Tag Archive for: Kansas professional licensing attorney

How to Know When to Negotiate a Favorable Disposition or Defend Against the Charges

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Developing an effective defense strategy against allegations of professional licensing misconduct starts with a detailed examination of the circumstances. There cannot be a practical method to devise a winning defense strategy without a comprehensive review of the claims and the factual underpinnings.

Understanding the facts and circumstances of the charges is important and it is important to conduct a complete investigation to uncover the strengths and weaknesses of the government’s case. Sometimes a thorough investigation will reveal that the best strategy is to negotiate a favorable disposition of the action. In other circumstances, the better solution is to defend the Accused until the bitter end.

Our professional licensing attorney will have several considerations to analyze before notifying a client of the feasible outcome of the disciplinary action. Any licensing defense attorney who represents a client has the duty of advising the client about all of the possible avenues the litigation and all potential outcomes of each avenue. The license defense attorney will also advise the client about the benefits and pitfalls of each choice.

Inexperienced attorneys often fail to provide their clients with a complete analysis of their cases. Those attorneys often dump the decisions on the client. Of course, the client ultimately makes the decision in the end. However, an effective legal representative will talk through each scenario to flush out the best potential outcome.

Our seasoned professional licensing attorney will evaluate her client’s tolerance for risk prior to advising the client on a particular defense strategy. There are few clients who want to “roll the dice” and see what occurs at their full hearing. But most people are more cautious and want to reduce their exposure. 

The question is: how do you know which direction to go?

Naturally, the answer to this question is not always an absolute certainty. The professional licensing attorney has to advise their client entirely and answer all of the legal questions that the client has at the time. Moreover, no one is bound to a course of action after a decision is made on a defense strategy. There are times when a hybrid approach is the best option.

In some cases, clients will ask their attorney to negotiate the best disposition possible in their case. An experienced licensing attorney would negotiate with the prosecuting attorney to arrive at an arrangement that is in your best interest. If no agreement can be reached, then you and your attorney will need to evaluate the situation. In many cases, defending the case until the very end is the best option and produces the best results 

Discuss All of Your Options with A Trusted Professional Licensing Advocate

Missouri and Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger has a well-earned reputation as a trusted advocate for professional licensees. You could rely on her experience and expertise to guide you through a difficult and challenging juncture in your career. Call Attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to find out more.

Practicing Licensed Social Work Requires Dedication and Focus on Ethics

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Becoming a licensed social worker can be a challenge and a blessing. As a profession, licensed social workers are uniquely poised to do good in every situation. They embody the idea they will not harm, not only their clients but to the public at large and their profession.  

The idea of obtaining a license issued by a governmental body to practice social work, or any other profession, has encountered significant opposition in recent years. Some practitioners opine that licensure in every state in which a social worker wishes to practice is a bar to employment and a restriction upon their mobility as a human. They also observe that licensing requirements do little to benefit the profession of social workers and the clients they serve.

Conversely, some social workers maintain that licensing in every state of practice serves the greater good and, in turn, protects the practice of social work as a profession, and the practitioner as well.

Becoming a social worker is no small feat. Studies are rigorous and take a substantial amount of time to complete. Additionally, there are licensing exams that must be taken — and passed — before practicing.

Rarely does the social worker’s career path encounter resistance and adversity from time to time. Practicing social work is demanding, and the demands of the profession will change a social worker’s career trajectory from time to time. Fortunately, the Code of Ethics for Social Workers is in place to guide social workers who might become entangled in the stresses of social work and could make a critical error.

Of course, the Code of Ethics is not a suggestion about how a social worker should act. The Code of Ethics is a legal obligation. The Code of Ethics protects the public from unscrupulous or unqualified social workers. The Code of Ethics also helps maintain a minimum standard of practice so that clients feel safe and derive the intended benefits of working with a social worker.

Social workers should feel protected in their profession. Licensing helps in this regard. Licensing ensures that only qualified individuals perform the duties of a social worker. The profession receives protection from unqualified people passing themselves off as social workers who would have no accountability to a licensing authority and the profession as a whole. Holding a social worker license lends credibility to the practitioner and helps maintain the integrity of the practice as a whole across the state.

Social workers’ licensing requirements primarily serve as a method to protect vulnerable populations from undue influence and harm. Social workers are in a position to influence the decisions of their clients and can affect their clients’ lives negatively. For example, a social worker who is overwhelmed by the demands of the job could fall into the trap of substance misuse, which could lead to attendance problems and financial difficulties.  If that occurs, then the quality of care will suffer.

