HJAR Jan/Feb 2023

Consider presenting lay witnesses. You can also bring witnesses that are not experts to support your actions. It may be impor- tant to bring co-workers, mentors, or others that have knowledge of the specific actions alleged in this complaint and/or your gen- eral competence in the field. Remember, the board has subpoena power to compel your witnesses to come to the hearing and will do so if, under the board’s rules, you give it enough notice to have time to do so. How- ever, we always caution forcing a witness to come and testify if they are unwilling to come without a subpoena. You do not want to run the risk of presenting unfavorable testimony in your case, so proceed with caution when asking the board to subpoena witnesses for your case. Be organized and sincere. Overall, your case needs to be organized and well- thought-out. Practice; take the hearing seri- ously, and be honest and sincere. It is our experience that authenticity and transpar- ency is the key to getting a good result in front of any licensing board. Prepare a closing statement. At the close of all of the evidence, both parties will be given the opportunity to give a closing statement to the board. This statement, again, should be brief but may be longer than your opening statement. In closing, it is helpful to recount the evidence that is helpful to your defense as you believe it was presented. Also, it is helpful to point out — in a respectful way — why you believe the attorney general’s case is flawed. But if you believe you have committed the allegations against you, you may want to apologize at this time. Also, if you are in this situation, and in front of the board because you are trying to avoid a license suspension or revo- cation, tell the board what you are willing to do in order to prove to them your com- petence in the profession and your com- mitment to the same (additional training, supervision, etc.). It is important to outline an alternative. Listen to the board’s deliberations. Administrative board hearings are open to the public, including the board’s delib- erations. Unlike a jury trial in civil/criminal cases, a licensee has unfettered access to the deliberations of the board in your case. Although it can be uncomfortable, you can listen to the board deliberate your case. At the end of the deliberations, the board will vote on whether or not they believe you committed the pending allegations against you. If they vote that they do believe you have committed the allegations, they will traditionally move directly into determin- ing what repercussions your license should suffer because of those violations. You will get to listen to these deliberations as well. APPEALS Unfortunately, licensing boards do not always rule in your favor. However, you can generally appeal board decisions toArkan- sas state courts within 30 days of the board’s order. Put your best defense forward, how- ever, because licensing board decisions are given substantial deference on appeal, making it rare to overturn such decisions on appeal. Finally, know that you are permitted to be represented by counsel at every step of this process, including responding to the initial inquiry. See Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 555. n REFERENCES 1 Beck, J, MD. “The Board Has Received a Com- plaint.” Arkansas State Medical Board Newsletter. Summer 2009. http://www.armedicalboard.org/ public/NewsLetter/Issue42.pdf 2 Arkansas Department of Health, Arkansas State Board of Nursing. “The Disciplinary Process: What Every Licensed Nurse Needs to Know.” May 2021. https://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/images/ uploads/pdf/DisciplinaryProcess.pdf 3 U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Law Revision Council. United States Code. Ac- cessed December 2022. http://uscode.house. gov/browse/prelim@title5/part1/chapter5/ subchapter2&edition=prelim “Normally, the board will ‘serve’ you with a copy of the complaint and request your response... But before you do anything in response — contact your liability insurance carrier. Likely, your malpractice policy includes coverage for defending your license. However, most policies require that you promptly notify the insurer in order for you to be entitled to coverage.”