Can Past Discipline from the Arizona Nursing Board be Removed from Nursys?
No, under current Arizona Board of Nursing (“Board”) laws, past discipline cannot be removed from NURSYS (the national database for verification of nurse licensure). In 2018, the Board moved license verification from the Board’s website to NURSYS. Previous Board policy removed all disciplinary actions from a nurse’s record after a five-year period. This is no longer the policy.
What Does the Board Considered Discipline?
- Revocation
- Suspension
- Voluntary Surrender
- Probation (Consent Agreement)
- Civil Penalty
- Decree of Censure
Only Two Options for Removal
Per Nursys rules, there are effectively only two ways for a discipline case to be removed or deleted from the database:
- Board Error: If discipline has been attached to your license by error, the Board can correct this delete the incorrect report.
- Expungement of Case: The Arizona Board of Nursing does not currently offer the expungement of any past disciplinary case. There would need to be a change in Arizona law for this to become an option.
A voluntary surrender will place a permanent mark on a nurse’s record; thus a nurse must make absolutely certain they are making an informed decision. A voluntary surrender is when a licensee chooses voluntarily to surrender a professional license or voluntarily agrees not to renew one’s license, usually to resolve an outstanding complaint instead of going through the investigatory process that could lead to discipline, suspension or revocation.
A voluntary surrender is considered formal discipline. Any formal disciplinary action from the Arizona Nursing Board is reported to NURSYS and the National Practitioner Database.
What is NURSYS
NURSYS is a comprehensive national database that enables nurses to gain access to information about their practice privileges and the state board they are registered with. Employers can use this service as well because it helps them verify whether someone meets necessary requirements on licensing, discipline history and past employment records all from one source.
Under current Arizona law, once a disciplinary action is reported to NURSYS from the Arizona Nursing Board it can never be removed. Disciplinary actions used to be removed from the Board’s website after 5 years; however, that policy has changed now that the Board no longer hosts their own license verification.
Decree of Censure
So, Is a Decree of Censure from The Arizona Nursing Board Public? No, a decree of censure is considered formal discipline and is reported to NURSYS (the national database for verification of nurse licensure). So, a decree of censure would always show up if an employer were to verify your license on NURSYS.
What is a Decree of Censure?
A decree of censure is the lowest level of formal discipline. There are no probationary requirements, but the Order will be listed on NURSYS forever. under current Arizona Board of Nursing (“Board”) laws, past discipline cannot be removed from NURSYS (the national database for verification of nurse licensure). In 2018, the Board moved license verification from the Board’s website to NURSYS. Previous Board policy removed all disciplinary actions from a nurse’s record after a five-year period.
If you’re interested in learning more about our Arizona Nursing Board Discipline services and how to protect your rights, set up a consultation with Chelle Law and our Arizona Nursing Attorney reach out to us today.