If you are a social worker who has encountered personal difficulties, then you should proactively address the issues before the licensing board initiates disciplinary action. Social workers should rely on their network of co-workers and tap into the valuable resources they have at their disposal to rectify any burgeoning difficulties before the licensing board takes corrective measures to prevent further public harm while preserving the faith and trust people instill in the social worker profession.

Social Worker Licensing Defense Attorney

Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger focuses her law practice on representing professional licensees who are under investigation or are facing licensing discipline in Kansas or Missouri. Call Attorney Sanger for an appointment today at 785-979-4353 to learn how she could help you today.

Privileged Communications in Kansas

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Patients expect that their conversations with psychologists, psychiatrists, and doctors would be privileged, and not merely confidential. A privileged communication in Kansas is one in which the psychologist cannot disclose except in very limited circumstances under Kansas law. Disclosure of privileged communication is grounds for disciplinary action. Therefore, the psychologist must understand the nature of the privilege and when communications may be .

Kansas statute 74-5323 indicates that the communications and relationship between a psychologist and a patient are privileged in the same manner in which the attorney-client relationship is privileged. Therefore, a psychologist cannot testify in court about anything a patient told him or her and cannot disclose statements to police or another person unless there is an imminent threat of harm to oneself or another, or in another circumstance which Kansas law requires disclosure as provided in Kansas statutes 60-426.

Notwithstanding the prohibition against disclosure of communications from a patient to a psychologist, 74-5323 allows the psychologist to testify about several matters wherein privileged communications might be disclosed. Subsection b of 74-5323 allows the psychologist to testify in matters concerning adult abuse, neglect, adoption, matters concerning the welfare of children, or when the psychologist seeks advice from professional colleagues or superiors when acting on behalf of the patient.

Other professions such as professional counselors, social workers, marital therapists, addiction workers, and other professions in which members of the public disclose private thoughts, feelings, and ideas as part of mental or emotional therapy are bound by rules of confidentiality. The doctor-patient privilege in Kansas receives slightly different treatment.

Kansas statutes 60-427 is the rule of evidence that delineates when a physician or another practitioner of the healing arts in Kansas to testify in court about communications and other information gained from the doctor’s patient during medical treatment. Under Kansas law, communications between a patient and a physician are more aptly described as confidential rather than truly privileged.

Under 60-427, communications between patient and doctor are presumed confidential when made in confidence by the patient with the expectation that the communications are confidential. In other words, the doctor must hold the communications private unless an exception to the presumption applies.

In a court action, a person can claim a privilege and prevent a physician from testifying in certain circumstances. Thus, a person who is not a party to an action can object to a witness testifying about confidential communication in court if the judge rules that the communication was confidential between the patient and doctor, the communication was necessary for diagnosis or treatment, the witness holds the privilege, or that the person holding information obtained it through an intentional breach of confidence. If the judge rules that these conditions do not exist, then the person may disclose the communications and is protected by law for disclosing them.

Physicians may disclose confidential patient communications is other circumstances as well. The physician may testify about communications when the legal proceedings involve the commitment of the patient, guardianship, or conservatorship of the patient. Additionally, there is no privilege when the doctor testifies about diagnosis and treatment related to a claim that is part of the legal proceeding. The most common example of this exception is a medical malpractice lawsuit or a personal injury lawsuit.

There is no privilege for blood draws made pursuant to a warrant or by the request of a law enforcement officer or when the patient makes a disclosure to commit an unlawful act.

Understanding Privileges Helps Avoid Professional Discipline

Professional licensing defense attorney Danielle Sanger is available to consult with professional licensees regarding their legal obligations so they can avoid pitfalls that could lead to professional discipline. Call Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a consultation.

 

Unmanaged Stress Can Lead to Mistakes and Professional Discipline

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Stress is a normal reaction to certain situations. Stress actually benefits us as humans in the long run. Our fight or flight stress response helps keep us alive. Additionally, experiencing stress in certain circumstances like when taking an exam in school, planning a wedding, or focusing on a project at work helps us focus and motivates us to get the job done. Some people relish in the pressure and rise to the occasion, whatever that might be. Stress befalls us when we make a change in our lives like when we change jobs, move to a new city, get divorced or, experience the loss of a loved one. In that sense, stress is a part of life and it is unavoidable. Handling stress depends on the individual.

