In California, you must have a professional license to practice as a doctor, nurse, or physician. The California Medical Board is responsible for licensing and regulating physicians and their practices. Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare practitioners are held in high regard. This is because of their responsibility and direct contact with people's lives.
Your medical license may be subject to suspension or revocation for various forms of misconduct, including a criminal conviction. After an arrest and criminal conviction in California, you are legally obligated to inform the Medical Board of the conviction. Due to their routine investigation, they will still find the record even if you fail to notify them.
Whether or not your criminal conviction is directly related to your professional roles, it can have severe and life-changing consequences. If you or your loved one is at risk of losing their license due to a criminal conviction, you will require the guidance of a skilled lawyer to help you navigate the medical board proceedings.
Disclosing Criminal Convictions to the California Medical Board
The Medical Board of California ensures that all license holders perform their duties accordingly while ensuring the safety and well-being of patients. You must report the conviction to the medical board if you are arrested and convicted for a criminal offense.
In most cases, the prosecuting agency may still notify the board. Therefore, following your duty to report will help avoid the repercussions of concealing the conviction. Most health practitioners assume that reporting the conviction may end your career. However, this is different.
When you report a conviction, you will receive the assistance and support you need for rehabilitation to continue with your career. The main goal of mandating a report is to ensure the safety of patients and individuals whose lives are entrusted to physicians. Not all criminal convictions are caused by careless disregard for the law.
Sometimes, a drug addiction or mental health complication could cause someone to commit a crime like DUI or a serious sex crime. In addition to taking disciplinary measures against your license, the medical board may find ways to help you by placing you in rehabilitation or a mental health treatment program.
What Convictions Should I Report to the Medical Board?
In California, you must report the following convictions to the medical board:
Misdemeanor and Felony Convictions from Any Jurisdiction
If you are a practicing physician under the California Medical Board, you must report all convictions within thirty days. A conviction, in this case, is a case that ends in a guilty verdict from the judge or jury. Although the repercussions on your medical license will vary depending on the nature of your underlying criminal charge, you must disclose all.
Disclosure of convictions is not limited to California. You have an obligation to notify the board of the out-of-state convictions. For example, suppose you are a nurse practicing in California and are convicted of drunk driving while on vacation in Las Vegas. In that case, you must notify the medical board of the conviction.
No Contest Plea
Not all criminal cases end with a guilty or not guilty verdict. Pleading no contest to a criminal charge means accepting a conviction and its potential consequences. However, this does not mean you accept guilt for the offense. However, you must understand that a defendant who enters a no-contest plea will receive a similar level of punishment as an individual found guilty of the crime.
Whether your criminal case ended in a no-contest or guilty plea, you must disclose it to the medical board to keep your professional license.
Deferred Entry of Judgement
A deferred entry of judgment is a judicial program where you plead guilty or no contest to your criminal charges, and the court defers your sentencing while you serve probation. After you complete probation and other treatment programs successfully, the court will dismiss your charges.
However, failure to complete the requirements for the program will result in sentencing to the maximum term for the offense. Even when you are not sent to jail and your case ends in a deferred entry of judgment, the medical board has a right to know about the issue.
When Should I Notify the California Medical Board of My Conviction?
The mandatory self-reporting policy for physicians in California is independent of license renewal. You must provide information about all criminal convictions since the last renewal or issuance date when renewing your license. While reporting during renewal is necessary, you must make a report to the medical board thirty days after the conviction.
The route for reporting your criminal actions is through the 802 report, which is available on the medical boards' website. With the report, you can explain the actions that led to your arrest and conviction. The conviction report allows the medical board to learn of your conduct and activities independent of the criminal acts.
Even when you do not report your conviction, the medical board may find it through a notice from the prosecuting agency or when you seek to renew your license. However, failure to report your conviction is accompanied by an indictment and punishment, with fines ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.
Many physicians fear reporting their convictions to the medical board, hoping the board will not find the conviction. Filling out and submitting the report will have long-lasting benefits. Even when you are late for the submission, you can have your attorney review it and send it with an explanation for the delay.
Unlike visas and other documents, a professional license is a privilege rather than a right. For this reason, you must be careful when presenting the documents and reports about your conviction. You must be honest since the board will perform its investigations.
Administrative Hearing by the California Medical Board
The medical board will perform an independent investigation even when you offer your side of the story about your conviction. This will help determine whether your criminal conduct is part of a pattern or a one-time issue. Unlike popular belief, the board is not interested in the actual criminal conduct you committed. Instead, they want to determine if you have an underlying issue that could have contributed to your crime.
Evidence of mental health issues, behavioral disorders, and drug addiction helps the board determine the correct cause of action. Since the scope of questioning by the medical board officials could be broad, you must prepare for the interview.
If a conviction has not yet occurred, it would be best to avoid answering questions about the crime. This is because the information you provide to the medical board can be used to pursue further criminal prosecution. However, in most cases, a report is made after the legal issues are resolved.
At the administrative hearing, you have the right to explain away your convictions and assure the medical board that there is no reason for concern. Your ability to put the issues to rest could determine the level of disciplinary action that you face. If you believe you have been rehabilitated, you should inform the board of this.
For example, if you reported a drunk driving conviction to the medical board, they may be concerned about your drug problems. If you attended drug counseling sessions as part of your conviction, you could present this evidence to mitigate the board's perception of you.
Investigators from the medical board expect you to be represented by an attorney during their interviews. Although they may try to convince you not to obtain representation, they will have their lawyers at the administrative hearing. The stakes are high for a physician after a criminal conviction. Therefore, having legal guidance is critical.
