Texas Administrative Code › Title 22 - EXAMINING BOARDS › Part 11 - TEXAS BOARD OF NURSING › Chapter 213 - PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE › Section 213.33 - Factors Considered for Imposition of Penalties/Sanctions

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) The Board and the State Office of
				Administrative Hearings (SOAH) shall utilize the Disciplinary Matrix set forth
				in subsection (b) of this section in all disciplinary and eligibility
				matters.
(b) The Disciplinary
				Matrix is as follows:
Attached
				  Graphic
(c) The
				Board and SOAH shall consider the following factors in conjunction with the
				Disciplinary Matrix when determining the appropriate penalty/sanction in
				disciplinary and eligibility matters. The mitigating and aggravating factors
				specified in the Matrix are in addition to the factors listed in this
				subsection. Further, the presence of mitigating factors in a particular case
				does not constitute a requirement of dismissal of a violation of the Nursing
				Practice Act (NPA) and/or Board rules. If multiple violations of the NPA and/or
				Board rules are present in a single case, the most severe sanction recommended
				by the Matrix for any one of the individual offenses should be considered by
				the Board and SOAH pursuant to Tex. Occ. Code §301.4531. The following
				factors shall be analyzed in determining the tier and sanction level of the
				Disciplinary Matrix for a particular violation or multiple violations of the
				NPA and Board rules:
(1) evidence of actual or
				potential harm to patients, clients, or the public;
(2) evidence of a lack of truthfulness or
				trustworthiness;
(3) evidence of
				misrepresentation(s) of knowledge, education, experience, credentials, or
				skills which would lead a member of the public, an employer, a member of the
				health-care team, or a patient to rely on the fact(s) misrepresented where such
				reliance could be unsafe;
(4)
				evidence of practice history;
(5)
				evidence of present fitness to practice;
(6) whether the person has been subject to
				previous disciplinary action by the Board or any other health care licensing
				agency in Texas or another jurisdiction and, if so, the history of compliance
				with those actions;
(7) the length
				of time the person has practiced;
(8) the actual damages, physical, economic,
				or otherwise, resulting from the violation;
(9) the deterrent effect of the penalty
				imposed;
(10) attempts by the
				person to correct or stop the violation;
(11) any mitigating or aggravating
				circumstances, including those specified in the Disciplinary Matrix;
(12) the extent to which system dynamics in
				the practice setting contributed to the problem;
(13) whether the person is being disciplined
				for multiple violations of the NPA or its derivative rules and
				orders;
(14) the seriousness of the
				violation;
(15) the threat to
				public safety;
(16) evidence of
				good professional character as set forth and required by §
										213.27
				of this chapter (relating to Good Professional Character);
(17) participation in a continuing education
				course described in §
										216.3(f)
				of this title (relating to Requirements) completed not more than two years
				before the start of the Board's investigation, if the nurse is being
				investigated by the Board regarding the nurse's selection of clinical care for
				the treatment of tick-borne diseases; and
(18) any other matter that justice may
				require.