Being a nurse is a very challenging career to choose. It requires long hours, an irregular schedule, and is very physical. Along with that, there is a real risk of catching a disease from a sick patient. Whether you are a family nurse or working in the ER, it is a job that you essentially have to be born for.

One of the risks of being a nurse is doing something that can put your license at risk. There are some facets of the job that if done incorrectly can carry some serious consequences. Luckily, you can hire an attorney for nurses to appeal a lost license. Yet, it’s always better to avoid doing something that gets you suspended nursing license.

In this article, we will go over several of the things you should avoid doing when working as a nurse.

1 – Patient confidentiality breach

It is illegal to talk about a patient’s medical information when you deal with them as a nurse. Patients expect confidentiality when they are in the hospital. This means that you can’t tell anybody about their condition, treatment, or any other personal information. There are several layers of confidentiality and not all of them will result in losing your license.

However, there is certain ethical behavior that is expected. You shouldn’t gossip with your colleagues about a patient, for instance. This may not result in losing your license, but it is unprofessional and unethical. You could face some repercussions from your employer as a result of what you say about a patient even if you aren’t in violation of breaching confidentiality.

2 – Diverting drugs

Diverting drugs can easily be defined as stealing them. This isn’t always the case and doesn’t always accurately describe the act of diverting drugs. However, whether you outright steal them, or use them when they shouldn’t be used is a serious offense and you will have difficulty getting your license restored if you are found to be doing this.

In fact, there is a possibility of jail time since there is a serious opioid crisis going on in the US right now. If you are caught taking drugs for yourself or giving them to somebody else that wasn’t prescribed then there will almost certainly be a criminal case brought against you.

3 – Neglecting patients

It’s understandable to get burnt out and be too tired to fulfill your job to the best of your ability. Unfortunately, shortcuts are common when people are overworked. However, neglecting a patient is a serious offense and can have serious consequences.

If you decide to stop answering a patient’s calls then you are putting that person at risk. If you feel they are crying wolf then you still have to respond since there could be a problem that ignoring will exacerbate.

Make sure that no matter how tired you are, or how busy, you don’t neglect a patient. If a patient were to have a problem that is made worse because you didn’t bother to check on them or to respond to their call then your license will be revoked.