Your lawyer ensures you do not receive surprise interviews and contacts. Additionally, your attorney protects your rights at the interview by ensuring that the questions asked fall within the scope of your professional license and medical practice. Other roles that your lawyer will play in the case include:
- Regulate the flow of information. Disclosure of criminal convictions to the medical board involves filling out numerous paperwork which can be challenging for a person with no legal background. Your attorney helps you submit a report to the medical board for utmost honesty and accuracy. If the board finds that you omitted information or lied about your conviction, you could face a harsh consequence.
- Prepare you for questioning. Facing a medical board hearing can be overwhelming. The outcome of the hearing may affect your career and livelihood. For this reason, you could be nervous about the questions you will have to answer. Your answer to the medical board questions can impact your professional license's fate. Having a legal representative by your side helps you understand how to answer the questions best.
- Help you seek closure to the issue. Attending an administrative hearing with the medical board allows you to defend yourself against adverse measures to your professional license and medical practice. Therefore, your licensed defense attorney will formulate strategies to ensure closure for the issue.
Importance of Reporting your Conviction
Immediately after your conviction, you must follow through with your legal duty of reporting the conviction to the medical board. Although the board will find out about the conviction through other means, reporting it yourself could benefit your situation.
First, you will appear honest and stand up by honoring your duty to report. Additionally, you will have a chance to explain yourself with the information you present. If you fail to report your conviction, you could face further consequences.
Disciplinary Action for Criminal Convictions by The Medical Board
Even when you do your due diligence in reporting your criminal conviction to the board, disciplinary action may be inevitable. Doctors, physicians, and nurses are held in high regard. The licensing board expects them to act right and avoid criminal conduct or other forms of malpractice.
Each case is different. Therefore, even after you report your criminal conviction to the medical board, they will investigate. Unlike what many people think, the medical board is not interested in the type of crime you committed. However, your criminal conduct's impact on your profession and ability to perform your duties is critical.
For example, drunk driving is an extremely reckless behavior that disregards the safety of others. The medical board will perform different investigations on your criminal and medical histories. This helps to determine whether you have a drug problem. Having drug or mental issues affects your ability to provide medical services. In this case, you may receive harsh disciplinary action.
Some factors that could affect the nature of disciplinary action include the following:
- When the arrest occurred. There is a specific time frame within which you must report your conviction. Mostly, it is best to report when no further criminal actions can be taken against you. This is because the information disclosed to the medical board can bring forth furhet allegations.
- The circumstance of your arrest. Your case circumstances are the factors that differentiate your conviction from another one stemming from the same crime. Whether or not aggravating circumstances in your conviction may affect the type of punishment you receive from the medical board.
- Your criminal history. The California Medical Board is already strict on physicians who engage in criminal activity. It may be difficult to avoid a license revocation or suspension if you are a repeat offender or have similar prior convictions.
- Your compliance with the court. The arrest, prosecution, and conviction process can be long and complicated. The court requires you to follow the process accordingly, from attending your trial after a bail release to serving your sentence and completing probation. If you have violated any court orders throughout your case proceedings, your chances of harsh disciplinary action are high.
- Evidence of rehabilitation. The main factor in your administrative hearing is your conduct outside of your criminal conduct. If you can show evidence of rehabilitation from your acts, the medical board may be convinced to act leniently towards you.
The following are some of the convictions that are substantially related to your role as a physician and can result in severe consequences:
- Offenses that require sex offender registration.
- First and second-degree murder.
- Lewd acts with a child.
- Rape.
- Sexual exploitation of a patient.
- Medical malpractice violations.
- Public intoxication.
- Drug and substance abuse.
- Driving under drug and alcohol influence.
- Medical fraud.
Common forms of disciplinary action taken against physicians after reporting a criminal conviction include the following:
- Professional probation. The medical board can put you on probation if you were convicted of a minor offense and have shown signs of rehabilitation. Being on probation means you can continue to practice but will be under close supervision and monitoring. While on probation, the medical board expects you to follow various conditions, including attending counseling and treatment sessions.
- License suspension. One of the common outcomes of reporting a criminal conviction to the medical board is a suspension of your professional license. A license suspension means you cannot practice medicine for a specific period. Unless you have committed a serious offense, the medical board will only suspend your license if you have ignored several actions. Once the suspension period has ended, the suspension will be lifted, and you can continue to practice.
- License revocation. A professional license revocation is the worst outcome of reporting your conviction to the medical board. Even when you face a misdemeanor conviction, you can lose your license in a revocation. You cannot continue providing medical services when the board revises your license.
- Placement on the list of ineligible provides for state-funded insurance.
- Disqualification from being an expert witness in a criminal or civil case.
- Exclusion from the list of insurance preferred provider list.
- Publication of your conviction on your license profile.
Medical practitioners have no obligation to accept the decision of the California Medical Board. You can appeal the decision if you suspend or revoke your professional license. With the guidance of your attorney, you can gather evidence and build a strong case to contest the decision.
Find a Competent License Defense Attorney Near Me
Criminal convictions in California have severe legal and collateral consequences. If you are a licensed physician, the hard work, years in school, and financial commitment toward your career could go down the drain due to one conviction. There are many ways in which the medical board discovers your conviction.
However, under California Business and Professions Code 802, you should report the conviction before the medical board discovers it. After you report the conviction, the board will investigate and hold an administrative hearing to determine the fate of your license. In addition to a suspension and revocation of your license, you could face conviction.
A knowledgeable, licensed defense attorney's guidance is critical when facing the medical board after a criminal conviction. At The Legal Guardian, we will review your conviction report before you submit it to the medical board. Additionally, we will offer the much-needed legal guidance to move through the medical board’s scrutiny in Long Beach, CA. Contact us at 866-448-6811 to discuss the details of your situation.
