Blog - Page 93

Keeping It Together: Retaining Your Best Employees While Under a Licensing Investigation

May 15, 2017Posts

This blog is specific to employers and business owners who license is threatened by the Boards. The letter arrives in the mail, and you open it with trembling fingers. You start to read and your heart sinks: your professional license is under investigation.  Now what? We hope this scene never happens to you, but if it does, there are right ways and wrong ways of handling it.  The right way is to do what you...

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How a Threat to Your Professional License Can Be an Opportunity

May 12, 2017Posts

Sheer dread is a normal reaction upon learning that your professional license could be suspended or revoked. After years of education and training, you’ve spent valuable time and resources pursuing your professional dreams – and now it could all be over. But don’t throw in the towel just yet. In addition to fighting the charges, you should also use this period to do some in-depth self-reflection. In this post, we list three lessons you might...

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Understanding the Root Cause: Why Your Texas Medical License is Under Attack

May 11, 2017Posts

Texas doctors are probably aware that the number of complaints filed before the Texas Medical Board (TMB) are on the rise. Indeed, between 2004 and 2013, Texas Medical Board enforcement cases against physicians and other health care professionals in the state increased 76 percent. Part of the explanation is that Texas’ tort reform legislation, passed in 2001, transferred what might have been court cases against physicians to the TMB. This development has flooded the TMB...

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You’ve Lost Your Nursing License… Now What?

May 10, 2017Nursing License

Losing your nursing license can seem like the end of the world. The first thing to remember is that your professional life and career is not over. There are a variety of great jobs available to former nurses that we will discuss.  More importantly, you need to know what to do to protect your professional reputation. It is not too late to save your license. The Texas nursing license defense attorneys of Bertolino LLP are...

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Texas Medical Board Suspends Doctor’s License Without Notice Amid Abuse Allegations

May 09, 2017Posts

A disciplinary panel for the Texas Medical Board temporarily suspended the license an orthopedic surgeon last month after a series of sexual assault allegations made by several patients. According to The Dallas Morning News, the board made a determination that the continuation of the physician's practice of medicine posed a "continuing threat to public welfare." The suspension was issued without notice and went into effect immediately. This action was taken after the physician's arrest on...

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What Happens When a Disciplinary Action Against You Is Added to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB)–And What You Can Do About It

May 09, 2017Posts

The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) is a national clearinghouse of information about various adverse actions taken against health care providers. Hospitals, clinics, licensing boards and other entities may use this information when considering whether to extend practice privileges, job offers, licensure or other opportunities to health professionals. It's important to be aware of the importance of this databank, and what to do if you're the subject of a negative report. NPDB provides access to...

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Acting Chair of Federal Trade Commission Takes Aim at Occupational Licenses

May 05, 2017Posts

According to a CBS News report, in the 1950s, only about five percent of workers needed a license. But today, 25 to 30 percent of workers now need a license to practice their trade. While occupation licensing requirements are traditionally the responsibility of individual U.S. states, Acting Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Maureen K. Ohlhausen, has said that the FTC should do more to limit this proliferation of licensing. Originally, licensing was about...

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Seven Crucial Facts You Might Not Know About Texas Board of Nursing (BON) Allegations

May 04, 2017Posts

No nursing professional wants to face allegations of wrongdoing from the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). Therefore, it's essential to be well-versed in BON requirements–to prevent some issues, and to better respond to others. Here are seven (7) crucial facts you may not know about BON allegations: If you see something, you must say something. Under Texas Law Section 301.402(b), licensed nurses are generally required to report misconduct by other nurses. If a nurse commits...

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Using the “5 Whys” and Root Cause Analysis to Figure Out the REAL Reason Your License Has Come Under Attack… and What to Do About It Going Forward

May 03, 2017Professional License Defense Posts

You may have heard the saying that every crisis also presents an opportunity. Allegations against your license are a crisis, but they also present the opportunity to prevent similar problems. One powerful way to do this is a method known as the “5 Whys.” By asking “Why?” five (or more) times, you trace an event's causes and effects back to its root cause. Then, you attack the problem at the core. For example, begin with...

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Senate Bill 681 and House Bill 1415 Would Allow Nurses to Make Up for Physician Shortage

May 02, 2017Posts

Two bills recently introduced in the Texas legislature would allow advanced practice registered nurses to provide care to patients without physician supervision, as reported in the Austin American-Statesman. Senate Bill 681 and House Bill 1415 seek to address a significant physician shortage in Texas. As reported in the Statesman, one analysis found that 35 of Texas’ 254 counties have no physician at all. 20% of Texas residents–an estimated 4.6 million Texans–have no access to a...

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