Psychiatric technicians and vocational nurses play a crucial part in the medical industry. Your primary duties and responsibilities involve caring for patients in nursing homes, schools, and hospitals, which requires you to be compassionate and understanding towards your patients. Undoubtedly, this noble profession is satisfying and gratifying due to the impact you have on the community.
However, it comes with grueling responsibilities and expectations, which, if not met, could result in serious consequences. When you make a mistake or a patient is unsatisfied with your services, he/she can file a complaint against you with the licensing board, which may put your professional license at risk of suspension or revocation.
At Oakland License Attorney, we understand how important your practice license is to your livelihood and career as a psychiatric technician or licensed vocational nurse (LVN). If you are under investigation by the licensing board for alleged work misconduct or any other issue, we can help you understand your options and challenge the allegations to secure a favorable outcome.
Understanding the Crucial Roles of Vocational Nurses and Psychiatric Technicians
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, vocational nurses and psychiatric technicians play a vital role in the medical industry. Explained below are the critical roles of vocational nurses and psychiatric technicians, respectively:
Vocational Nurses
Being an LVN can be fulfilling, but you should be ready to handle all the responsibilities that come with this noble profession. Some of your duties as an LVN include the following:
- Taking vital signs on a patient
- Recording a patient’s progress
- Treating and dressing patients’ wounds
- Monitoring patients with chronic conditions
- Maintaining and operating intravenous machines
- Giving injections to patients
Your daily roles as an LVN demonstrate that you hold people’s lives in high regard. Your expertise and skills are in great demand and highly valued, which is why you must undergo rigorous training and education to become a licensed vocational nurse. Additionally, the training and education are expensive and time-consuming.
Unfortunately, despite the effort, time, and resources you have put into securing a practice license as a vocational nurse, a minor mistake or misunderstanding with a patient could dent your professional career. As human beings, we are prone to mistakes, but there is no room for error if you are a licensed vocational nurse.
Any mistake in this profession could attract disciplinary actions by the BVNPT (Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians). Fortunately, with the legal assistance of a competent attorney, you can challenge these allegations to avoid potentially detrimental disciplinary actions or secure a favorable outcome.
Psychiatric Technicians
Like an LVN, your duties as a psychiatric technician involve offering basic care to patients. The only distinction is that you will be dealing with patients with emotional and mental disorders in different settings, including hospitals and rehabilitation centers. Below are examples of some of your responsibilities as a licensed psychiatric technician:
- Administering medications and injections to patients
- Overseeing a patient’s treatments and rehabilitation
- Helping patients with mental disorders maintain their personal hygiene
- Executing the necessary procedures per the protocols set by the supervising physician and hospital
As you can see above, as a psychiatric technician, your job could require you to perform duties unrelated to a patient’s emotional and mental health, including maintaining their personal hygiene. Since mentally ill people can be challenging to deal with, it takes a compassionate and passionate person to become a psychiatric technician.
In addition to all these responsibilities, it is your job to monitor your patients’ behavior patterns during the treatment duration and inform the relevant personnel of all your observations. The hospital or rehabilitation center you work for may also ask you to conduct group or individual psychotherapy sessions as part of a specific treatment or as prescribed by a doctor.
Sadly, despite all the efforts you put into ensuring your patients receive the best treatment and services they deserve, an error or misunderstanding with a patient could jeopardize your career as a psychiatric technician. The nature of your job puts you at risk of complaints or lawsuits, which could put your practice license at risk of revocation or suspension.
The BVNPT’s Mission and Complaints or Violations That Could Attract a Disciplinary Action
The BVNPT is the agency that issues a practice license to psychiatric technicians and vocational nurses. The BVNPT helps protect patients against malpractice and other unethical practices by ensuring you, as the vocational nurse or psychiatric technician, remain professional at work.
When accused of any misconduct, the board can take disciplinary action against you, including revocation of your practice license. That is why it is vital to hire an attorney when accused of any misconduct or violation to help challenge the allegations and increase your odds of securing a favorable outcome in the case.
Below are common complaints and allegations that could jeopardize your practice license as a psychiatric technician or LVN:
Negligence and Incompetence
Looking after a patient is not a walk in the park, and even a minor mistake could cost your patient’s life or cause him/her to sustain severe injuries. For example, when you administer the wrong medications to a patient by mistake, the patient could die. When that happens, his/her family members or co-workers can file negligence or incompetence allegations against you.
Use of Illegal or Controlled Substances
Another common and severe violation that many psychiatric technicians and LVNs make is to use controlled substances while at work or sell them to patients. Since alcohol and drugs impair your ability to work and care for patients cautiously, this violation could attract serious disciplinary actions, including revocation or suspension of your practice license.
The seriousness of the disciplinary action you will face will depend on the nature of the controlled substance involved. Additionally, you could face criminal charges for drug possession, leading to incarceration and hefty fines.
If a patient, coworker, or someone else has filed a complaint against you with the board alleging that you have committed a violation involving the use or sale of controlled drug substances, you should speak with an attorney immediately. Having an attorney intervene early in your case is key to securing a desirable outcome.
