Ask A Nurse Attorney, July, 2009
Nurses, welcome to “Ask a Nurse Attorney.” This section is designed for licensed nurses to ask questions to a nurse attorney. If you have a question that you would like to have answered, please feel free to e-mail Lorie@brownlaw1.com. If your question is selected, it will appear in the upcoming issues of Nursing Focus.
Dear Nurse Attorney,
I work at a home health care agency and travel throughout seven counties within the state to visit patients. During the winter, I was asked to see non-emergency patients during snow storms when winter weather warning advisories had been issued. I feel that my employer put my life in jeopardy in that the roads were so bad, yet my employer required me to see patients. What should I do?
Snowed-In RN
Dear Snowed-In RN:
Indiana is an employment-at-will state which means the employer can direct you to do anything they want, and you are required to perform that task. For example, if an employer asked you to float to a different unit and you did not have experience on that unit, you would still be required to follow the direction of your employer. If you do not, this could be considered patient abandonment. When you are asked to do something in which you feel uncomfortable, I suggest that you write yourself a note regarding the circumstances and who you discussed your concerns with and keep it. If this continues to happen, I would find another job. Your license is too valuable to be placed in jeopardy, and your life is too important to be placed in an unsafe position by the unreasonable request of your employer.
Lorie A. Brown, R.N., M.N., J.D.
Dear Nurse Attorney:
I am in the process of filling out the application for my license renewal. One of the questions asked is, “Have you ever been terminated, reprimanded, disciplined or demoted in the scope of your practice as a nurse?” I have been disciplined for tardiness, but that is not within the scope of my practice as a nurse. How should I answer the question?
Tardy RN
Dear Tardy RN:
If you have been disciplined, you must disclose it. The Board simply wants to hear the subject of the discipline and would rather be informed than to find out later. Depending on the reason for the discipline, the Board will most likely issue a license. If the Board has any concerns, they will call you in for additional questioning, but will then, depending on the circumstances, most likely issue the license. It is better to be safe and disclose to the Board than to be sorry. If a nurse fails to answer truthfully, the nurse is subject to disciplinary action which, in this case, usually results in a fine of $250.00. Also, this disciplinary action will be part of your permanent public record.
Lorie A. Brown, R.N., M.N., J.D.
“ASK A NURSE
ATTORNEY”
Lorie A. Brown, R.N., M.N., J.D., of Brown Law Office, Indianapolis, Indiana, (317) 465-1065, is a practicing nurse-attorney who represents nurses for licensing issues before the Board and for contracting matters. The views expressed in this column are those of the author. www.EmpoweredNurses.org.
Lorie A. Brown, R.N., M.N., J.D.
