Deferred Disciplinary Action for Minor Violations Is it a Good Idea?
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In 2007, the Texas legislature passed a law directing the states Board of Nursing to determine the feasibility of conducting a pilot program designed to evaluate the efficacy and effect on public protection of deferral of disciplinary action in cases in which the board proposes to impose a sanction other than a reprimand, suspension or revocation of a license. The legislation instructed it to develop and implement a three-year pilot program by February 1, 2011. Deferred disciplinary action is described as a decision made by the board to defer taking final disciplinary action for minor violations against a nurse, and if the nurse meets certain conditions, dismissing the complaint.
At this CAC webinar, the executive director ofthe Texas Board of Nursing described the process that the board utilized in determining whether such a pilot program was feasible, and shared her thought processin determining the feasibility of such a program.
Presenter:
Katherine Thomas
Executive Director
Texas Board of Nursing
Katherine Thomas has served as the Executive Director for the Texas Board of Nursing since 1995. Prior to her appointment to the Executive Director position, Ms. Thomas served the Board as Director of Nursing Practice, from November 1994 1995, as Nursing Consultant for Advanced Practice from 1990 1994, and as Education Consultant from 1989 1990. Prior to joining the Texas Board of Nursing, Ms. Thomas taught nursing as an Instructor and Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, baccalaureate and graduate degree programs, and practiced for 10 years as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She served as the Vice-Chair of the Health Professions Council, a council of agencies who regulate health care professionals in Texas from 1999 2000, and has been the chair of this group since 2000.
Ms. Thomas served on several Advanced Nursing Practice committees of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), chairing the APRN Advisory Committee from 1995 2007. She currently serves as a Director at Large on the NCSBN Board of Directors. She has been active in the NCSBN for the past 13 years, and has received the top two awards from this organization. Her educational preparation includes a BSN from the University of Virginia, a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) Certificate, US Army, Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, Denver, CO and a Masters Degree in Nursing from the University of Kansas. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, Delta Alpha Chapter, International Honor Society of Nursing.
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