While we cannot avoid stress, we must also learn to manage stress. Otherwise, we run the risk of experiencing bouts of depression, gaining weight, not sleeping, have family problems, and run the risk of poor job performance. Poor job performance for professional licensees such as medical doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals in addition to any other profession or occupational licensees, can lead to problems at work, culminating with professional discipline.

Kansas and Missouri professional and occupational disciplinary defense attorney Danielle Sanger understand how stress can affect people’s lives. She knows that stressful situations can put undue pressure on people to perform. Constant pressure and stress can break even the strongest person. If you find yourself in a situation as a professional or occupational licensee in Kansas or Missouri facing a disciplinary charge because of stress-induced incident, contact Attorney Danielle Sanger. Attorney Sanger has tremendous experience fighting for people who have succumbed to stressors in their professional and personal lives who face professional discipline.

The National Institute of Mental Health reported on the long-term impacts chronic stress has on a person. Persistent, long-term stress, which is different acute stress, takes a massive toll on the body’s systems until the stress level returns to normal functioning. Chronic stress can cause serious digestive problems, cardiovascular problems, sleep disruption, and reproductive issues. The body’s immune system can also be disrupted by stress in some people. In other people who suffer under chronically high stress, symptoms arise such as persistent headaches, sleeplessness, irritability, as well as sadness and anger.

The chronically high levels of the stress hormone cortisol coursing through a person’s body can cause chronic diseases. The National Institute for Mental Health indicated that people experiencing chronically high-stress levels could develop heart problems like high blood pressure, heart disease, mental disorders like anxiety and depression. Stressed out people can also develop diabetes and other metabolic illnesses.

Anyone who is suffering from chronically high stress must get their stress levels under control before experiencing the negative and potentially life-altering side effects discussed above. The National Institute for Mental Health suggests that people need to become aware of the stress they are under. Signs of increased stress include trouble sleeping, increased alcohol use or drug misuse, as well as other psychological signs like anxiety, depression, low energy levels, and becoming angry easily.

Anyone suffering from stress-related health problems must talk to their doctor about the problems. Mental health treatment might be necessary for additional to receiving medical treatment for the person’s acute health problems. Also, exercising regularly can help lower the body’s stress response and help relieve some of the symptoms of stress. Remaining a social person and partaking in fun activities can also help lower stress.

When Life and Work Becomes Too Much

Learning that you are under investigation for professional discipline will ratchet up the stress. You can fix this with Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger’s help. Call her today at 785-979-4353 today to learn more.

Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney Answers the Question: “Can I Appeal a State Agency’s Adverse Action Against Me to a Judge?”

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The state of Kansas uses a two-tiered approach to protecting employee’s rights when a state licensing board takes adverse action against a licensee. The first tier of protection for a professional licensee begins at the agency level with a hearing before the relevant licensing board. A licensing board cannot take adverse action against a professional or occupational licensee without first giving notice to the licensee that a charge or complaint has been sought against him or her for disciplinary action. Then, the licensee has the right to learn about the allegations and investigate the claims made against him or her. The professional or occupational licensee next has the right to a contested hearing on the merits of the case in a hearing before the state agency.

It is important to remember that the licensee always has the right to retain counsel at any stage of the proceedings. The right to counsel he or she chooses is a fundamental right of an accused in legal proceedings in which an employee is threatened by governmental action that could take away a property right, such as a professional license.

The procedure of the hearing conducted at the state agency level is governed by Kansas’ Administrative Procedure Act. At the agency level, the administrative agency has the burden to prove the charges against the professional or occupational licensee.  The licensee has the right to defend the case against him or her by cross-examining witnesses, calling witnesses to testify on his or her behalf, and introducing evidence favorable to him or her.

The licensee has the right to appeal an adverse decision to a judge sitting in a Kansas court. The Kansas Judicial Review Act or KJRA governs the procedure that the licensee must follow when appealing an agency decision to a judge. The licensee must resort to all of the remedies available to him or her under the Kansas Administrative Procedure Act before seeking judicial review of the agency’s adverse action. In other words, appeals to a judge could only be made after the licensing board issues a final decision or order. However, there are some instances when the petitioner must ask the licensing board to reconsider a decision before taking leave to appeal the case to a judge.

