B Project

The B project is related to a meeting that took place at the Double Tree Hotel at Deerfield
Beach, FL. It was held on Friday, December 9th 2017 at 8:00 am until 3:00 pm.

The objective of this project was to be aware of the legal impact and the consequences of
performing wrongly in the nursing career.

The Florida Board of Nursing meeting was like a court process divided into sessions.
Where during the sessions, the defendants were able to discuss their cases and the reasons why
they behaved in a certain way and then the Florida Board of Nursing will decide if the defendant
nurse was going to be able to reobtain their nursing license or not.

The decision of the Florida board of nursing is approved by majority, where each
member directly expresses their vote by raising a hand. Will most of the time depending with
the compliance of the accused nurse with the previous disciplinary action imposed, or if it is a
new case the board follows the Intervention Project for Nurses (IPN) that was established in
1984 through legislative action to ensure public health and safety through a program that
provides close monitoring of nurses who are unsafe to practice due to impairment as a result of
misuse or abuse of alcohol or drugs, or both, or due to a mental or physical condition which
could affect the licensees ability to practice with skills and safety.

The cases were very interesting and reflected some issues that are critical in the nursing
career that goes from not documenting something that was done for a patient, to a nurse not
giving a patients opioid medications and taking it for personal use. Although we would like to
believe that every nurse is a good person with good intentions, we cant ignore the fact that every
year, state nursing boards revoke dozens of licenses. If you complete your therapy and remain
clean, you can retain your license. However, if you refuse to enter recovery or continue to abuse
drugs/alcohol while in recovery, your state board can revoke your license.

I would like to discuss some of the cases that I was able to watch that day. There was this
nurse that was accused of alcohol impairment while working. He was able to express his opinion
and to demonstrate he is clean. While he was suspended he worked as a driver getting a CDL
license with tank endorsement. This license is one of the hardest to obtain and randomly was
screened for drugs and alcohol, resulting negative for more than one year. The board decided that
the nurse was safe to practice again and returned the license to this nurse.
 Another example of the hearing was a nurse that was taking drugs home in order to give
it to her boyfriend. I am sure she didnt know the problem she was facing. Slipping yourself, or
someone you know, drugs on the side is a serious offense, punishable by revocation of the
license and jail time. If your boyfriend has taken all of his pain meds, leave it to his doctors to
prescribe more or up his dosage. Its not worth risking your career to boost someone elses
addiction, no matter who it is. Unfortunately for this nurse, the Florida Board of Nursing decided
that her license will not be reinstituted, but instead will be revoked.

Sadly, patient abuse and neglect happen more often than wed like to admit. Patient
neglect and abuse can happen because a nurse is intentionally causing pain and/or suffering, or
because of a simple mistake because a nurse is over-worked or has too many patients. One of the
most serious offenses, patient neglect and abuses affects more than just the nurse, and even more
than just the patient. The patients friends and family must also suffer alongside him/her, making
this grave offense even worse. Unfortunately, this happens all too often. Many times, a nurse
doesnt neglect a patient on purpose, but her forgetfulness can cause more damage than imagined
and result in the loss of her license.

After the second break, the cases were getting a little boring, not because of the case
itself, but because the defendants decided not to go to defend their actions. Still, the speaker had
to read all the cases because all the hearings were being recorded and it has to stay taped. For the
most part, in the final cession the discussion was more about nurses who were found to be under
the influence of, or in possession of illegal drugs, alcohol, and marihuana. At the end, all I was
able to catch was the judge saying, move on, all in favor, unanimous which means that the
licenses of the accusers will remain with the status and they will not be able to perform.

Overall, I think it was a great experience and it thought me and reinforced the reasons
why I would love to safely practice and provide a good quality care for my patients always
following the Policies and Procedures of the place where I work plus the safety standards of the
Florida Board of Nursing.