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Could stress cause you to lose your nursing license?

Losing your nursing license would be devastating. After all the years of hard work and dedication to your passion, a revocation is the last thing you want to happen. But even simple mistakes and errors can lead to disciplinary action by the state board. It is therefore crucial for you to be familiar with the laws and procedures you must follow.

If you are prepared and mindful, you can keep your nursing license active. Below are some common mistakes you should avoid to ensure your license is not taken away.

1. Falsification of patient records

Perhaps you work a twelve hour day and feel too exhausted to complete a patient record. Maybe you decided to give your patient some extra morphine to assist him in getting through the night with minimal pain, but you did not write it down. Whatever the case may be, falsifying records could get your license revoked.

2. Addiction and failure to pursue recovery

Drug addiction is a terrible experience and it could happen to anyone. Maybe you are dealing with back pain and get prescribed painkillers. After a while, perhaps you discreetly slip yourself some extra painkillers.

While abuse of narcotics alone is usually not enough to lose your license, the board may suspend it and require you to enter a recovery program. If you fail to go through recovery or continue to abuse drugs during the program, you might lose your license for good.

3. Patient neglect

This can happen without your intention. You might be overloaded and overworked with too many patients. Even if you would never neglect one of your patients on purpose, it can have real consequences. Failure to properly care for a patient may result in the loss of your license.

Being a nurse can be stressful and you are only human, so sometimes things slip your mind. For the sake of keeping your license, however, it is important for you to stay on top of things and avoid common mistakes like these.