The KJRA gives the licensee an opportunity to appeal a decision to a judge before the agency issues a final decision on a limited basis. The petitioner must satisfy two conditions before a judge accepts a case for non-final judicial review. The licensee needs to demonstrate that he or she will likely qualify for judicial review when the final order issues and that postponing judicial review until the end of the case will create irreparable harm.

Judicial review starts when the aggrieved person files a complaint in the district court and must be filed within 30 days from when the agency issues its final order. The KJRA generally allows the judge to review only those issues ruled upon by the licensing board or state agency. Notwithstanding, the KJRA will allow the petitioner to argue issues not argued before the licensing board in limited circumstances. Therefore, the judge will review the record of the case as argued before the licensing board and make a decision whether the licensing board’s decision was not based in fact adduced during the licensing board hearing, misapplication of the law by the licensing board, or procedure used by the licensing board was unconstitutional.

Turn to Expert Help When You are Facing Professional Discipline

Kansas professional licensing defense attorney Danielle Sanger is dedicated to preserving a professional licensee’s ability to work in her or her chosen profession or occupation. Attorney Sanger has dedicated her career to making sure that each licensee gets its day in court. She is fully invested in each client because she understands how devastating losing a professional or occupational license is to the licensee and the licensee’s family. Call  Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger today at 785-979-4353.

Disciplinary Hearings Before the Kansas Board of Technical Professions

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The Kansas Board of Technical Professions, or “the Board,” possesses the authority to take away a licensee’s livelihood by revoking, suspending, or placing a limitation of practice upon a technical professional’s license. Therefore, you should not only have competent counsel representing you and your interests but enlist the services of a Kansas professional discipline attorney who has the depth and breadth of experience to defeat the government’s attempts to take away your ability to make a living for you and your family.

In Kansas and in Missouri, professional licensing lawyer Danielle Sanger is the attorney in whom you and your family may place great confidence to protect you from the harsh decisions handed down by professional licensing disciplinary boards. Attorney Sanger understands the stakes involved when defending a professional licensee before any disciplinary board. Accordingly, Attorney Sanger relies heavily on her experience representing clients before boards of discipline as well as her experience prosecuting these matters on behalf of the government. Attorney Sanger will use her expertise and experience to guide you through any disciplinary action you are facing.

Section 74-7001, along with the accompanying statutes, is the originating statute for the governance of technical professions. The statute governing “technical professions” encompasses a wide range of occupations. According to the statute, technical professions include architects, landscape architects, construction administration, professional engineer, professional geologist, and professional surveyor.

Section 74-7001 defines the standard of care, according to which, each professional must conduct his or her business. Subsection (v) of 74-7001 defines the professional standard of care for Kansas technical professionals as the duty to act according to the degree of learning and skill ordinarily exhibited by a professional licensee in Kansas. The definition of a technical professional’s standard of care sounds like circular reasoning at first blush. However, in practicality, the duty of care a technical professional owes to his or her clients is defined by the traditions and prevailing best practices of the region in which the professional practices.

Section 74-7026 establishes professional conduct by which all technical professionals must abide. Failing to adhere to any of the standards of conduct established by 74-7026 is grounds for professional discipline. The Kansas State Board of Technical Professions, or “the Board,” enforces disciplinary rules and imposes discipline if a member of the Technical Professions commits a transgression.

Grounds for disciplinary action include committing fraud or deceit regarding statutory licensing requirements, gross negligence, misconduct, incompetence, or a reckless disregard for the rights of another person, a conviction for a felony in Kansas or any other jurisdiction of the United States, a violation of the rules and regulations set out by the Board, or using a professional seal on work not produced by, or under the direction of, the licensed technical professional.

The Board retains a great amount of discretion when meting out discipline. The can, in its discretion, place a limitation on the licensee’s ability to practice, suspend, or revoke the technical professional’s license. Additionally, the Board may publicly or private censure the licensee. In conjunction with the authority to discipline the individual licensee, the Board possesses the statutory authority to discipline any business entity engaged in a technical profession as though the entity was an individual. The Board may reissue a suspended or revoked technical license, provided that at least seven members of the Board vote for reinstatement.

Protecting Your Rights

If you are a technical professional facing licensing discipline in Kansas, the first step you must take prior to contacting the Board to respond to the allegations pending against you is to call Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger. Attorney Sanger will protect your rights to practice in your chosen profession so that you can make a living and support your family. Get Attorney Sanger on your side by calling 785-979-4353 today.

Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney Discusses Ophthalmic Discipline in Kansas

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The Kansas State Board of Examiners in Optometry (“State Board”) is the sole disciplinary authority of the ophthalmic profession in the state. As such, the State Board bears a tremendous burden to ensure that ophthalmologists in Kansas are competent, ethical, and scrupulous practitioners. The safety of the public demands that optometrists provide the highest level of care possible and the State Board strives to guarantee that no one will be a victim to an optometrist unwilling to live up to the professional standards the State Board established.

There are, however, at least two sides to every story. Experience dictates that the filing of a complaint against an optometrist for wrongdoing or unethical behavior is not the equivalent of a conclusive finding. Every professional in Kansas facing licensing discipline deserves to have the counsel of their choosing fight for their rights, to protect his or her livelihood, and to protect the optometrist’s way of life. Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger has the experience to represent you aggressively to deliver the best result for you and those closest to you.

The State Board derives its authority to discipline optometrists who have committed a violation of the professional licensing act. The act, found at Kansas Statutes 65-1517, affords the State Board discretion to impose discipline upon an optometrist when the State Board finds that the licensee’s conduct runs contrary to the standards elucidated in the 65-1517. The section does not set out the precise quantum of proof upon which the State Board must decide the case. Instead, the statute merely indicates that the “existence” of a listed “ground(s)” is sufficient to impose discipline.

The statute grants the State Board wide discretion when imposing discipline. The State Board may revoke, suspend, or limit the optometrist’s license. The State Board may also censure the licensee privately or publicly. None of the grounds for discipline require a mandatory penalty. Therefore, the State Board enjoys great flexibility when producing sentence and should consider the history of the licensee, and the severity of the infraction, among other factors, when deliberating upon punishment for the licensee.

Section 65-1517 lists 25 independent grounds, which, if proven, may serve as the basis for discipline. Committing fraud, malpractice, professional incompetence, felony convictions, violating drug statutes, violating orders issued by the State Board, violating the laws governing optometry in Kansas, not paying a renewal fee, not completing continuing educational requirements, practicing with a false name, or impersonation of another optometrist.

Other grounds include suspension or revocation of a license to practice optometry disciplined in another state, violating rules, regulations, or directives announced by the State Board, cheating to get a license, refusing to provide information to the State Board when requested, receiving discipline or adverse action from a peer review group, professional society, or agency, failing to keep liability insurance, fraudulent billing practices, and not providing a prescription for glasses.

The act also requires disciplinary action if an optometrist’s illness, infirmity, alcohol, or drug use inhibits his or her ability to practice optometry with reasonable skill and care. Section 65-1517(j) requires the licensee to undergo physical and mental examinations if requested by the State Board. This section indicates that every optometrist practicing in Kansas consents impliedly to the demands of the State Board under subsection (j).

Furthermore, 65-1517 allows the State Board to discipline an optometrist if the licensee settled or was found liability for committing malpractice. Additionally, failing to report an adverse ruling of malpractice is another ground for imposing discipline.

Protect Your License to Practice Optometry in Kansas

Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger has the expertise, track record of success, and vast experience you need when facing a disciplinary hearing before the Kansas State Board of Examiners in Optometry. Schedule a consultation with Attorney Danielle Sanger by calling 785-979-4353 today.

Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney Asks: Need a Counselor? There’s an App for that

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Reaping the benefits of talk therapy is now easier than ever before. All a prospective patient has to do is download a mobile application, or app for short, pay a fee and gain access to thousands of therapists across the globe. Health insurance may also help defray or even pay the bulk of the therapist’s fees subject to the transmittal of a small co-pay.

A relationship between an online therapist and a client comes with similar ethical obligations as a traditional face-to-face relationship might. However, the uniqueness of the online client-therapist interaction creates additional problems to which the therapist must give significant consideration and care. Failing to navigate these relatively unchartered waters carefully may result in facing disciplinary hearings for ethical violations. In short, online counseling presents a way for the therapist to reach clients who might otherwise not have the chance to engage in much-needed therapy; however, the latest innovation in counseling could trap the unwary in a difficult ethical dilemma.

