What Is Unprofessional Conduct in Nursing?

In some fields, unprofessional conduct can result in disciplinary action or losing your job. But in healthcare, conduct problems among clinicians have even more severe consequences — patients can get hurt or even lose their lives. Understanding professional standards in nursing can help you keep your license and promote patient safety.

Because nurses hold positions of public trust and responsibility, they’re held to higher standards than other professions. Your actions as a nurse, even when you’re out of work, can have consequences for others’ health. These are examples of conduct that fails to meet professional standards:

• Discussing a patient’s medical history with someone who is not in their care team
• Diverting or falsely wasting medications
• Charting false information
• Practicing outside of your scope
• Promoting medical misinformation
• Practicing with an expired or lapsed license

Most nursing professionals would look at this list and think, “I could never do that.” Yet studies show that most nurses have observed poor conduct at some point in their professional lives. When behaviors like these occur, it’s the responsibility of other nurses, managers, and administrators to intervene.

What Is Unprofessional Conduct in Healthcare?

Unprofessional actions and behaviors deviate from established ethical, moral, or legal standards in medicine. These behaviors compromise the quality of patient care and the integrity of nursing.

While unprofessional and unsafe conduct comes in many forms, these are some of the most common problems in the nursing profession:

• Substance abuse: Working or coming to work under the influence of medications, illegal substances, or alcohol. Nurses who abuse substances are also at risk of escalating to drug diversion.
• Reduced ability to work: Substandard clinical competence, which may be related to lack of experience, sickness, burnout, or something else.
• Falsifying documentation: Electronic medical records (EMRs) are legal documents, and lying within the chart, or not including necessary information, breaches trust.
• Violating professional guidelines: Going outside your scope of practice, not following evidence-based practices, using social media inappropriately, or behaving in a way that breaches patient trust.

The BON Rules Relating to Unprofessional Conduct

Nursing conduct is regulated by the National Council for State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), which provides guidelines for state boards dealing with unprofessional or unsafe conduct. However, it’s up to individual states to set unprofessional conduct law. Each state also has its own Nurse Practice Act, which defines appropriate and inappropriate conduct for clinicians.

If you’re seeking more information about conduct guidelines in your state, contact your board of nursing. While each state’s policies are different, their process for evaluating professional misconduct is typically similar:

1. Complaint: A complaint can be filed by anyone who witnessed or is aware of unsafe behavior by a nurse, including patients and family members. If you witness unsafe conduct by a peer, know that reporting is mandatory for other nurses, managers, and administrators.
2. Investigation: The board will review the complaint and determine if it violates the BON guidelines for that state. This determines whether the board has jurisdiction to take action on the complaint. If it does, the board will gather evidence, including interviewing the complainant and the nurse in question, reviewing charts, and gathering other pertinent information.
3. Formal complaint: If the complaint warrants a formal hearing, the board will notify the nurse with a date and time.
4. Panel: Hearings are usually conducted with a panel appointed by the board, who will go over evidence from the investigation, and either dismiss the complaint or find misconduct.
5. Board decisions: The board may propose formal charges, loss of licensure, or an alternative discipline program. After the ruling, nurses may be able to appeal the decision.

Unprofessional Conduct Examples

Here are some examples of nursing misconduct that you should be aware of to keep your patients safe. Note that unprofessional conduct at work isn’t the only way to violate professional standards — whether you’re clocked in or not, you’re still a nurse.

• HIPAA privacy violations: Sharing patient information without permission, or accessing the patient record without a legitimate reason.
• Incompetence or negligence: Failing to follow protocols and procedures, or lacking the competence to perform your job.
• Impaired practice: Working while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or substances that impair judgment; failing to seek help for personal issues that affect job performance.
• Patient abandonment: Leaving a patient without transferring care appropriately; failing to report to the incoming nurse or medical staff.
• Medication errors: Administering the wrong medication or incorrect dosage; failing to document medication administration properly.
• Boundary violations: Engaging in inappropriate relationships with patients or their family members, or crossing professional boundaries with colleagues.
• Misrepresentation: Providing false information during the hiring process, misrepresenting credentials, or spreading misinformation.
• Failure to advocate for patients: Ignoring or neglecting patient concerns or requests, or failing to communicate effectively with the healthcare team on behalf of the patient.
• Unsafe practices: Disregarding infection control protocols or ignoring safety measures that put patients or colleagues at risk.

Find Your Next Nursing Role

Now that you know how to spot unprofessional conduct in nursing, you’re ready for your next opportunity to advocate for patients. Get access to the latest opportunities in your area with personalized nurse jobs from IntelyCare.

Legal Disclaimer: This article contains general legal information, but it is not intended to constitute professional legal advice for any particular situation and should not be relied on as professional legal advice. Any references to the law may not be current as laws regularly change through updates in legislation, regulation, and case law at the federal and state level. Nothing in this article should be interpreted as creating an attorney-client relationship. If you have legal questions, you should seek the advice of an attorney licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.