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NURSING FACT SHEET
Nevada State Board of
What Happens When
What is a complaint?
You File A Complaint?
A complaint contains a Who investigates your complaint?
detailed description of How is the complaint investigated?
What are the potential outcomes?
alleged behavior that
violates the Nurse It is the responsibility of the Nevada State Board of Nursing to protect the health, safety
Practice Act. It must and welfare of Nevada’s citizens by regulating the practice of nursing.
include the name of the One way the Board does this is through the disciplinary process. If the Board receives
nurse or nursing assis- information that a licensed nurse or certified nursing assistant (CNA) may have broken the law
tant, and it must be (the Nevada Nurse Practice Act), the Board has the authority to investigate.
submitted in writing and
What are common types of If the complaint meets the criteria, or the
signed by the person
violations? Board has directed an investigation, the matter is
making the complaint. Practicing beyond scope then assigned to one of four investigators who
Negligence, abuse, exploitation each handle about 100 active cases at a time.
Who can make a
Fraudulent application (e.g. failing to
complaint?
Anyone who has informa-
report criminal convictions or previous Who investigates your complaint?
disciplinary action) The Board’s investigators are registered
tion that a person may
Problems with drugs and/or alcohol nurses who receive extensive training in inves-
have violated the Nurse
which result in impaired practice tigative procedure and analysis. Their nursing
Practice Act may make a Incompetence experience and expertise cover a wide variety
complaint. This includes Criminal convictions related to the of nursing specialties.
consumers, other qualifications, functions and duties of a
regulatory agencies, and nurse or CNA How do nurses and CNAs
other nurses or profes- know if a complaint has been
sionals. Some nurses What happens when the Board filed against them?
report themselves and receives a complaint? They receive a notification by certified
seek assistance in The complaint is reviewed to ensure it letter, containing the allegations submitted
handling a problem in a is signed by the person making the com- against them and the name of the person(s)
plaint, names a nurse or nursing assistant who filed the complaint.
way that best protects
who is licensed or certified in the state of It describes their rights, including the op-
the public. The law
Nevada, and alleges a violation of the portunity to respond to the allegations and the
provides, in the absence
Nurse Practice Act. right to representation by an attorney at any
of bad faith, any person
Board staff, including Board counsel, time during the investigation. The notice also
who reports such
then determine if the information alone or informs them about potential disciplinary out-
information or who together with evidence, documentary or comes, including the possibility of being
testifies before the Board otherwise, is sufficient to require an inves- charged hearing costs.
in a hearing shall not be tigation. This means that the information It also contains the name and telephone
liable for civil damages. submitted, at face value, would be a poten- number of the investigator assigned to their
tial violation of the Nurse Practice Act. case. This notice is the first step in the investi-
gation process.
What happens during an What are the potential
Who is required to report investigation? disciplinary outcomes?
violations? An investigation involves gathering
While anyone can file a and reviewing a variety of documents, some 1. The complaint is closed.
If the evidence obtained is not suf-
complaint, certain persons are of which may have to be subpoenaed. For
ficient to support a violation of the
required by law to report example, an investigator may obtain rel-
Nurse Practice Act, the complaint may be
violations of the Nurse evant parts of personnel files and patient
closed by Board staff. The Board notifies
Practice Act. Those persons records. Interviewing witnesses is also an
you by letter.
include individuals providing
important component.
The fact an investigation is taking Reasons the Board may close your complaint:
medical services who are
place is not public information—if ques-
licensed or certified to Lack of jurisdiction (the individual is not a
tions are asked by the news media or others,
practice in Nevada, law nurse or CNA, or the complaint is about the
the Board cannot confirm or deny that any facility, billing practices, or other area over
enforcement personnel, social
investigation is in process. which the Board has no legal jurisdiction)
workers, and medical
administrators. What happens after all the Lack of sufficient evidence, for example, if
the case is solely that of one person’s word
evidence has been gathered? against another’s
What if I’m not sure if it After gathering and analyzing the data,
really is a violation? the investigator presents the evidence for Incident happened so long ago that docu-
Call the Board’s Reno office ments and witnesses are unavailable
internal review. A decision is made to pur-
and ask to talk with one of sue the complaint or close the investigation. The violation did not rise to the level of
the investigators. When an investigation is closed, the discipline (for example, a single medication
investigative file is confidential and is not error with no patient harm)
What are some examples available to the public. You will receive a The error was a result of the system, not
of violations? letter letting you know the complaint has the individual
Evidence of impaired been closed.
