Another burden for Disciplined Nurses

Every nurse used to be worried about their name showing up in the Board's newsletter. That worry is still present, but now there is an additional burden for the disciplined nurse to endure; their Agreed Orders are available online for all to review. No more just seeing numbers and wondering what the nurse did, but now the facts are available for review.

My hope is that there will be positive outcomes from this additional information. I hope that nurses will recognize how vulnerable they are while practicing and become more involved in advocacy for nurses to limit disciplinary actions against nurses for minor violations. I also hope that nurses will realize that another nurse that has been disciplined by the Board is not a "bad" nurse and that after reviewing the facts, they realized that they have also been in the same situation and that only luck prevented them from ending up with disciplinary action. Just a note - I am not saying that there should not be regulation because there are often valid reasons to discipline licensees; my concern has always been a just review of the facts of the case and if the FACTS show a valid concern for the public's safety, then the application of appropriate discipline to protect the public.

My hope is always that nurses band together to provide a united front against those that are a danger to the nursing profession. Too many nurses are leaving nursing because of unjust actions and non-support from their fellow nurses. Nursing is a grand profession and nurses deserve respect from everyone including fellow nurses.