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The Arizona Board of Nursing (“Board”) licenses, certifies, investigates and disciplines all licensed or certified nurses practicing in Arizona. The Board can initiate an investigation during the following situations:
- During the application process
- If the nurse self-reports a violation
- When a complaint is filed against the nurse
Any time the Board proceeds with an investigation into a possible act of unprofessional conduct by a nurse, the investigator will send the nurse a Questionnaire. There are different types of Questionnaires that the Board will request the nurse to fill out.
This post will examine the Citation Questionnaire sent to the nurse during an investigation involving possible or past criminal activity of the nurse. If the nurse was involved in an incident that resulted in a number of different charges/convictions the nurse will have to fill out a different Questionnaire for each offense.
The Questionnaire will ask for the details of the incident, in addition to, all relevant police and court documents. It is important to keep detailed records of all documents associated with criminal conduct. Attempting to track down a voluminous amount of documents from different municipalities can take weeks and the nurse generally has 30 days to return the Questionnaire if the nurse doesn’t request additional time.
The Citation Questionnaire will also ask for a list of all of your employers over the last five years (including current contact information).
Receiving a Questionnaire can be a scary thing for any nurse, but it is important that you seek an attorney prior to responding to any request for information from the Board. A lawyer experienced in dealing with Board investigations can help you prepare a proper and thorough response.
If you have any questions about an Arizona Board of Nursing Questionnaire please contact Attorney Robert Chelle.
