Vocational nurses and psychiatric technicians provide high-quality care to their patients throughout the state. As a vocational nurse and psychiatric technician, your roles may involve administering medication, offering emotional support, or helping your patient battle mental illnesses. Therefore, you have to work with a lot of concentration, care, and personal responsibility toward your patients.

However, you may receive complaints or go through investigations that could endanger your practicing license and career. No matter how minor the offense or misunderstanding is, the California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT) will scrutinize you to establish if you are in the wrong. A knowledgeable and experienced license defense attorney is essential when your practicing license and reputation are on the line.

At San Francisco License Attorney, our team represents defendants facing investigations and complaints related to their vocational nursing or psychiatric technician practice. If you find yourself in such a situation, retaining a skilled license defense lawyer can make all the difference in protecting your professional future.

Understanding the Tasks Done by Vocational Nurses

Vocational nurses are an essential component of the health care system in California because they act as a connection between the patients and the expansive health care services. Being a licensed vocational nurse (LVN), you work as a nurse in different facilities, such as hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, and private practices.

As a vocational nurse, you also play a vital role in patient care because you help with giving medication, checking your patient’s temperature, pulse, and respiration, and helping patients regain their strength. Your practice requires you to be caring and friendly while following all medical protocols.

You are also on the front lines of healthcare. You prepare patients for surgery, teach them about post-operative care, and comfort them. This guarantees that your patient obtains all the necessary care on time. To qualify for your practice license, you also undergo vigorous training, which is expensive and time-consuming.

However, no matter how much you love and care for your patients, you may find yourself facing complaints after a misunderstanding, mistake, or even false accusation. Such complaints can lead to an investigation by the California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT), and if you are declared guilty, you could lose your professional license.

Therefore, you should seek the help of a professional license defense lawyer who understands the law, can defend you, and safeguards your licensure.

The Roles Performed by Psychiatric Technicians

As a psychiatric technician, you play an essential function in the mental health industry because you act as the primary caregiver to patients who have mental health problems or developmental disabilities.

You can work in various healthcare settings, including psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment facilities, and outpatient mental health facilities. Your primary duty is to offer care and therapeutic services.

You also help patients with their private and personal needs, dispense medication, and implement personalized plans for your patients' care drafted by psychiatrists or other mental health workers.

With your knowledge of behavioral health, you can track your patient’s progress, address emergent situations, or assist your patient with a difficult emotional or psychological encounter. You can help return your patient to a normal health state and improve their quality of life.

However, due to the nature of your work and dealing with vulnerable people, you can often be accused of abuse or neglect. Complaints against your practice may come from misunderstandings by patients, inter- and intra-staff conflicts, or even your actions that could have been performed under pressure.

If these complaints lead to your investigation and you are found guilty, you could lose your license. Therefore, you want to seek the services of a competent license defense attorney who will help ensure that your license and career are safeguarded.

The Role of the BVNPT

The board is responsible for protecting the title, license, and scope of practice for psychiatric technicians and vocational nurses in California. The board’s primary goal is to maintain the health, safety, and welfare of the public by supervising and guaranteeing that all practitioners offer prompt, safe, competent, and ethical services to their patients.

The board regulates your licensure, establishes educational requirements, and monitors California laws concerning psychiatric technicians and vocational nursing. The board also ensures that you are qualified for the job and have gone through the right training that will enable you to practice safely and efficiently.

The board also conducts periodic assessments and investigations and enforces legal and professional standards in California when required. The BVNPT plays its role to protect patients from malpractice and ensure that you remain professional. Therefore, in case of any misconduct, such as substance abuse while attending to patients or ethical misconduct or incompetence, the board will issue you with disciplinary actions that can be career-altering. This guarantees that you perform your work to high standards.

Common Complaints Against Practicing Vocational Nurses and Psychiatric Technicians

Despite offering adequate and necessary care to your patients, you may encounter complaints regarding your services that could lead to license suspension or revocation. Most of the complaints lodged against you result from a misunderstanding, error on your part, or actual misconduct. Some of the most frequent complaints include the following:

  • Incompetence or Negligence: A patient or coworker may accuse you of negligence that caused the patient harm or injury. Complaints related to negligence could include wrong administration of the patient’s drugs, inadequate patient supervision, and not complying with the set service standards.
  • Unprofessional Conduct: You could be accused of unprofessional misconduct if you engage in improper conduct with your patient, infringe on the ethical code of conduct, fail to maintain confidentiality regarding patient information, or do not document your work appropriately.
  • Substance Abuse: One of the most severe violations is drug or alcohol use while you are attending to your patients because you may not be able to tend to your patients with utmost care. This type of violation can trigger harsh and punitive measures against you, ranging from suspension or revocation of your license.
  • Patient Abuse or Neglect: You can also face disciplinary actions if your patient accuses you of physical, emotional, or verbal abuse.
  • Criminal Convictions: Criminal convictions, especially those of moral turpitude, may result in a review of your license. This is so even if the crime you were convicted of does not relate to your practice. The BVNPT may investigate your criminal record to determine whether you are a notorious repeat offender.

