ProPublica, a non-profit news group, reports that certain states are organized into compacts, allowing nursing licenses to transfer between them. It was designed to help alleviate nursing shortages in individual states. ProPublica reveals and USA Today reports that this compact system has actually allowed bad nurses to move freely between the participating states. If a nurse is disciplined for misconduct in one state, they just pack their things and head to another member of the compact of states.
The screening systems in some of the state groups are lagging. USA Today writes that, "Nurse Craig Peske was fired from a hospital in Wausau, Wis., in 2007 after stealing the powerful painkiller Dilaudid 'whenever the opportunity arose,' state records say. In one three-month period, he signed out 245 syringes full of the drug — nine times the average of hisfellow nurses." He was reported to Wisconsin police. So, Peske moved to North Carolina and became a nurse there, where he could continue his habit.
This lack of screening can significantly affect patient care. If you or someone you know has suffered as a result of hospital negligence, contact experienced Washington medical malpractice lawyers at Fuller & Fuller today.