It takes a long time to get your nursing license. You put in hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of hard work, tears and sweat. It’s often a difficult job, and it’s not surprising that you could lose your temper or find yourself frustrated with a patient.
Unfortunately, a bad attitude and unprofessional conduct could lead to the loss of your license. Threatening a patient, making statements that aren’t true about their medical care and other situations may lead to questions about your ability to perform ethically and safely the services that you were hired for.
Your attitude could be construed as abuse
One thing to keep in mind is that your attitude on the job could hurt you if it comes off as abusive. Yelling at patients, threatening people or berating your colleagues are all situations you should want to avoid. Yes, people do lose their tempers, but in a hospital or clinical setting, doing so could hurt you.
At the very least, you may find yourself reprimanded by your boss. At worst, a patient may make a complaint, and you could face action from the board for patient abuse.
Misconduct can include negligence, too
Having a bad attitude and not wanting to help some patients paints you in a negative light and may result in the loss of your license, too. In fact, neglecting a patient by ignoring them or skipping their room on your rounds is a serious offense. As a nurse, you need to follow the professional code of conduct. Failing to do so could threaten your license.
Social media complaints could lead to the loss of your license, too
You should know that you’re not allowed to talk about a patient online without their express permission. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, restricts what you can say or do about cases. If you get caught talking about a patient’s medical situation without permission, you could lose your license.
Be cautious about how you present yourself. While everyone is entitled to a bad day, a good attitude and professional conduct is a must for all nurses.