practice, even though the The problem had already been identified by
If the complaint is pursued, ongoing the individual and/or employer and addressed
nurse may have a valid reviews of the investigation, its progress, through remediation
prescription for controlled and its conclusions are done by the Board’s
substances director of operations, its executive director, This list is only meant to provide examples. Each
complaint is reviewed thoroughly to determine
Any violation that results and the Board’s general counsel. whether it does constitute a violation of the law.
in patient death, or patient
What you should know about the Options you may take if your complaint is
harm to the extent that
investigator’s position as it closed:
additional hospitalization is
requried,
relates to you and the complaint.
submit more evidence
The investigator is an independent
Conduct that requires
fact-gatherer whose position is to obtain as go up the chain of command at the facility
further nursing or medical where the problem occurred (if you haven’t
much information regarding the complaint
intervention, which would done so already)
allegations as possible. It is not the position
not have otherwise been of the investigator to prove the individual file a complaint with another agency that
necessary guilty or innocent, but rather to collect in- may have jurisdiction
formation and evidence regarding the alle-
gations.
Nevada State Board of Nursing, 5011 Meadowood Mall Way, Suite 300, Reno, NV 89502 775-687-7700 (or toll-free 888-590-6726)
2. The individual may enter into a and Notice of Hearing, which is sent to the
settlement agreement. nurse or CNA with a notification of the What are common types of
If the evidence supports a violation of date and approximate time of the hearing disciplinary actions?
the Nurse Practice Act, the nurse or CNA at least 21 working days before the When considering what kind of
may be offered a Settlement Agreement. scheduled hearing. Depending on the na- disciplinary action it should
The type of agreement offered de- ture of the case, you may be subpoenaed take, the Board always asks
pends on the nature of the violation and to testify at the hearing. itself, “What is needed to
any pattern of behavior. During the administrative hearing, make this person safe to
A Settlement Agreement includes an ad- the general counsel presents the Board’s practice?” The answer
mission that a violation has occurred, and case. Then the nurse or CNA and/or at- depends on the nature of the
is an agreement between the nurse or CNA torney have the opportunity to present violation, and can range from
and the Board for disciplinary action. their side of the case and call and cross-
If the nurse or CNA signs the agree- reprimanding an individual and
examine any witnesses. The Board mem-
ment, the agreement is placed on the ordering the person to attend a
bers may ask questions of the participants
Board’s agenda for the next available Board legal ethics class to revoking
at any point in the hearing.
meeting and is not implemented until ac- the person’s license or
The Board members consider each
cepted by the Board. (The Board may ac- case individually, taking both mitigating certificate. Outlined in the
cept or reject the agreement, providing one and aggravating circumstances into ac- Nurse Practice Act, NRS
of the many checks and balances in the count. These seven independent people 632.325, discipline actions
discipline process.) bring different backgrounds, experiences available to the Board include:
Upon acceptance of the settlement and perspectives to the Board, which leads Citation and/or Fine
agreement, the Board will send you a letter to a balanced exploration of all sides of a Reprimand
notifying you that your complaint resulted case. Probation
in disciplinary action. In addition, the ac- Suspension
After hearing the case, the Board Revocation
tion is published on the list of disciplinary will decide if the nurse or CNA is guilty
actions taken by the Board and reported to of violating the Nurse Practice Act and Whom can I call if I have
the National Council of State Boards of issue an order identifying its decision. questions about the
Nursing (NCSBN) and other relevant na- If you are present, you will know complaint or disciplinary
tional databanks, such as the National the Board’s decision at the end of the process?
