What should you do if you find yourself the target of a formal board complaint? Based on my experience handling these types of cases, I’ve addressed a number of common issues, taking you through the beginning stages of the process.*
You learn that a licensing board has received a complaint against you. The first thing you should do is review your insurance coverage for board complaints, provided you have such coverage. In my experience, most nurses rarely if ever carry this type of insurance. If you fall into the uninsured or underinsured group, I suggest you re-examine this issue and consider carrying such coverage. Most nurses go their entire careers without any type of professional malpractice insurance or insurance to specifically protect against board complaints.
There are a number of reasons nurses forgo malpractice insurance, including costs (too prohibitive) and thinking that they will simply never need it. However, I would highly suggest nurses consider purchasing insurance to protect them in the event of a potential malpractice claim or board complaint affecting their licensure. Insurance rates for this type of coverage are relatively inexpensive, compared to the costs of facing a malpractice claim on your own.
If you do have malpractice coverage, do not assume that it also covers licensing board complaints; this coverage is typically purchased separately. Be sure that you check carefully and contact your carrier if you have any doubts or questions.
Regardless of whether or not you have insurance, you should contact a lawyer immediately—one knowledgeable in administrative law and/or professional license defense. Your attorney should be familiar with licensing boards and the disciplinary process. Just as there are different types of nurses, from perianesthesia to L&D nursing, there are attorneys who specialize in different areas of the law. You will be best served by an attorney familiar with this particular area.
Structural Inequality and Diversity in NursingIn my experience, your initial response to a complaint is crucial. Address the issue with care. It is completely understandable to be shaken upon learning of a complaint. That highly emotional early period makes consulting with a highly trained and experienced attorney particularly critical. I believe that consulting a lawyer to review the facts almost immediately affords nurses the best chance of having the complaint dismissed without a hearing or resolved on the most positive terms.
The biggest hurdle I see is nurses delaying or altogether failing to contact someone who can help them because they do not want to broadcast that they have received a complaint. This is often complicated by the fact that the charges may include serious or embarrassing allegations. These things should not stop you from reaching out to people who may be able to help you through this difficult time.
You should always treat a formal complaint as a serious matter, warranting immediate and thoughtful action. Yet, invariably, some nurses will dismiss licensing board complaints or other allegations as frivolous, without basis, or the fabrications of an ill-advised complainant. They may become outraged at being accused of unprofessional and/or inappropriate conduct. Worse, some nurses inexplicably go into denial mode, pretending nothing happened.
Some nurses may assume that once they explain what happened, the licensing board will see the complaint as not worth the paper it is printed on. But even in situations where this is true, nurses must take the complaint seriously.
Regardless of fault, the single biggest mistake a nurse can make is ignoring the complaint or to take the complaint too lightly. Based on the discipline a licensing board may impose, a shower of negative effects may flow from a single complaint. Depending on the alleged offense and the board’s conclusion, a nurse’s reputation and livelihood may be irreparably damaged. Truly, the importance of properly and adequately responding to a licensing board complaint cannot be overstated. In light of the serious nature of board disciplinary matters, many nurses, nonetheless, continue to make crucial mistakes after a board complaint has been filed, which needlessly expose them to additional professional risk.