As a medical professional, you do everything you can to keep people safe. You work hard to be sure they get the care they need and are supported how they need to be when they’re ill or injured.
Unfortunately, not all patients go through treatments without complications, and many can be left unhappy with outcomes. Their poor outcomes aren’t necessarily a reflection of poor care, but they may act like they are.
If a patient makes a complaint against you, you deserve to know. Finding out about the complaint may be upsetting or frustrating, though, especially if it is made to the Board of Nursing.
What do you do if you’re the subject of a complaint to the BON?
If someone makes a complaint to the Board of Nursing because they don’t like something that you’ve done, you need to take action to protect yourself. Initially, one thing you may want to do is to reach out to an attorney who works with medical malpractice cases.
If you happen to need to speak with the Board of Nursing, you’ll want to be sure you have all the details about the complaint, as well as what you’re doing to address it, handy. You will also want to show that the claims against you are unsubstantiated.
What should you do if you’re asked to make a statement?
If you are asked to make a statement, you shouldn’t do so unless you’ve had a word with an attorney first. It’s common for nurses to be falsely accused of misconduct or malpractice, but making a statement before you’re ready or have all the facts could hurt you.
It’s better to know the process for getting all the right information and the procedure to make sure the right outcome happens. You have rights, and you need to protect your nursing license against unfounded claims. Whether the state has charges it wants to bring against you or not, you need support from the very beginning of your case. From the moment you know there is a complaint against you, you should be looking into your legal options for protection.