Dealing with any of these complaints is daunting, and the outcome may not necessarily be a light disciplinary action but may also cost your reputation and career. Therefore, you want to seek legal advice that will protect your rights and work to resolve the matter favorably.

The Process from Receiving the Complaint to Decision-Making

When a complaint is made against you, the BVNPT follows the following steps to make its decision:

  • Filing of the Complaint: The process starts when a formal complaint is filed with the BVNPT. These complaints may be from patients, their relatives, colleagues, or employers. They could involve matters of ethics and standards, negligence, or even incompetence.
  • Initial Review and Investigation: Upon receipt of a complaint, the board evaluates whether the allegations against you are within their jurisdiction. If the complaint is sufficient, the board will launch an investigation in which an investigator will be appointed and mandated to collect evidence, take statements from witnesses, examine medical records or other documents relevant to your patient, and determine whether there is sufficient evidence for the complaint. If the findings are adequate, the board will notify you of the complaint against you and await your response.
  • Probable Cause Determination: After going through the investigation findings, the board, at its discretion, will determine whether there is sufficient reason to warrant disciplinary action. The board may issue you an interim suspension, preventing you from working while you undergo the disciplinary process. However, your license defense lawyer can prevent this by fighting this decision first. However, without sufficient evidence, the case against you may be discharged. If probable cause is found, actual charges can be made, and you could obtain an appointment for your administrative hearing.
  • Administrative Hearing: In an administrative hearing presided by an administrative law judge (ALJ), the BVNPT will present the evidence they gathered while your defense will present your defense. The judge will listen to the arguments from both parties and evaluate the facts before arriving at a recommendation for disciplinary actions to be taken against you if you are found guilty.
  • Decision and Disciplinary Action: After the hearing and the ALJ's recommendation, the board will evaluate the recommendation and pass a final decision for your case. This may involve suspending or revoking your license.
  • Appeals Process: If you feel that the board’s decision is unfavorable or not fair, you can launch an appeal. Your lawyer will help you appeal the decision, protect your rights, and develop other defenses to ensure that you have a positive outcome when you are arraigned for another hearing.

This whole process may take time and can be very stressful, especially if the outcome is negative for you and your professional life. Therefore, it is essential to have a competent license defense attorney to help you through every procedure so that you can have a fair investigation and trial.

Disciplinary Actions that the Board Can Impose on You

The California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT) may take disciplinary actions against you if and when they conclude that you violated the professional code. Disciplinary actions are taken to safeguard the public when it comes to your behavior and performance. The degree of punishment you could be imposed varies in proportion to the type of offense you committed and your disciplinary record. Some common disciplinary actions that the board could take include the following:

Public Reprimand

A public reprimand is a rebuke that is recorded in your record as a warning. When the board takes this disciplinary action against you, it means that it discovered the violation but regards it as not that serious or big of a deal. Therefore, it does not warrant a license suspension or revocation.

Probation

Probation enables you to work under the supervision of the board with certain conditions that have to be met. These conditions may consist of periodic check-ups, training, practicing under supervision, and completing rehabilitation programs if you were found guilty of using drugs while working on your patients. If you do not comply with the probation terms, you can face even worse consequences, such as license revocation.

Suspension of License

A suspension means that you are prevented from practicing for a set period. This disciplinary action is applied when the board thinks that you cannot deliver safe care at the moment but may be safe to practice after you address some concerns.

Revocation of License

If you were found guilty of a very severe violation, the board could cancel your license, and you would not be allowed to work as a psychiatric technician or vocational nurse in California. Some of the misconduct that would warrant a license revocation include physical, verbal, or sexual abuse of your patients, substance abuse, or negligence that leads to harm.

Fines or Citation

The board may also penalize you by paying fines in addition to other disciplinary actions imposed against you.

All these disciplinary measures can adversely affect your career and reputation. Therefore, you need to be vigilant and familiarize yourself with your rights and options when facing discipline from the BVNPT.

Find a Professional License Defense Lawyer Near Me

Vocational nurses and psychiatric technicians act as crucial healthcare providers in California; however, when you face complaints and disciplinary measures against you, they could harm your career.

If you have been the subject of an investigation, allegations of wrongdoing, or disciplinary proceedings, it is essential that you take action to safeguard your license. The penalties for being found guilty are harsh and life-altering; however, with a qualified lawyer, you can build solid defenses and protect your livelihood.

If you or a loved one is facing an investigation or disciplinary action regarding a psychiatric technician or vocational nursing license, you should hire the services of a competent license defense lawyer.

At San Francisco License Attorney, we focus on representing professionals involved in a complaint or investigation regarding their vocational nursing and psychiatric practice license. We have a track record of obtaining the most favorable outcomes for our clients. Contact us today at 415-919-6594 to book a consultation with one of our license attorneys to learn how we can assist you with defending your license and livelihood.