TPAPN and the Board of Nursing

I think it is time for a discussion concerning how TPAPN is being used by the Board. I would like to see this be a public meeting so that nurses affected and also, defense counsel are allowed to bring forward the problems they experience or see.

Personally, I am seeing too many cases where nurses that are not appropriate for TPAPN are being referred there by the Board. The nurses frequently will agree to TPAPN because they want to get the issue resolved with the Board or because they do not know what being in TPAPN involves or they do not know that there are other options. These nurses then get into TPAPN and they do not fit.

I have seen nurses referred to TPAPN that have years of sobriety (TPAPN is geared more towards new addicts) or that have no chemical dependency problems or they have mental health issues that are under control and do not require monitoring. It appears that when the Board is overloaded or not sure what to do, they refer to TPAPN; that may not be the case, but that is exactly how it is appearing. Inappropriate referrals are not a good use of TPAPN's time or resources. It is interesting to note that the annual TPAPN audit was performed and is being presented to the Board at the July 17-18, 2008 meeting. Within that audit it is noted that TPAPN staff noted that the BON is sending fewer "nurses with histories that raise questions of current impairment."

The last poll was interesting, so how about another one? This poll is for nurses that are not in TPAPN or that have never been in TPAPN. I want to know if you were offered to go to TPAPN to resolve an allegation of substance abuse or mental illness before the BON, would you understand what would be required of you in the TPAPN program? This is a fair question because the program is not explained to nurses prior to them being offered the TPAPN option.

Teenage Crimes Prevent Licensure

I have been seeing several cases lately where an individual's actions as a teenager have come back to haunt him/her when they attempt to become licensed as a nurse. Frequently it is a felony offense and the individual may still be on probation for the action. I wanted to know if you think that crimes (I am referencing crimes such as possession of controlled substances or theft crimes, not murder or attempted murder) committed while a teenager should affect someone's ability to become a licensed nurse so I posted the poll to the right.

A Loss at the Nursing Board

Tuesday, June 10 was the last day of work at the Texas Nursing Board for Joy Sparks, Assistant General Counsel. This is a big loss for the Board. Ms. Sparks is a smart and professional attorney. Although she did not have medical knowledge prior to working at the BON, she picked up on issues very quickly. I always found her to be responsive to requests and willing to consider "our side" of the story. She spent many years at the Board and is now moving to another area of administrative law. Her new agency is very lucky and she will be missed.

Nightmares

It has been a very busy time and so I have been a little delayed in getting posts done. I had a heck of nightmare the other night: I was arrested and I kept telling the Police that I had done nothing wrong but they continued the process making comments like "Yeah, right that is what they all say." When I told my husband, he said the cause of the nightmare was obvious because I am dealing with several cases where we keep telling the Board that they have the facts wrong and that the nurse is actually innocent or that the nurse did something so minor that it does not require action by the Board. Sometimes the Board listens and the case is dismissed and sometimes they don't and we continue in the process.

I get frustrated these days by what I see as the Board forgetting their mission, "to protect the public" because protecting the public means more than disciplining nurses. Too often I see punishment rather than regulation from the Board; regulation can occur without discipline. And, then what ends up happening is that good nurses either quit nursing out of frustration with the Board's reaction or they unable to obtain work because they are under a Board Order (the assumption is that the nurse must be bad if they are being regulated by the Board and thus, no job). How is the public protected if there are less nurses practicing?

Think that this does not impact you? It can. Once again, I spoke with a nurse who was shocked to be under investigation after years and years of nursing practice. She made an error but it was due to some specific mitigating factors that are unlikely to occur again. Unfortunately, her error will probably result in disciplinary action. If it can happen to a nurse like her, it can happen to you.

Happy Nurses Week

Happy Nurses Week.

I always liked the recognition when I was working and the food and little give-aways were nice, however, what I really liked was when a patient and/or family recognized the care being given to them. I don't mean gifts or cards or even verbal thank-yous, but that feeling you get when you know that someone else recognizes that you are not just there doing a job, earning money, but that you really care about what happens to them and that no matter what the outcome, you worked as hard as possible to make a difference. Sometimes the recognition was a look, a smile, a hug and maybe it was verbal.

So, here is a written thank you to all the nurses out there...THANK YOU FOR DECIDING TO BECOME A NURSE AND FOR STEPPING FORWARD TO CARE FOR ALL THAT DESPERATELY NEED YOU!!!!!