Why an Arizona Nurse Should Not Voluntarily Surrender
Why should an Arizona nurse not voluntarily surrender?
A voluntary surrender will place a permanent mark on a nurse’s record. Thus, a nurse must absolutely ensure they are making an informed decision.
Links of Interest:
- Will an Arizona Nurse Be Placed on The OIG List After a Voluntary Surrender?
- How a Practice Restriction Could Cost an Arizona Nurse Practitioner Their DEA Registration
What is a Voluntary Surrender?
Voluntary surrender is when a licensee voluntarily surrenders a professional license or voluntarily agrees not to renew one’s license, usually to resolve an outstanding complaint instead of going through the investigatory process that could lead to discipline, suspension, or revocation.
Voluntary surrender is considered formal discipline. Any formal disciplinary action from the Arizona Nursing Board gets reported to NURSYS and the National Practitioner Database.
What is NURSYS?
NURSYS is a comprehensive national database that enables nurses to gain access to information about their practice privileges and the state board they registered with. Employers can also use this service because it helps them verify whether someone meets the necessary requirements on licensing, discipline history, and past employment records from one source.
Under current Arizona law, once a disciplinary action is reported to NURSYS from the Arizona Nursing Board, one can never remove it. They used to remove the disciplinary actions from the Board’s website after five years. However, that policy has changed now that the Board no longer hosts its own license verification.
Administrative Penalty by the Arizona Board of Nursing
In Arizona law, nurses can receive an administrative penalty from the Arizona Board of Nursing for a few reasons.
These Arizona Nursing Board Administrative Violations include:
- Failure to renew a nursing license or nurse assistant certificate. Nurses must renew their licenses on time while continuing to practice nursing or face consequences.
- Failing to notify the Arizona Board of Nursing in writing within thirty days after an address change.
Penalties in Connection to Administrative Violations
When a nurse receives a fine from the Arizona Board of Nursing, it can be as much as $1,000.00.
The amount the Board can impose upon a nurse depends on the violation. For example, if a nurse fails to notify the Board of a change in address, the nurse will most likely get a warning or a small fine. Another example is when a nurse is practicing without a license. But they haven’t intended to deceive the Board of Nursing by failing to renew. In this instance, there are specific fines. RNs and LPNs have fines ranging from $100 to $500, while a Certified Nursing Assistant can see penalties ranging from $25 to $75.
It is important to note when there has been a violation, the Board of Nursing will refer the employer of the violating nurse to the Arizona Department of Health Services (DHS).
It generally happens when the nurse fails to renew for two months or more. After being referred to the DHS, the employer can also sanction the nurse.
Consult an Attorney Before Considering Voluntary Surrender
For direct legal help, contact us today or see our Nursing License Defense Attorney page.