How Long do Board of Nursing Investigations Take?
By Barbara Forshier on October 25th, 2024 in
Board of Nursing Investigations
A board of nursing investigation is serious, but in most cases, you’ll be allowed to practice while under investigation. Immediate suspension occurs only if the Board finds that the nurse’s continued practice poses “an imminent risk of harm” to patients.
Currently it can take over a year before a nurse hears from the Board following a complaint. Complaints are triaged based on the severity/risk of harm to the public. The Board has a goal of closing complaints within a year.
Reporting requirements under Minnesota statute 148.263 state that if a nurse is suspended, terminated, or resigns in lieu of termination, it must be reported to the Board. If this happens, contact a nursing defense attorney at that time as you will likely be investigated. Certainly, once you receive notice that you are under investigation contact a nursing defense attorney immediately.
How Long Do Board of Nursing Investigations Take?
Most investigations take 6 – 12 months to complete. There is no way to expedite the process, and unfortunately waiting for the investigation to finish is stressful. Hiring an attorney who is also a nurse means that you have someone on your side who has the caring and compassionate personality of a nurse in addition to the tactical legal mind necessary to obtain the best outcome.
During the time you are waiting to hear from the Board, it is important that you take care of yourself and practice diligently. Take time to gain insight into what happened putting you in this situation. Always think about what, if anything, you could have done better. Educate yourself on the standards of nursing practice for your area.
What Happens During a Board of Nursing Investigation?
Nursing investigations are a legal and quasi-judicial process (decision-making). The Board must investigate every complaint. The Board may receive a complaint from:
- Patients
- Employers
- Other nurses
- Any member of the public
Initially, you’ll receive a Notice that the Board has received a complaint about your nursing practice or that there are concerns about your ability to practice safely and you are being investigated. You, the Licensee, should be notified in “no more than 60 calendar days” after a complaint is received, per Minn. Stat. 214.103.
Additionally, you are supposed to receive updates on the status of your case every 120 days. We do not believe the required every 120-day Notice happens. The initial Notice will provide the statutes or rules that you may have violated, and it will include a brief description of the complaint. It will also provide the phone number of the board staff assigned to your case. It is best to contact an attorney with your questions, not the Board staff. They will not be able to provide you with additional information on the investigation, but what you say could later be used against you.
The Board will use this time to collect evidence. A complaint must be proven credible, and a violation of a law or rule must be within the Board’s jurisdiction before any action can be taken against you. They may only investigate matters that would be considered a violation of a statute or rule that the board is empowered to enforce (jurisdiction).
Just because a complaint is made doesn’t mean that you were in violation of a state law or rule. Even if there was a violation, it is possible to have the complaint dismissed by providing mitigating circumstances and working closely with an experienced license defense attorney.
If the initial facts show that you may be in violation of the Nurse Practice Act, either an investigator from the Attorney General’s Office (“AGO”) and/or the board staff Nurse Practice Specialist (“NPS”) who is a nurse, will investigate. To investigate the complaint and to provide your Due Process right to be heard, the board will then, as part of the investigation, request your side of the story. They will do this in one of two ways:
- Schedule a Review Panel Conference with you. You will receive a Notice of Conference with a date and time to appear. At this conference you will meet with a Board member(s), a Board staff member and an Assistant Attorney General who represents the panel. Fourteen days prior to the conference your written response to the allegations will be due.
- Or the Board may send you a letter of Inquiry, rather than a Notice of Conference. In this circumstance you will be given the opportunity to respond to the allegations in writing only. The response will have a due date for return to the Board.
You will be able to tell your side of the story, which is when the help of an attorney can make a significant difference. License defense attorneys have a unique knowledge base that comes from working with Health Licensing Boards over many years. Their specialized knowledge will assist you in your license defense because they know what the Boards are looking for and what steps you can take to improve the outcome of your case.
How are Complaints Resolved?
This area of law is called administrative law. Most complaints are resolved without the need for a formal administrative hearing. If an administrative hearing is required, the case will then be presented to an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in a trial-like procedure called a contested case hearing (CCH). Most cases do not make it to the evidentiary, trial-like, hearing with the judge because they are dismissed in motions by the Board prior to this stage. If the ALJ grants the Board’s motion to dismiss for lack of a factual dispute, the Licensee can then present their case to the full board who then vote on the disposition of your case. This is the only time the full board hears the testimony of the nurse.
Regardless of how the complaint is resolved, it’s important to make sure that you hire an attorney as early as possible. If a formal hearing is required, your attorney can help you prepare and set expectations.
Complaints can be resolved in a few ways:
- Dismissal of the claim – if no evidence was found to support the claim or if the nurse has remediated their practice or other issue the case will be dismissed.
- If the Board determines that discipline is warranted a stipulation and consent order will be proposed. It is also important to have an attorney because your attorney will negotiate the “Facts” that are often not accurate as proposed by the Board. Once the nurse and the Board agree to the document, the nurse signs it and it is then voted on at the next Board meeting.
- An Agreement for Corrective Action (ACA) is a non-disciplinary educational tool where the nurse will be required to meet with a nurse consultant, meet specific educational objectives and provide a summary to the Board. Once the assignment is completed, the matter is “dismissed.” However, the ACA remains public forever and they are now also being reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB).
All Board actions are public documents and will be posted on your nursing license. There is no expungement for these actions. A dismissal is not an action, therefore, there is no public document or public record of the complaint and investigation by the Board.
What Disciplinary Actions Can Be Taken?
If the Board determines that a nurse has violated a rule or law they are empowered to enforce, the next step is to determine whether discipline, conditions, limitations, or education are warranted to protect the public.
See here for types of actions.
The Board will consider the cause of the violation and the risk of harm to patients. If disciplinary action is taken, this does not necessarily mean that your license will be suspended or revoked. The Board can take a number of possible actions, including:
- Placing a nurse on probation using a stay of suspension where the nurse can prove compliance by abiding by the conditions of the order. If the nurse fails to comply with the dictates of the order, the Board has the power to suspend the nurse immediately with Notice.
- Restricting the nurse’s practice (e.g., requiring supervision or limiting the number of hours or areas of practice worked, or placing conditions on practice, such as monitoring with random toxicology screens through HPSP (see link) https://mn.gov/boards/hpsp/
- Imposing a civil penalty which is a monetary fine. The civil penalty is usually paired with a reprimand, which is a public admonishment.
- Suspending a nurse’s license
If a board of nursing investigation results in license suspension, the nurse will need to meet specific conditions to have the license reinstated.
An Experienced Attorney Can Help You Defend Your Nursing License
If the Board is investigating you, there is no time to waste. It is crucial to seek the help of an experienced nursing license defense attorney as soon as possible.
Attorney Barbara Forshier has been empowering nurses and defending their careers for more than a decade. She understands the challenges nurses face because she has been in their shoes. For 40 years, Barb worked as an RN. Now, she helps nurses protect their livelihoods by defending their license.
If you’re facing an investigation by the Minnesota Board of Nursing, contact Forshier Law today to schedule a free consultation.