Introduction
Registered Nurses (RNs) who are reported by their employer, or interface with the
criminal justice system due to substance use, will typically appear before a board
of nursing. In some states, this appearance becomes a legal record with documentation
available to the public.
Objective
The purpose of this study is to qualitatively analyze the court documents of RNs whose
licenses were placed on probationary, suspended, or revoked statuses by the Indiana
State Board of Nursing (ISBN).
Methods
A descriptive content analysis was conducted on 236 court documents associated with
51 RNs. The study presents the typical paths of RNs appearing before the ISBN.
Results
From the qualitative data, five themes emerged: (a) critical junctures experienced
by RNs during the disciplinary process; (b) emerging groups who appear before the
ISBN; (c) individual contexts versus standardized discipline; (d) deliberate diversion,
deceit, and deception; and (e) significant threat to public safety and quality health
care.
Conclusion
Understanding regulatory oversight of substance use in RNs in Indiana offers potential
directions for targeted interventions. These include identifying periods of vulnerability
and understanding the dynamics of appearances before the ISBN across time.
Keywords
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Biography
Karen J. Foli, PhD, RN, FAAN, is Associate Professor and Director, PhD in Nursing Program, at Purdue University School of Nursing, West Lafayette, Indiana.
Biography
Blake Reddick, BSN, is Graduate Student, Purdue University School of Nursing.
Biography
Lingsong Zhang, PhD, is Associate Professor, Department of Statistics, and Faculty Affiliate Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering, Purdue University.
Biography
Nancy Edwards, PhD, ANP-BC, FAANP, is Professor, Director Adult-Gerontology Program, Purdue University School of Nursing.
Article info
Footnotes
This study was funded by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s Center for Regulatory Excellence.
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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