Kansas and Missouri professional disciplinary defense attorney Danielle Sanger is dedicated to protecting you, your family, and your way of life from the clutches of licensing discipline. Licensing disciplinary actions are dissimilar to most legal controversies in that the decision to render disciplinary action is left to the discretion of a panel of board members or an administrative law judge. The laws and regulations governing the administrative law rules in Kansas and Missouri are equally complicated and confusing, even for highly educated and sophisticated people like therapists. Therefore, hiring an attorney who understands the administrative law procedure is insufficient. To successfully defend your professional license, you need an attorney who has a practice devoted to defending people’s professional licenses like Attorney Danielle Sanger.

In-person talk therapy sessions can strip the client to her or his core and expose the emotional and psychological stressors hampering the client’s wellbeing. Anonymity is not an option, and the client cannot hide from the probing questions a therapist asks to bring emotional baggage to the fore and help the client heal. By contrast, online therapy is not real in the sense that it is not face-to-face in the same room but through the medium of the internet. Online therapy distorts the picture that allows the patient to hide behind a veneer and gives the therapist a sense of distance which could minimize the significance of the client-therapist relationship.

Notwithstanding the artificial feel or appearance online therapy sessions might present, the legal implications of offering online therapy are very real. To protect themselves from allegations of unethical behavior, overreaching, and misconduct, counselors must use a carefully and thoroughly crafted informed consent document that thoroughly describes the nature of the relationship as well as the risks associated with online counseling and the potential cost of the sessions. Toward that end, therapists should explain to their clients:

  • the nature of the therapy services to be provided,
  • the potential benefits and risks associated with the particular treatment,
  • defining how treatment goals are reached,
  • cost of therapy, including fees the therapists receive, and
  • how to discuss or dispute the prices or quality of the services rendered.

Online therapy creates an artificial sense of bonding. Despite the physical distance, therapists must disclose to their online patients under what circumstances a therapist has to warn others about potential self-inflicted harm or the possibility of harming others.

Therapists must be greatly concerned with patient confidentiality and privacy. All therapists must protect their clients’ confidences at all costs. The duty to safeguard client confidences extends to online therapy as well. Therapists must be certain that their technology is up-to-date and protects their clients’ information from hackers and other threats that can undermine the sanctity of the therapist-client privilege.

Learn to Grow Your Business Online Ethically

Online therapy sessions present a wonderful new method of marketing a business while reaching out to people who need help. If you are a therapist who questions the ethical considerations of online therapy sessions or is facing professional discipline because of an allegation of unethical or unprofessional behavior during an online therapy session, call Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney today at 785-979-4353 today.

Addiction Crisis Among Medical Professionals Leads to Licensing Discipline

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Stress, anguish, pain, dread, and being overwhelmed may describe how people sometimes feel when working in the medical profession. Of course, those feelings are not limited to the medical profession and are part of life from time to time. However, medical professionals must endure experiences that are unique to their, and few people know what it is like to bear the awesome responsibility for saving another person’s life or nursing them back to health. Medical professionals, and physicians, in particular, will endure adverse patient outcomes during the span of one’s career. When compounding adverse results with the strain of running a medical practice, worrying about billing, insurance issues, and a host of other issue attendant with the practice of medicine along with all of life’s unexpected twists and turns, medical professionals can turn to unproductive methods of handling the resulting stress, anxiety, and depression.

Medical professionals, just like the rest of us, experience fatigue and exhaustion, but the demands of their jobs are unrelenting. Physicians and nurses can turn to substances stronger than caffeine to help keep them awake and alert. Patient care cannot yield to the physician’s sleep schedule or whether the doctor herself is a little under the weather. A doctor’s or nurse’s duty of care owed to his or her patients cannot acquiesce to the way a caregiver feels on a given day.

If you are a medical professional suffering from the effects of drug or alcohol misuse, you could face professional discipline, which can jeopardize your career, your family life, and your future. The stress and anxiety could turn you deeper into dependence on addictive substances. You need an advocate, someone who is going help you get through this difficult time. Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger can you help keep your license and protect you and your family if you are facing professional discipline due to an addiction to drugs or alcohol. When you have Attorney Sanger by your side, you know you have an attorney who has devoted her practice to defending the rights of professional licensees, including physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals who mightily struggle with addictions to drugs and alcohol.

Why Do Medical Professionals Become Addicted?

