Probation and recidivism: remediation among disciplined nurses in six states.
OBJECTIVE
The researchers sought to determine what factors might affect the outcomes of remediation, including the likelihood of recidivism, among nurses who had been the subject of disciplinary action and had been put on probation by a state board of nursing.


METHODS
Boards of nursing in six states, Arizona, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, and North Carolina, chose to participate in this exploratory study. A 29-item questionnaire was used to investigate the records of 207 RNs, LPNs, and advanced practice RNs (APRNs) who were disciplined and put on probation by a state nursing board in 2001, as well as to collect data on their employment settings, the boards' actions, and remediation outcomes (the presence or absence of recidivism); 491 nurses who had not been disciplined served as controls.


RESULTS
Among the disciplined nurses studied, 57% were RNs, 36% were LPNs, 3% held both RN and LPN licenses, and 3% were APRNs. Of the disciplined group, 39% recidivated between 2001 and 2005. Three factors were shown to influence the recidivism rate: having a history of criminal conviction, having committed more than one violation before the 2001 probation, and changing employers during the probationary period.Data on history of criminal conviction prior to state board disciplinary action were available for 112 (54%) of the 207 nurses. Among those 112, 35% (n = 39) had a history of criminal conviction, whereas only 3% of the control group reported one. The recidivism rate among those with a history of criminal conviction (56%; 22 of 39 nurses) was nearly twice as high as the rate among those without such a history (33%; 24 of 73). Also, 33% of the disciplined nurses changed employers during their probation; the recidivism rate among them was more than twice the rate among the disciplined nurses who stayed with the same employer. The recidivism rate of the 45 disciplined nurses who committed more than one practice-related violation from 1996 through 2001 was twice as high as the rate of those who committed only a single violation.The proportion of men who had been disciplined was more than twice the proportion of men in the national nursing workforce. Younger nurses (both men and women) were more likely to recidivate.


CONCLUSIONS
All health care regulators and nursing employers should be aware of the association between a history of criminal conviction and the likelihood of committing a violation that requires state nursing board disciplinary action.
Zhong
Elizabeth H
EH
National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Chicago, USA. ezhong@ncsbn.org
Kenward
Kevin
K
Sheets
Vickie R
VR
Doherty
Mary E
ME
Gross
Lindsey
L
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001130:Arizona; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003415:Crime / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004647:Employee Discipline / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004651:Employment / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008008:Licensure, Nursing / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland; D008404:Massachusetts; D008875:Middle Aged; D008910:Minnesota; D009329:Nebraska; D009657:North Carolina; D009726:Nurses / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015399:Nursing Research; D011996:Records / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires