Did you receive a letter from the board?
The Board of Vocational Nurses & Psychiatric Technicians sends out very few written letters to licensed vocational nurses. You may receive the notice that your license is up for renewal. That’s fine… this one is nothing to worry about. Basically, anything else that you receive from the BVNPT should be cause for concern and is a call to action. I’m not saying this to scare you; I’m saying this because the BVNPT has two jobs.
- First is to license nurses.
- The second is to investigate nurses who aren’t practicing safely and discipline them accordingly.
So if the letter isn’t about renewing your license, it is about revoking it.
There are 3 primary forms of disciplinary correspondence from the BVNPT:
- The letter of investigation
- The offer for the Diversion Program
- An accusation
The Letter
The Letter of Investigation is usually sent out to LVN’s who are suspected or accused of making mistakes while on the job, like medication errors, charting errors or care issues. You usually have a given time frame specified in the letter itself in which to respond. Failure to respond can result in an unprofessional conduct charge, but you should NEVER EVER respond without consulting with an attorney and you should NEVER EVER EVER EVER participate in the interview itself without a legal representative. The investigation is the first step in pending disciplinary action against your LVN license, which could include revocation.
Diversion Program
The Diversion Program letter is received if the Licensed Vocational Nurse has been arrested and alcohol or drugs were involved, a complaint has been filed by a 3rd party alleging alcohol or drug abuse, or a mental health issue. This letter also gives you a deadline – usually of 10 days. It is imperative that you know that Diversion is voluntary. Calling the Diversion Program is also voluntary, even though it doesn’t sound like it. Please do not call to enroll in Diversion without doing your research. Your LVN license will be inactivated, you will have to quit your job, it lasts for years and is very expensive to comply with.
Accusation
The Accusation is the big scary monster. It is the final step by the BVNPT to revoke your license. This is formal legal action and requires you to comply with all requirements in the time frame specified. YOU MUST FILE THE NOTICE OF DEFENSE ON TIME!!
If you do not, your LVN license will be revoked on a default order. You will have no say at all and we cannot help you in any way. The Accusation letter will call for the revocation or suspension of your LVN license, but please know that of the thousands of cases we have handled, we have had less than 1% of our clients lose their LVN licenses or have them placed on probation. The Board has the Attorney General of the State of California working for them to take your LVN license… shouldn’t you have someone on your side?
Don’t hesitate! Get yourself legal protection that will help save your nursing career. Contact RN Guardian today or call us at (800) 506-9766 to speak with legal a nurse attorney.