Florida License Defense Attorney for Nurses
Throughout the State of Florida, nurses provide competent and compassionate services to patients in their care. Patients and doctors alike frequently depend on them to provide this care under extremely stressful and chaotic circumstances. In their many different roles, nurses are highly valued health professionals viewed as integral to health care teams and quality patient care. Despite their value and professionalism, nurses are often faced with having to defend themselves against allegations that could affect their nursing license and career. When that is the case, it is crucial to have an experienced Florida nursing license defense attorney protecting your rights as soon as possible.
If you are a licensed Florida nurse and someone has filed a complaint against you, you need an aggressive, experienced defense attorney who specializes in health care defense. Attorney Jonathan Rose has more than twenty-five years of experience as a lawyer and focuses his practice on defending health care professionals, particularly when it comes to defending their medical and nursing licenses.
When your nursing license and career are on the line, you need an aggressive attorney who understands how the Florida Department of Health handles complaints and administrative actions against nursing licenses and how to defend you against harmful allegations. Jonathan Rose will put his knowledge, skill, years of experience to work to protect your rights and fight for your future.
To get the help you need defending your nursing license, call Jonathan Rose today at 407-894-4555 or submit the “Tell Us What Happened” form on our website.
Understanding Allegations of Drug Diversion against a Florida Nurse
As a licensed nurse in Florida, you could face a wide range of accusations against your license; however, drug diversion is among the most common of those accusations. As a matter of routine practice, nurses are often required to pull drugs for patients from Pyxis or other automated medication dispensing systems. When a drug fails to reach its intended destination, for any reason, nurses are frequently blamed and may be accused of drug diversion by a patient, co-worker, or supervisor. That accusation is typically accompanied by the assumption that a nurse has a substance abuse problem that prompted the drug diversion.
In reality, any number of other explanations may apply to the missing drugs. In a busy emergency room environment, drugs can easily be misplaced or proper procedures for tracking the drugs may not be followed during the chaos that ensues when attempting to provide life-saving medical care. Moreover, it is possible that the data provided by Pyxis (or a similar automated system) was corrupted or inaccurate.
If you are a nurse who has been accused of diverting drugs, you are undoubtedly overwhelmed and worried about the future of your nursing license. Do not let the fear of losing your license push you to accept guilt in the hope of saving your license when you are not guilty. Consult with attorney Jonathan Rose immediately to discuss the facts of your case and your legal options. He has experience handling drug diversion allegations and can help protect your rights and your license.
Call 407-894-4555 or submit the “Tell Us What Happened” form on our website to talk with an experienced nursing license defense attorney.
Should I Agree to the IPN Program?
If you are a nurse who has been accused of drug diversion or a complaint has been filed accusing you of having a substance abuse problem, the Department of Health and/or your employer may encourage you to enter the Intervention Project for Nurses (IPN). For a nurse who is genuinely struggling with a drug or alcohol problem, the IPN program can be beneficial. Unfortunately, however, nurses are often pushed by employers to enter the program in an attempt to save their position with the employer, regardless of whether they truly have a substance abuse problem.
When faced with the prospect of losing your job, you may be tempted to agree to the IPN program, even if you don’t have a substance abuse problem. Before doing that, however, you should talk to attorney Jonathan Rose about your situation. Attorney Rose has extensive experience defending doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals who have had claims made against their licenses. He has a thorough understanding of the disciplinary process and the defenses available to you.
If a complaint has been made against your license, or you have reason to believe that you are under investigation for substance abuse, contact our office as soon as possible. Do not submit to IPN before consulting with attorney Jonathan Rose! Call 407-894-4555 or submit the “Tell Us What Happened” form on our website to talk with an attorney who is familiar with the nursing license investigation and complaint process and can help protect your license and your future.
Defending Your Florida Nursing License
When a complaint is filed against a nurse by a patient, co-worker, or supervisor, an investigation is initiated. Consulting with a Florida nursing license defense attorney at this stage is important because an attorney may be able to prevent an investigation from escalating to a formal complaint with the Florida Department of Health. Although it is only natural to provide an explanation or defense to accusations made against you, it is crucial that you avoid making a statement during an investigation without first consulting with an attorney to ensure that your rights are protected, and all potential legal defenses are preserved.
If the investigation uncovers sufficient evidence to warrant a formal complaint being filed with the Florida Department of Health, it will be referred to the Prosecution Services Unit for a determination of probable cause. A prosecutor from the Department of Health will make a recommendation to the Probable Cause Panel about whether probable cause exists in your case. Having attorney Jonathan Rose on your side at this point can prevent a finding of probable cause, which will result in the case being dismissed.
If probable cause is found, the complaint is referred to the Board for disciplinary action and 10 days after an administrative complaint is filed, the case becomes public. Disciplinary action for a nurse may include a reprimand, fine, restriction of practice, remedial education, administrative cost, probation, license suspension, or license revocation. If disciplinary action cannot be avoided, attorney Jonathan Rose will aggressively negotiate on your behalf to reduce the sanctions you face and preserve your nursing license.
Call Jonathan Rose today at 407-894-4555 or submit the “Tell Us What Happened” form on our website to protect your Florida nursing license.
Get the Help You Need from an Experienced Florida Nursing License Defense Attorney
As a nurse, you provide a critical service to the nation’s health care system and patients. If you are aware that a complaint against your license has been filed or have reason to believe an investigation is underway, it is in your best interest to contact attorney Jonathan Rose immediately to protect yourself and your future. The sooner attorney Rose becomes involved, the better the odds are that he can prevent the accusations made against you from becoming a formal complaint.
Being accused of drug diversion or other violations can be overwhelming for a nurse. The prospect of navigating a complicated and unfamiliar administrative law process may prompt you to consider taking any deal offered to you by your employer to keep your license; however, that deal may taint your job prospects in the future. The better choice is to consult with Florida nursing license defense attorney Jonathan Rose to discuss your legal options and defenses and protect your license and future.
If you are a nurse and a complaint has been made against you, or you believe you are being investigated for misconduct, contact experienced and dedicated Florida nursing license defense attorney Jonathan Rose. Call us today at 407-894-4555 or submit the “Tell Us What Happened” form on our website so we can get started protecting you, your license, and your future.