You know you’re scheduled for a shift at the hospital, but you’re exhausted. You opt not to go in. Instead, you stay home and catch up on sleep.
You know this may not be good for your job security. You could be fired. But are you in danger of losing your license entirely?
Reasons to lose a license
In a general sense, no, you are not at risk for something like this. Burnout is a real issue with those in the nursing profession, especially in the last year, and it happens. Now, there are issues with nurses falling asleep on the job, which could lead to the loss of a license on the grounds of unprofessional conduct, but staying home and skipping a shift shouldn’t result in that loss. Typically, nurses lose a license for things like:
- Falsifying records
- Impersonating someone else
- Coming to work while impaired
- Providing unauthorized treatment
- Neglecting patients
- Doing something illegal at work
Now, each hospital has its own rules, but the general trend is that you have to do something more than not coming to work to lose your license. While repeatedly missing shifts is an example of unprofessional conduct, it too would usually just result in a nurse being fired.
That said, if you are at risk of losing your license for one of the reasons noted above, make sure you are well aware of the legal options you have. That license is all that allows you to continue your career, and you need to know how you can protect both your job and future.
