As children, we learn there are consequences to breaking the rules. If you sneak a cookie before dinner and your mom finds out, you might be out of dessert for the weekend. Stealing is an obvious wrong, but as our lives become more complicated it becomes more important to know the rules. One slip-up could cost you your career, or someone’s life, especially in medical fields like nursing.
Do you know the ways you could lose your nursing license and the ability to work? Knowing what transgressions can cause that consequence is important in helping you maintain a successful career without any licensing bumps in the road.
 Ways You Could Lose Your Nursing License
Many mistakes can cause you to lose your nursing license. And there may be instances where your license is at risk for a false claim or something you are not responsible for. In that instance, you would want to get a nursing license defense and someone on your side to help your case.
Here are some of the ways you could get your nursing license revoked:
- Patient abuse: mistreatment of a patient, neglecting a patient, or acting unprofessional with a patient (such as engaging in a sexual relationship) would be grounds for losing your license
- Diverting drugs: Stealing, as mentioned in the beginning, is wrong, and skimming drugs for yourself or others could cost you more than just your license
- Working under the influence: coming to work while impaired, from drugs or alcohol, would be a quick way to lose your license, and possibly cause someone to lose their life
- Impersonating a practitioner or acting beyond your job description: acting as someone else in the medical field, or taking on tasks that are beyond what you are supposed to do could also cause a loss of life and put your license at risk
- Falsifying records: Just like stealing, lying seems like a pretty easy offense to avoid but you have to be sure that everything you do is correct on records including the medicine you are giving out and who you’re treating
Additional Advice
Many of the above ways you could lose your nursing license may seem like common sense. That’s because a lot of them are, but there are other ways you could lose your license to watch out for.
Are you planning to move soon? You need to always update the Licensing Board with your latest address or you could lose your license.
Out at a bar with some friends? Maybe the story you want to tell is from work, but would that breach patient confidentiality? A nurse’s license comes with the responsibility you protect the privacy of those you treat, so watch what you talk about and with whom.
Keep Your License, Keep Your Job
Working as a nurse is a wonderful and important job and one you wouldn’t want to put at risk by doing something to lose your nursing license. If you practice caution, and care, and know the rules in place to protect you and your patients, you should have no problem maintaining your license and your job. If you found this article helpful, check us out for more useful information.
