How You Can Lose Your License as a Medical Professional
Health is a complicated industry. That is why those who are in it have professional licenses, to prove that they are competent to practice and convince their patients that they are in good hands. But it is important to remember that medical professionals are also human beings, so they commit mistakes. But unlike normal citizens, medical professionals may face unique consequences from their mistakes, such as license suspensions.
Criminal Offenses
Criminal offenses are some of the most obvious reasons behind license suspension, because of course, if a person is not physically and mentally sound enough to follow the law, what makes this person competent enough to safely practice the complexity in the medical industry? Below are some of the most common criminal aspects that can influence license status:
- Offense that is directly related to the medical field
- Offense that is not directly related to the medical field but has been committed within five years
- Offense is serious, such as aggravated robbery and capital murder
Licensing bodies also have the tendency to act on their own, so they can cancel professional licenses if they have enough reason to do so. In fact, there are instances where medical professionals who have charges that have not been elevated to convictions have lost their licenses, just because the licensing bodies thought that is was the necessary thing to do.
Practice Violations
Aside from criminal acts, medical professionals can also get their licenses revoked by committing incompetent, unethical, and unprofessional practices, such as the following:
- Abuse of impairment products, such as alcohol and drugs
- Continued practice despite of the invalidity of license
- Medical malpractice, such as misdiagnoses and surgery errors
- Physical or sexual abuse of patients
- Presentation of false documents during license application or renewal
- Impersonation of another medical professional
- Violation of safety procedures, especially if it has caused harm to a patient
Of course, licensing bodies are not unfair and unreasonable. In fact, according to the website of the Leichter Law Firm, those who are in danger of being disciplined by a medical licensing board may have legal options, such as defending their medical licenses. So, it is not like licensing bodies are going around and blindly canceling licenses because of the things mentioned above, because the medical professionals in question are also heard.
