When nurses face disciplinary action, it can involve a license suspension or even a license revocation. But not every nurse is going to lose their license in every situation. Other disciplinary actions can involve financial fines and penalties, for example, or a nurse could find themselves placed on probation and at risk of losing their license if anything further occurs.
When looking at the total number of these disciplinary actions, some reports indicate that they apply to less than 1% of nurses in the United States in any given year. Naturally, the specific number will differ significantly from one year to the next. But overall trends show that under 1% of nurses are disciplined annually.
That said, nursing is a massive industry, so even less than 1% can affect many different nurses. In 2021, for example, statistics indicate that there were more than 18,000 actions taken against nurses. Some of these actions involved multiple individuals, so more than 140,000 nurses were affected.
Why are these actions taken?
Often, disciplinary actions come after a complaint and a board-conducted investigation. Some of the most common reasons for these complaints include:
- Allegations of fraud
- Criminal arrests
- Allegations of physical or verbal abuse
- Substance abuse
- Sexual misconduct
- Failing to follow common practices in the nursing industry
- Boundary violations
With so many nurses being affected every year, it is clear that these disciplinary actions can change the course of a person’s career and their life. That is why it is so important for nurses to understand exactly what legal steps to take when facing allegations, and it can help to work with an experienced law firm.