Practitioner Data Bank, and/or the Health- hearing. If you are not, you will be notified by The Board encourages you to
care Integrity and Protection Data Bank. mail. call any time you have a
The nurse or CNA must complete all Actions the Board can take range question about the discipline
requirements of the agreement within the from dismissing the complaint to revok- process or what constitutes a
scheduled time frame or be subject to fur- ing a license or certificate for up to 10 violation of the Nurse Practice
ther disciplinary action by the Board. years. If a nurse or CNA is found guilty Act. Just call the Reno office
of a violation, he or she may be ordered and ask for one of the nurse
3. The nurse or CNA can have a formal hearing to pay investigation and hearing costs.
before the Board. investigators or the director of
The disciplinary action will be pub- operations.
If the matter cannot be resolved
lished on the list of disciplinary actions
through the settlement process or the nurse
the Board has taken and reported to the
or CNA requests a formal hearing, the case
NCSBN, and other relevant national
will be presented to the Board.
databanks, such as the National Practitio-
The Board’s general counsel files for-
ner Data Bank, and/or the Healthcare
mal charges in an Administrative Complaint
Integrity and Protection Data Bank.
Nevada State Board of Nursing, 5011 Meadowood Mall Way, Suite 300, Reno, NV 89502 775-687-7700 (or toll-free 888-590-6726)
The Complaint Process
(The Nevada State Board of Nursing follows this process
If a complaint is filed
for all complaints against nurses or nursing assistants)
against a nurse or CNA,
what are their due Someone submits a written, signed complaint alleging
process rights? a nurse or CNA violated the Nurse Practice Act.
the right to submit a
response to the complaint
and/or discuss it with the The allegations are reviewed by Board
investigator. staff to determine if the information is
the right to consult with sufficient to require an investigation.
an attorney at any time
during the course of an
investigation. However, it is A complaint is opened and A complaint is not opened because the
not mandatory that an assigned to a nurse investigator. information submitted, at face value,
does not identify a potential violation
individual has attorney of the Nurse Practice Act.*
representation. The nurse or CNA receives a notifica-
the right to obtain a copy tion by certified letter, containing the
of the complaint (by written allegations submitted against them
and the name of the complainant.*
request and a 60-cents-per-
page copying fee).
the right to a formal A nurse investigator gathers and reviews The complaint is closed. The evidence
hearing before the Board documents (including any information obtained is not sufficient to support a
regarding the allegations you provided), interviews witnesses, and violation of the Nurse Practice Act.*
presents the evidence for review.
against the nurse or CNA.
Upon receipt of an
Administrative Complaint The nurse or CNA enters into The nurse or CNA has a formal
and Notice of Hearing, the a settlement agreement. hearing before the Board.
right to all evidence which
may be presented against
Depending on the The Board takes The Board closes
the nurse or CNA at the
nature of the viola- disciplinary action or dismisses the
hearing (copying fee tion, the nurse or CNA against the nurse or complaint.*
applies), and the right to be may agree to receive CNA, ranging from a
disciplinary action public reprimand to
informed of laws and ranging from a public revocation of the
regulations involved. reprimand to a license or certificate.
At the formal administra- voluntary surrender of
license or certificate.
tive hearing, the right to
present evidence and
witnesses on their behalf, The Board accepts the The Board renegotiates the
and to cross-examine settlement agreement. settlement agreement.
witnesses presented by the
Board. The disciplinary action is published on the list of
*The Board notifies disciplinary actions taken by the Board and reported to
the right to appeal. the National Council of State Boards of Nursing and
the complainant
of the action taken. other relevant national databanks.*
1-9-08
Nevada State Board of Nursing, 5011 Meadowood Mall Way, Suite 300, Reno, NV 89502 775-687-7700 (or toll-free 888-590-6726)
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