Turner Padget Insights

What the Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact Means for Disciplinary Actions in South Carolina

Posted On February 18, 2019

If you are a nurse whose license is under investigation, you have been asked to self-report, or you are concerned that a performance issue or mistake on the job may trigger a report to the South Carolina Board of Nursing, the situation may feel dire. Public disciplinary action by the Board can result in practice-based restrictions and impact your professional livelihood. You are not alone. You have the right to be represented by an advocate who will fight to protect your right to continued practice.

The practice of nursing became even more complicated in January 2018, when South Carolina joined a group of 29 states in the Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact (eNLC).

Under this agreement, a multistate license allows registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical / vocational nurses (LPN / VNs) to practice in their home state and any other eNLC states. While the eNLC allows health care professionals greater flexibility in where they can practice, its focus on transparency also raises awareness of disciplinary actions and / or practice based restrictions across state lines.

This can be limiting for individuals who are trying to obtain a professional nursing license as well as current licensees who have had performance issues or legal problems. This can also be licensing limiting for nurses participating in the South Carolina Recovering Professional Program regardless of whether the participant received a diagnosis or was placed in the one year monitoring program.

A nurse participating in the South Carolina Recovering Professional Program, or subject to certain practice-based restrictions, will be dropped to single state licensure and unable to work as a travel nurse or pick up contract work in another state. A felony charge gives the nursing board the right to deny an interstate license, even if the case was resolved decades ago. A public reprimand can be extremely limiting professionally as a public reprimand remains available for all to see on the South Carolina Board of Nursing website.

But there is hope.

Although the transparency of the eNLC raises the stakes in many instances, the nursing board’s movement toward just culture will likely provide some relief. Just culture promotes and supports increased reporting and shared accountability within the employment relationship, but in many instances does not provide for disciplinary action.

The idea of “just culture” encourages individuals, and health care providers, to work together toward improved accuracy and to allow issues to be presented to management without fear of consequences for the greater good of addressing systematic problems.

Facing an investigation with the South Carolina Board of Nursing does not have to be daunting. We believe that an aggressive well-planned defense will increase the likelihood of the proper resolution of a claim and is essential to protecting one’s right to continued practice.

If you have received notice of a hearing before the South Carolina Board of Nursing, we will help ensure that you are well-prepared and have taken advantage of every possible remedial effort available before appearing. We aggressively fight proposed public disciplinary action and practice-based restrictions, and will fight to prevent public disciplinary action.

We have experience working with the assigned investigators, attorneys and have handled hundreds of LLR related matters. Our team is routinely retained by the professional liability carriers to defend healthcare providers in civil malpractice actions. Contact our professional licensing attorneys to learn more and let us put our experience to work for you.