Keywords:board of nursing discipline documentation medical records nurse practitioner sanctions a b s t r a c t This study reviews the records of nurse practitioners (NPs) who were disciplined in Texas by the Board of Nursing between 2015 through 2017, specifically those who were disciplined for documentation-related infractions. The specific details of the infractions are discussed, such as failing to document clinical events that occurred and falsely documenting events that did not occur. Wherever the NPs provided a reason or rationale for their actions, those are also discussed, as are the specific sanctions handed down by the Texas Board of Nursing in each case. Implications for practice and principles that could assist NPs to prevent such infractions are also enumerated.
This article examines the provisions of the Nursing Licensure Compact (NLC). Key provisions of this compact are reviewed with examples of how it has impacted individual nurses. The article begins by presenting the history of the NLC, followed by discussion about the effective and implementation dates and a review of key provisions of the enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact. Specific examples of disciplinary actions and implications for nurses, employers, and educators are presented. The author concludes that most nurses provide competent care, and that outside of this compact, the few who violate laws and regulations are usually disciplined by their individual state board of nursing. Under the compact, however, those violations are addressed in all jurisdictions in which the nurse holds a nursing license or a privilege to practice, thereby ensuring public safety and preventing errant nurses from moving undetected from state to state.
The article discusses the implications of the actions of health care professionals who engage in unethical conduct for altruistic purposes or for pecuniary gain. It analyzes the highly publicized news story where parents allegedly paid a lot of money to get their children admitted to colleges, including engaging the services of psychologists who created fake diagnoses of learning disabilities. It explores earlier unethical acts by healthcare professionals like physicians in Wisconsin who wrote work excuse notes for Wisconsin teachers, without any physician/patient relationship or assessments, and dentists and nurses who violated their professional ethical principles. Also discussed, is the impact of such acts on the respective professions and the potential impact on unseen victims like individuals with disabilities. The universality of the impact and the need for communal vigilance are highlighted.
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