Nursing is one of the professions where you must be at your best while working. If you are a shop worker, office worker or teacher, having a bad day is unlikely to put someone’s life at risk in the same way as it could for you as a nurse. Yet the way the health care system is structured means that you probably spend much of your working life performing well below your best. Lack of rest, long hours and disturbed sleep patterns from working nights can all combine with the job’s mental and emotional challenges to mean that you are not always in an optimal state.
It stands to reason that sometimes you will make mistakes or have a shorter temper than usual due to these factors. Yet just one mistake or one loss of control could put your registered professional license at risk. If you make a mistake or are rude to someone, they may file a complaint to the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN). Yet what they probably do not realize is the chain of events that led to the situation. It is common knowledge that nurses are underpaid and overworked, but people may not consider the consequences this can have.
If you make an error or are less polite than usual to someone, saying sorry may be all you need to do to remedy the situation. Everyone has bad days, and most people would be shocked if they knew what nurses must endure. If the BRN summons you to a hearing, an experienced California license defense attorney can help explain that your actions were out of character due to the pressure you were under.