Unprofessional Conduct
Sometimes, a patient may accuse you of unprofessionalism in how you offer your services, despite your efforts to treat them professionally. When that happens, your practice license could be at risk of suspension. Here are a few examples of acts that count as unprofessional behavior or conduct and attract disciplinary actions:
- Failing to keep your patients’ information confidential
- Failing to document and keep your patient records
- Borrowing your patient’s money
Deviating from the Required Professional Standards
Your patient or his/her loved ones could file a complaint against you with the board when they feel that you are deviating from the required professional standards. For example, when a patient feels like you are administering the wrong treatment or something different from the agreed-upon, he/she could file complaints against you with the licensing board.
Sexual or Physical Abuse of a Patient or Colleague
Another ground for license suspension or revocation by the BVNPT is allegations involving sexual or physical abuse of a patient. A patient can accuse you of sexually or physically assaulting him/her. If not aggressively challenged, these allegations could result in the suspension or loss of your practice license, which would significantly impact your source of income.
A Conviction for any Criminal Offense
Medical practitioners are humans and could face misdemeanor or felony criminal charges as well. If you are under arrest for a crime that involves moral turpitude, including rape or drug trafficking, the administrative law judge (ALJ) could suggest revocation of your license by the licensing board.
The BVNPT will also be more inclined to revoke your vocational nurse or psychiatric practice license if your offense is closely related to your profession and duties. For example, an elder abuse offense is an offense closely related to your profession as an LVN or psychiatric technician.
Dishonest or Fraudulent Work Related to Your Roles
You may face the BVNPT’s disciplinary actions if a patient accuses you of fraudulently charging them for services or treatment you did not provide. Another fraudulent issue that could lead to disciplinary action against you is falsifying a doctor’s prescription to secure drugs for a patient.
If you are a licensed psychiatric technician or LVN, maintaining authenticity in your practice is crucial to building a great reputation and achieving longevity in this industry. However, when you face claims involving fraudulent transactions, you have options. With the legal assistance of a qualified attorney, you can challenge these allegations to secure a favorable outcome.
Violating Probation Terms Imposed for a Previous Misconduct or Violation
The BNVPT can take several disciplinary actions against you when a patient, colleague, or any other person files a complaint against you. For example, the licensing board put your practice license on probation. That means you can offer your services during the probation duration. Unfortunately, due to the passion you have for your work, you could be tempted to offer your services to a patient in need.
When the BNVPT learns about this, and there is sufficient evidence to prove you willingly and knowingly offered your services while your license is on probation, the board could revoke it permanently. Nonetheless, all hopes are not lost if you have an aggressive attorney on your side.
An aggressive and experienced attorney can help craft defense arguments that convince the board to consider a lenient disciplinary action.
An Overview of the BNVPT’s Disciplinary Process
Here is an overview of the disciplinary process to expect when the BNVPT receives a misconduct or complaint claim against you from a patient, colleague, or any other party:
Complaints and Investigation
When the board receives an allegation or complaint against you, it will begin an investigation to find more information about the case.
Statement of Issues
If the investigation finds sufficient evidence, the BNVPT could state issues or accusations. The statement acts as the charging sheet, detailing the allegations lodged against you.
Accusation
When you fail to respond to the allegations lodged against you within a specific duration, the BNVPT will impose the intended disciplinary action by default. However, when you respond to the accusation within fifteen days, the board will schedule your case for an administrative hearing.
Administrative Hearing
At the administrative hearing, you will meet an ALJ who will determine whether you deserve disciplinary action. If the ALJ finds sufficient evidence against you, he/she will recommend an appropriate disciplinary action to the BNVPT. Then the board will decide whether to impose the suggested disciplinary action against you or modify it to suit the seriousness of your violation.
Appeal
If your attorney believes the BNVPT decision is unfair, he/she could help you file an appeal at the appellate court. However, it is worth noting that an appellate judge does not accept the introduction of any new evidence in your case. That means he/she will use the existing evidence to determine whether your violation deserves disciplinary action.
How an Attorney Can Help When Facing a Complaint that Can Compromise Your Vocational Nurse or Psychiatric Technician License
A seasoned attorney can offer you the invaluable assistance you need to maneuver the BNVPT’s disciplinary process to secure a desirable outcome.You should retain the services of a qualified license defense attorney immediately once you learn that your psychiatric technician or vocational nurse license is at risk of revocation or suspension. The attorney you will hire will do the following:
- Offer you legal advice
- Investigate your case independently
- Negotiate with the BNVPT
- Present legal defense arguments at the administrative hearing
- Appeal your case if necessary
- Help you with compliance with any imposed disciplinary action
Find a Reputable License Defense Attorney Near Me
A seasoned and aggressive criminal defense attorney can help level the playing field when facing any allegation or complaint that could compromise your practice license as a psychiatric technician or LVN. At Oakland License Attorney, we are pleased to offer you legal counsel and assistance during these challenging times, helping you stand a better chance of securing a desirable outcome.
We invite you to call us at 510-250-4709 to learn about your legal options and how our credible license defense attorneys can help you protect your source of livelihood.
