Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Discusses Maintaining Your Nursing License While in Drug or Alcohol Treatment

No profession is free of addiction issues. That said, with high stress, significant opportunity for injuries, and easy access to prescription medications, nursing is a profession ripe for drug and alcohol abuse. Nurses who seek treatment for their addiction should not lose their nursing licenses or suffer a suspension while they undergo treatment.  But what is the best way to both attain the treatment you need and protect your license? That is a question that requires assistance from an experienced licensing attorney, and I have written the following blog post to answer it.

If you are a licensed professional in Kansas or Missouri facing an allegation of misconduct or an investigation, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Your career, reputation, and livelihood are at risk, and the challenge facing you is one you cannot work your way through alone.

Addiction is a Real Risk

While nurses know better than anyone about the risks of alcohol and drug dependence, stress, injuries, and easy access to drugs make addiction a risk that should not be underestimated. If a nurse is found to be working while suffering from addiction in Kansas or Missouri, a range of penalties could ensue, ranging from mandatory drug testing to license suspension to license revocation.  Seeking treatment for the addiction seems like a reasonable course of conduct, but it can trigger an investigation.

Keeping Your License While Attaining the Help You Need

Working with an experienced licensing attorney, you can notify your employer of a need to take leave, even just intermittent leave, to attain drug or alcohol treatment.  Your right to take this leave may be protected under the federal Family Medical Leave Act, but you will want to notify your employer in a manner that does not trigger suspicion that you have been practicing nursing while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. You will want your notification to your employer to be specific, but it must also avoid any language that could suggest that an investigation is warranted. In the end, the goal is that your employer will be on notice of your need to seek treatment, the timeframe that that treatment will require, yet will also be assured that you will be able to return to work once again as a responsible nursing professional.

As the following description indicates, you may have a challenge ahead of you. Your priority is to get sober, and it will be easier to do that knowing that your livelihood is not in jeopardy. Having an experienced licensing attorney help, you document your needs and expectations is the first step to getting your life back in order. 

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now for the Advice You Need

If you are attaining drug or alcohol treatment, you are taking a step in the right direction and should not be penalized for dealing with your problems proactively. That said, too often nurses are punished when they admit they have a drug or alcohol problem.  You have worked too hard to attain your professional license to lose it because you failed to attain professional legal advice when sought help. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney now can mean the difference between getting back to helping your patients and losing your career forever.

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger is prepared to advocate for your best interests and defend your nursing license. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with professional licensing issues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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