Reasons for an indefintely suspended or revoked medical license?

Discussion in 'Research' started by Alesia, Oct 24, 2013.

  1. Alesia

    Alesia Pen names: AJ Connor, Carey Connolly Contributor

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    @GingerCoffee Thank you.

    According to that site, as of 2007 the state of California adopted a more aggressive stance on DUI and drug abuse in the medical profession. Two DUI is enough for the state to bring you before the board and begin disciplinary action for "unprofessional conduct." These actions include, but are not limited to probation and indefinite suspension of license. Bear in mind this applies even if the DUI was obtained off work hours as the CA state board sees your performance off the job as a reflection of your fitness to perform on the job.
     
    Last edited: Oct 27, 2013
  2. Alesia

    Alesia Pen names: AJ Connor, Carey Connolly Contributor

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    Another question. My MC is only 29 years old and when I did the math based on a standard physician training course (correct me if I'm wrong) if she was born in 1984 she would graduate high school in 2002. Then four years of pre-med in university sets that graduation date in 2007. Follow that with four years of med school, the year is now 2012. Given that after med school there's usually 1-3 years of residency, this would place her in about the second year of that as of 2014? How much does that change things if at all?
     
  3. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    Re substance abuse, yes, medical, pharmaceutical and nursing licensing boards have aggressive policies toward impaired providers. They do give people a chance to clean up and work under strictly monitored conditions, (monitored as in frequent lab tests). But one risks permanent loss of one's license if one fails more than a few times to meet those requirements.

    As for the year being 2014, not sure what your question is, why would it matter and if it does, why not just start your story a year earlier? People do get through the process faster though. You can graduate from high school early, both I and my brother graduated a year ahead of our class. I sat in the audience as he graduated with the kids from my class, I'd been out of school a year already and didn't go through the ceremony. And if you are a masochist and particularly intelligent, you can take a heavier credit load and get your 4 year degree in 3 or 3.5 years.

    Keep in mind also that residency terms vary with the specialty. Surgical residencies are longer than general practice residencies.
     
    Last edited: Oct 27, 2013
  4. Alesia

    Alesia Pen names: AJ Connor, Carey Connolly Contributor

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    According to the page, the CA legislation shut down the rehab option in 2007. Apparently now it's a immediate suspension, no questions asked. If you want to re-apply for your license you need to complete a treatment program at your own time and expense and you will still have a blemish on your record.

    Re: My question, would the procedure change much with a resident vs. a long time graduated physician? Are both subject to the licensing board? Sorry, I don't know much about the inner workings of the medical profession.
     
  5. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    That's merely a cost shifting measure. What it means is the board quit running the rehab program, and the licensee has to find the resources themselves. The board, in all likelihood, isn't any less accommodating.

    No apologies needed, I wouldn't answer if I didn't want to.

    However, you can find those answers on the link I gave you. You can ask questions here and get a few answers, or you can do some more serious research into the topic yourself. It depends on if this is a short story or a novel. For a novel, I'd want to do a lot of research into things like this. For my book I've looked at hundreds of things from interstellar travel to ancient inventions, from evolutionary biology to climate change science. A question or two would never have cut it.

    All your answers and more can be found here:
    http://www.mbc.ca.gov/publications/laws_guide.pdf

    Consider it valuable research time.
     
  6. Alesia

    Alesia Pen names: AJ Connor, Carey Connolly Contributor

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    It is a full length novel. However, that said since this incident is only about a chapters worth of material, how much research is really necessary? I just need her to be put in a position where she is forced into a rehab program (she won't go on her own accord.)

    The outline I have so far is as follows:

    Title: Unknown… (First person/past tense)

    The narrative opens with our MC, Allison Jeanne (“AJ”) Connor M.D., an Emergency Room physician in Los Angeles, CA spending her night off in a bar or nightclub - drinking entirely too much whilst becoming progressively more inebriated as the night goes on. Toward the mid-point of chapter one, she staggers out to her car and begins the drive home (which of course she is in no shape to do.) Naturally, it’s not long before our young, drunk M.D. is pulled over by a Glendale P.D. unit and given a field sobriety test, which she fails miserably resulting in a DUI arrest, which during the arrest she is searched and a small quantity of some undecided illicit drug is found in her purse. Therefore, chapter one ends with poor drunken Alli sitting (lying rather) in a jail cell waiting for a friend/colleague to come bail her out.

