A nurse who immigrated from the Philippines and was the only foreign-born nurse in a central Texas hospital faced multiple discriminatory complaints that put her license in jeopardy.<\/p>\n
Another nurse in a delivery room twice reported to administration a doctor who didn\u2019t show up on time for a delivery, putting patients in danger. The doctor retaliated by filing a complaint against her. After two years, many negotiations and an expert report, the board agreed she had done nothing wrong.<\/p>\n
Still another nurse who worked with a disgruntled former boyfriend faced false charges of writing prescriptions for controlled substances without a doctor\u2019s orders.<\/p>\n
These complaints against the nurses were false, and yet all three faced investigations from their state licensing boards and were put in jeopardy of losing their nursing license. In all cases, the complaints were dismissed and the nurses were able to continue their careers unfettered, thanks in part to URI College of Nursing alumna Joyce Stamp Lilly, a nurse-lawyer who offers a wealth of advice and information to help nurses navigate the complicated world of responding to investigations conducted by a state board of nursing.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone can file a complaint with the board, and if there\u2019s a complaint, the board has to investigate,\u201d said Lilly, who represents nurses and also runs websites to advise nurses in such situations. \u201cIt\u2019s a terrible thing for a nurse to get a letter from the state board; it is devastating and very disheartening. The nurse has to respond to the board correctly and professionally, and sometimes nurses don\u2019t know the process. Nurses need to have an avenue whereby they know what they have to do. That\u2019s why, even if you have a lawyer, you have this website to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lilly has two websites \u2014 www.nurselawyer.com<\/a>, where nurses can hire her as their attorney; and nursingcomplainthelp.com<\/a>, a self-help consultation website that spells out exactly what nurses need to do if a complaint is filed against them. The website features videos that walk nurses through exactly what to expect when called before a state board. It contains downloadable responses to the board, downloadable character letters and more, so people can understand the process of responding to a state board investigation \u2014 no matter what state it is.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to understand of the process. The rules may be slightly different from one state to the next, but the process is the same,\u201d Lilly said. \u201cThe nurse must answer with a professional looking, well-written response, and nurses don\u2019t always know how to word it properly, or what to include. This website is a culmination of all the experience I have had during years representing nurses. I always advise people to get legal counsel, but a lot of times nurses may not be able to spend the money; or they prefer to respond on their own. That\u2019s why the website is important \u2014 it gives a great deal of information, and knowledge is power.\u201d<\/p>\n There are myriad reasons a complaint could be filed against a nurse \u2014 a documentation error, some kind of treatment mistake, a medication error \u2014 and anyone can file a complaint, including a patient, patient\u2019s family or even a coworker. Once a complaint is filed, states require a nurse to respond quickly, some within 20 days, even if she hasn\u2019t received the records to review to defend herself. A nurse needs to know to request the documentation against her, and that she can request an extension to respond.<\/p>\n \u201cThe nurse has to go through the documents to see if there\u2019s anything that helps in her response to the board, or, just as important, if there\u2019s anything that could harm her,\u201d Lilly said. \u201cThe board can come up with a new allegation if they look at the record and see something below standards, and they may send another letter. Some states might try to do a short investigation asking for a response without the nurse having the documents. The nurse needs to know to request them. That\u2019s why this website is really, really helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n Even more helpful is having a lawyer who is also a nurse, one who understands the culture of nursing and the daily demands placed on them. A nurse-lawyer understands how hospital staffing problems can lead to errors, and how nurses can get overwhelmed. They understand a nurse may have five other patients, or might be in a code, or the pharmacy may be backed up and medication might not be given at the right time through no fault of the nurse.<\/p>\n \u201cYou always should accept responsibility if you did something wrong, but you always should consider mitigating circumstances,\u201d Lilly said. \u201cI know what nurses are supposed to do. Non-nurses often don\u2019t. So if possible, get a nurse-attorney. But if you cannot, at the very least, I advise they go to nursingcomplainthelp.com<\/a> to get the information they need and see examples of real responses. They need to know the process.\u201d<\/p>\n Lilly understands the process, having served as a registered nurse for several years after graduating from URI in 1975. She then became an attorney, focusing on personal injury and medical malpractice. Her biggest focus is representing nurses before the state board in Texas, where she practices in the city of Houston. While she is no longer licensed to practice law in Rhode Island, she is able to consult with nurses here and in any other state, assisting with their responses or refering them to a qualified attorney in their area.<\/p>\n For her dedication to health care and her years representing nurses, Lilly has been named one of 75 \u201cLuminaries\u201d to represent the College<\/a> in celebration of its 75th<\/sup> anniversary<\/a>. She also serves on the advisory committee to Dean Barbara Wolfe.<\/p>\n Her most important advice, however, is to nurses facing challenges to their careers. She offers a free consultation phone call, in addition to the information on her website, will review documentation and advise nurses even states in which she doesn\u2019t practice. Ultimately, though, it is up to a nurse facing a complaint to use his or her best judgment to respond properly, and she needs the knowledge to do so.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important to remember that anyone can file a complaint, so just because you get a letter doesn\u2019t mean you are a bad nurse,\u201d Lilly said. \u201cUltimately, you are your best advocate, so you need to know what to do and how to best respond. It all sounds very complicated and stressful, and I understand that. That\u2019s why the website<\/a> is so helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nursingcomplainthelp.com is go-to reference for licensing board complaints, legal issues A nurse who immigrated from the Philippines and was the only foreign-born nurse in a central Texas hospital faced multiple discriminatory complaints that put her license in jeopardy. Another nurse in a delivery room twice reported to administration a doctor who didn\u2019t show up on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1710,"featured_media":18326,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1710"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18317"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18337,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18317\/revisions\/18337"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}