Paradoxically, medical professionals become addicted to prescription drugs and alcohol with great regularity despite knowing that substance misuse is damaging to their health. Notwithstanding the health risks, medical personal turn to prescription drugs because of the ease of access to medication, especially in hospitals. Fortunately, medical professionals have the education and training to recognize when they need help. Addicted health care providers are often amenable to treatment once they acknowledge that they have a problem. Hopefully, with the right guidance, treatment, and commitment to sobriety, the health care professional can free herself or himself from the potent grasp of addiction.

Seeking Treatment before Facing Disciplinary Hearings Can Minimize Adverse Outcomes

Obtaining treatment for addiction and committing to sobriety before facing professional discipline could help ease the severity of professional punishment. Taking responsibility and decisive action demonstrates to Boards of Medicine and Registration that the medical professional comprehends the seriousness of the problem and evinces the appropriate amount of concern for healing themselves while showing that the medical professional can safely resume treating patients. Every case is different, naturally, however, taking the first steps to sobriety necessarily assists the medical professional personally and professionally.

Urgent help for you when you need it

Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger is available to help you get your career back on track. Your professional is too valuable to allow the clutch of substance abuse to ruin your career and your personal life. Call Attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to learn more about your legal options if you are under investigation for or are facing discipline for substance abuse as a medical professional.

Physicians Must Fight to Keep Disciplinary Actions Private

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Keeping disciplinary actions from public view can help maintain a physician’s practice even if the doctor is on probation. According to Consumer Reports, 66% of subjects polled across the United States, favor a policy in which a physician on probation for any rules infraction may not treat any patients until the doctor successfully completes probation.  Additionally, 82% of people surveyed believe that state licensing boards should enact rules obligating doctors who are on probation to notify their patients that the treating physician is on probation, for how long, and for what infraction or infractions the licensing authority disciplined the medical practitioner. Given the overwhelming public sentiment on the issue, physicians facing disciplinary action must fight to maintain as much privacy as permitted by law so they can continue to practice medicine while serving a probationary term.

Missouri and Kansas professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger understands the difficulties physicians encounter when facing professional discipline. A doctor who is under investigation for a violation of the professional standards must carefully weigh his or her options when contesting or negotiating a resolution so that he or she can obtain the best outcome possible. Attorney Sanger dedicated her law practice to representing professionals such as doctors, nurses, health care professionals, and other professional licensees. Consequently, Attorney Sanger possesses a thorough understanding of the nuances of administrative law in both Kansas and Missouri. A physician who now faces a disciplinary hearing can rely on her expertise to develop a winning legal strategy that protects your medical license so you can continue to earn a living for you and your family while you rectify the alleged problems that bring you before the medical licensing board.

Physicians are human and like the lot of humanity, run into trouble from time to time. Trouble might take the form of a complaint from an employee or patient regarding something very serious like sexual harassment, substance abuse, incorrectly prescribing medication, or criminal charges. The allegations could also be minor in nature as well. Notwithstanding the severity of the claims, a physician should take a complaint very seriously. Although a physician has many valuable rights in Kansas or Missouri disciplinary hearings before their respective boards of medicine, trying to negotiate without counsel or litigating the complaint without counsel could lead to enormous collateral consequences.

Kansas and Missouri medical licensing boards understand the balance that they must strike between public safety and opportunity for the physician to rehabilitate himself or herself. Public reprimands, probationary periods, suspension, and revocation of the doctor’s license to practice are harsh sanctions and are assessed by the licensing boards based on numerous factors including severity of the infraction, the length of time in practice, the severity of the injury if any, the outcome of a criminal prosecution, and the egregiousness of the doctor’s behavior.

When considering the continuum of possible sanctions, public reprimand and probation do not appear to be as harsh on their face as suspension and revocation; however, these sanctions can have unintended collateral consequences. Practicing with either lets the public know that you did something wrong. The specter of wrongdoing can linger over a physician’s practice and cause financial hardship, even if the sanction is a public reprimand. Practicing medicine during a term of probation could have worse effects. The physician could lose his or her partnership in a medical practice depending on the terms of probation or have to limit the time she or he spends practicing, thereby losing patients. Alternatively, having an experienced advocate fight for a private reprimand, convincing the board to dismiss the disciplinary action, or win exoneration after a hearing can help you stay in practice, keep your business afloat, and provide for your family.

Consult Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger as Soon as Possible

Attorney Danielle Sanger is available to consult with you about your disciplinary action proceeding. Call the Law Offices of Danielle Sanger today at 785-979-4352 to schedule your initial consultation.  Our Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney looks forward to making a difference for you.