Potential Sanctions Against a Nursing License

Box 2-6Common Grounds for Licensure Proceedings

• Committing Medicare/Medicaid fraud
• Patient abuse
• Diverting or stealing narcotics
• Failure to use good nursing judgment
• Documentation errors
• Aiding and abetting a criminal
• Falsifying information on a renewal or application
• Failure to report previous criminal actions
• Practicing outside the scope of the nurse practice act
• Practicing without a valid license
• Attempting to sell or selling, or falsely obtaining or providing, a nursing diploma of license to practice as  registered nurse
• Being convicted of a crime or offense that shows the inability of a nurse to practice without due regard for the safety and health of patients or clients
• Entering a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a criminal charge regardless of the disposition of the proceeding (e.g., expungement)
• Failure to practice nursing according to the legal standards of nursing practice
• Failure to maintain confidentiality of patient information
• Failure to exercise technical competence
• Having a mental or physical impairment that interferes with nursing skills, abilities, judgment, or a combination of these
• Falsifying records
• Misappropriating patient, facility, or individual items
• Performing duties when competency has not been attained, maintained, or achieved
• Failure to properly delegate or assign nursing care, treatment, or duties
• Failure to properly notify appropriate person when leaving or refusing an assignment
• Failure to report to the State Board of Nursing status as a carrier of HIV or hepatitis B when participating in or performing exposure-prone procedures
• Being guilty of moral turpitude
• Having a license in nursing or in another health care profession that has been revoked, suspended, probated, denied, or restricted
• Failure to report health care providers who are practicing in an illegal, unethical, or incompetent manner
• Failure to properly cooperate with the State Board of Nursing
• Using, when on duty, alcohol, illegal drugs, or drugs that impair nursing judgment
• Sexual misconduct
• Aiding and abetting someone in violating the nurse practice act
• Being found to be legally insane or mentally incompetent by the courts
• Violating state or federal law relating to nursing practice
• Violating state or federal narcotics or controlled substance laws
• Violating rules or orders adopted by the State Board of Nursing