, these types of actions can lead the investigator to open an investigation against the nurse. (Please note, that the nurse does not need to self report convictions or violations to the Board until the time of renewal of the license. However, on the renewal application responses need to be truthful and accurate.)

So, when applying for a license or completing a renewal application never ask yourself,”how will the Board ever find out?” The question you should ask yourself is, “what is the right answer and how can I best provide that information to the Board.”

While I encourage nurses to be honest with the Board, I always encourage the nurse to seek experienced legal counsel to assist them if they have any questions about how to respond to specific questions or if they are called to attend a meeting with a Board investigator.

As always, if you have any questions about the Ohio Board of Nursing or this post, please feel free to contact one of the attorneys at Collis, Smiles and Collis at 614-486-3909 or email me at beth@collislaw.com.

Ohio Nurse Applicants – The NCLEX Program Is Going Paperless in 2014

Posted on by
Reply

The Ohio Board of Nursing recently announced that starting January 2014, the NCLEX program will transition to a paperless program. The Nursing Board’s website located at http://www.nursing.ohio.gov/index.htm provides further information regarding the transition to a paperless program. Highlights from the Nursing Board’s website announcement include:

NCLEX Examination Candidate Bulletin: The NCLEX Examination Candidate Bulletin will no longer be distributed in a hard copy version. Boards of nursing, candidates and education programs will access the Candidate Bulletin via the NCSBN website.

Eights Steps of the NCLEX: This Candidate Bulletin insert will no longer be distributed in a hard copy version. This abbreviated reference guide to NCLEX processes will be enhanced to include additional information and will also be available on the NCSBN website. The name of this document will be changed to the NCLEX Information flyer.

Candidate Bulletin At-A-Glance: Due to the enhancements of the Eight Steps of the NCLEX, as well as the continued accessibility of the Candidate Bulletin, the At-A-Glance piece will no longer be published as either an electronic or hard copy version.

Money Order, Certified Check and Cashier Check Payments: Money order, certified check and cashier check payments will no longer be accepted. Beginning Jan. 1, 2014, all candidates and third parties will be required to register and pay for exam registrations through the Pearson VUE website or over the phone (866.496.2539) with a credit card, debit card or prepaid card.

Authorization to Test (ATT) Letter: Once the board of nursing makes a candidate eligible, that candidate will receive their ATT by email. The ATT continues to serve as the candidate’s notice that they may schedule their NCLEX at a Pearson Professional Center. Beginning Jan. 1, 2014, the paper copy of the ATT letter will no longer be necessary for test admittance. To gain access to the NCLEX, candidates must present one form of acceptable identification that matches the name exactly as the candidate provided when registering. If the candidate’s ID does not match the name exactly as they registered with, the candidate will not be admitted to test and will have to reregister and pay another examination fee.

“You’ve Completed the NCLEX Examination but Still Have Questions” Brochure: This brochure is currently given to candidate’s at the test center on the day of their exam. Beginning Jan. 1, 2014, this information will be sent to a candidates email address shortly after they have completed their exam and will also be available on the NCSBN website.

For additional information see http://www.nursing.ohio.gov/index.htm

As always, if you have any questions about the Ohio Board of Nursing or this post, please feel free to call one of the attorneys at Collis, Smiles and Collis at 614-486-3909 or check out our website at http://www.collislaw.com.

What to Consider When Hiring an Attorney

Posted on by
1

When facing a disciplinary action before your state licensing board or when looking for assistance in applying for a license, it is important to find the right attorney to help you through this often cumbersome process. To make an informed decision, you should set an appointment and meet with the attorney in person to gauge the following:

Experience/Expertise: Experience in representing nurses before the Ohio Board of Nursing is a very important factor to consider. It is your professional license that is at stake. While you may have a good friend who is an attorney or a good professional relationship with a criminal defense counsel, often they do not have the experience or expertise to handle your defense before the Ohio Board of Nursing. In addition, many attorneys will claim to represent licensees before your licensing board. However, you should ask them what percentage of their practice is in the area of licensure defense. You also want to determine how many cases they have taken through the hearing process and on appeal. You don’t want your case to be the first case they have taken to a board hearing.

Personality/Compatibility/Accessibility: Meet and interview the attorney before you decide to hire them. Do they seem knowledgeable about the investigative or disciplinary process? Did they take the time to meet with you, answer your questions and explain the disciplinary process to you? Do you think the attorney understands your individual circumstances? Do you feel welcome to pick up the phone or to email the attorney with questions and concerns?

Costs/Accounting of fees: You should have a frank discussion with your attorney and make sure you understand their fees and how the fees are to be paid. Does the firm take credit cards? Do they charge late fees or interest on late balances? Does the firm send you a monthly statement that outlines the time spent on your case that month and any fees/expenses charged to you? If you deposit money in the firm’s IOLTA trust account are you sent a monthly accounting of your money on retainer? Before entering into any relationship with an attorney you should have a clear understanding of their fees and should receive a regular accounting of any fees or expenses for which you will be charged.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at: beth@collislaw.com