Miller v. Tennessee Board of Nursing

Davidson County - This appeal involves a disciplinary proceeding against a registered nurse. After receiving a report that a registered nurse left her patients in a hospital’s medical/surgical unit before the end of her shift, the Tennessee Board of Nursing commenced a contested case proceeding to discipline the nurse. Following the hearing, the Board ordered the nurse to pay a $1,000 civil penalty and also immediately suspended the nurse’s license pending a psychological evaluation. The nurse sought judicial review of the Board’s decision by the Chancery Court for Davidson County, and the trial court affirmed the Board’s finding that the nurse had abandoned her patients, the assessment of the civil penalty, and the immediate suspension of the nurse’s license. The nurse appealed. We have determined that the record contains substantial and material evidence that the nurse abandoned her patients and that the Board did not act arbitrarily by requiring the nurse to pay a $1,000 civil penalty. However, we have determined that the Board acted arbitrarily when it immediately suspended the nurse’s license pending a psychological examination in the absence of any evidence or finding that the nurse was presently mentally unfit to practice nursing.

Case: Miller v. Tennessee Board of Nursing, No. M2005-02383-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. September 26, 2007)