    Chapter Two

    Finds our doctor in the drunk tank being bailed out by her nurse friend (and friend since childhood) Samantha. On the ride home, an infuriated Sammi pretty much reads AJ the riot act and suggests she may possibly have a drinking problem. AJ becomes offended at such a suggestion and basically tells Sammi to mind her own business, she has her life under control. However, that is definitely not the case. The chapter ends with Dr. Connor sitting alone in the dark, smoking a cigarette and stewing about the fact that her friend would say such a thing just before she takes a handful of scrip painkillers to “help her sleep.”
    Chapter Three

    The “bad” doctor is back on the job at County USC hospital emergency room making her rounds over the next couple of weeks or so, and begins delving into the severity of her addictions. Various scenes show her surreptitiously mixing burbon spiked coffee’s in the break room, stealing drugs from the pharmacy, snorting cocaine in the restrooms, among other judgement impairing acts. (Uppers to wake up, downers to sleep and forget, maybe.)
    During the course of this, her R/N friend, Samantha, becomes increasingly concerned about Dr. Connor’s ability to perform her duties - especially after finding a potentially life threatening drug interaction/overdose/wrong drug/something along those lines written out in the charts more than once as well as watching Dr. Connor’s overall job performance becoming more and more reckless.
    After several more failed conversations in which Sammi attempts to convince AJ to get help for herself, Sammi makes the painful decision go to the hospital bosses and files a formal report against her friend for suspected substance abuse.

    Chapter Four

    This is where I'm hung up on the procedure. I'm assuming following the complaint, Dr. Connor would be summoned to her superiors and given a drug test/chance to explain herself. If I used a little artistic license I could simply go back to what I said earlier where she is suspended and given the ultimatum: Go to rehab or be fired. By law the hospital would still have to report her to the board who would also suspend her license, however, she could still renew her license at some point -albeit blemished.
     
  7. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    To your question: how much research for a chapter, I can only tell you my own process. In my novel global warming and interstellar travel were only backstory, barely referenced in the story as it all occurred a half century earlier. I looked at both issues very thoroughly, lots of research, I wanted as much scientific accuracy as possible even for something barely mentioned in the story. I've done hours of research on the technological advances we might see in one century. And I'm still researching the lifeforms one might expect on an Earth-like planet with independent evolution.

    But that's just me, it's my style. You have to decide what you need for your book. But already you've asked a lot of questions you can find the answers to by skimming and reading the links I posted. You'd learn a lot about the issues you are writing about, maybe more than you need, maybe something you hadn't thought to ask. One chapter or ten, does it matter if you get it right? It sounds like you want it to be accurate. How can you do that with a few cursory questions and answers? I don't know. For some people and some stories, it might be fine. For mine, that's just not enough.

    From the looks of your additional questions, you would benefit from broadening your entire horizon on the subject.

    I know my characters, my world, my societies. All of that doesn't get written into the book, but the story grows from knowing everything about it, much more than the reader will see. It's what I need to create the story.
     
    Last edited: Oct 27, 2013
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  8. Alesia

    Alesia Pen names: AJ Connor, Carey Connolly Contributor

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    In case anyone else is curious, here is some information I picked up after about a half-day of reading.

    This appears to be the steps involved in a substance abuse/DUI or other criminal complaint:

    1.) The hospital or board receives information pertaining to the physicians alleged problem. In the case of the hospital receiving the info/complaint first, they are required by law to report it to the board, a report which is usually made by a risk management official who will then be placed in contact with a state investigator.

    2.) In severe cases where significant evidence is available, the board will issue an immediate suspension of license citing immediate danger to life, safety, and/or health. This often follows the physician having been already placed on leave from their respective hospital or taking a voluntary leave of absence.

    3.) The physician is then served with a certified letter from the board describing the allegations as well as acting as a subpena of sorts alerting the M.D. that they must appear at a state board hearing to be set within a period of no less than 10 days from service.

    4.) At this point, based on the evidence at hand, the physician will be formally disciplined or exhonerated. In the case of the former, the physicians license will be suspended for up to, but possibly longer than a period of one year with the option to renew based on a set of standards decided by the board at an appropriate time/hearing. This may or may not include XXX hours of "continued medical education," drug treatment, mandatory psychotherapy, and random drug screenings as well as sanctions such as inability to prescribe narcotic painkillers.

    5.) In most cases the physician will voluntarily relinquish their license before the board forcibly takes it.

    Hope that helps with some others who might be researching such a thing.
     
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