Nursing Board Renewals-What to answer?
If a nurse is currently under investigation by the Texas BON and is renewing his/her license, what does the nurse answer to the question: “Are you currently the target or subject of a grand jury or governmental agency investigation?” According to the Board, the answer is “yes” even though the BON knows about the investigation since they are conducting it, a nurse still needs to answer “yes.”
This is a change from what we have always thought–that since the questions are meant to disclose unknown situations or occurrences, an investigation by the BON does not need to be disclosed to the BON. But the Board wants to make sure there are no areas of confusion and they want everything disclosed to them even if the nurse thinks the Board knows about an issue, the nurse should disclose it. The only exception is when the nurse receives a letter from the Board informing the nurse he/she no longer has to disclose a specific listed occurrence (Hint-Make sure you keep this letter forever in case it becomes an issue later on).
Don’t forget to disclose pending charges for criminal incidents as well as needing to disclose deferred adjudications, pleas of nolo contendere, or no contest. These questions continue to trip up nurses. Above all, read the questions carefully EACH time you renew. Questions change and a failure to answer truthfully will result in a BON investigation. Also, don’t wait until the last few weeks to renew. A nurse can renew up to 60 days prior to the end of the renewal period–early is better.