After dedicating years of training and education to acquire the relevant skills and knowledge to treat, identify, and diagnose speech-related and communication issues, the last thing you want is to fight a complaint that could adversely affect your ability to practice. While it can be frustrating, you have legal options. One of them is hiring a defense attorney who can protect your career, livelihood, and reputation. San Luis Obispo License Attorney has the expertise, resources, and training to fight for you. We can stand by you throughout the disciplinary process and help you tenaciously achieve the most favorable case outcome.
Who are Speech-Language Pathologists?
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) work to prevent, assess, treat, and diagnose disorders affecting speech, social communication, swallowing, cognitive communication, and language. In other words, the professionals do the following:
- Assess, treat, and diagnose speech, communication, swallowing, and language disorders
- Training and educating caregivers, families, and other experts
- Offer auricle rehabilitation to people who have hearing difficulties or are deaf
- Work with individuals who have swallowing, language, or speech challenges and want to improve their communication skills (for example, by working on different types of communication enhancement or accent modification).
- Offer augmentative and alternative communication systems for people with language comprehension or severe expressive disorders, such as progressive neurological disorders or autism spectrum disorder.
What Does a Hearing Aid Dispenser Do?
Here are your roles:
- The professional uses audiological tools to measure patients’ hearing abilities and determine the nature and extent of their hearing loss.
- After conducting a comprehensive hearing aid test, the expert will recommend the most suitable type of hearing aid based on the patient’s lifestyle and degree of hearing loss.
- Next, the professional should schedule follow-up appointments to monitor their patients’ progress and make relevant adjustments for optimal performance.
What Does an Audiologist Do?
An audiologist specializes in protecting patients’ hearing by identifying, assessing, and managing disorders of hearing, balance, and other neural systems. Some of the conditions you manage as an audiologist include tinnitus, auditory processing disorder, vestibular disorders, and hearing loss.
As part of your responsibilities, you will:
- Conduct hearing tests
- Recommend hearing aids, hearing assistive devices, or cochlear implants.
- Conduct vestibular testing to assess the function of your inner ear’s balance system.
- Perform vestibular rehabilitation therapy to manage symptoms such as vertigo and dizziness.
- Engage in research to improve the current understanding of hearing and balance diseases within the audiology field.
- Work with other professionals, such as physical therapists, to develop treatment plans.
California Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board
The board is mandated to protect California’s residents by promoting standards and enforcing laws that ensure the qualifications and competence of providers of audiology, hearing aid dispensing, and speech-language pathology services. Among its functions are issuing professional licenses, renewing licenses, and imposing disciplinary actions.
Some of the violations that could trigger the board’s disciplinary process are as follows:
- Substance abuse when taking care of a patient during work hours
- Insurance fraud
- Fraudulent or deceptive advertising
- Working with unlicensed assistants unlawfully
- Exhibiting incompetence or gross negligence
- Accepting compensation for referrals
- Facing a conviction related to your job responsibilities
- Taking bribes for endorsing certain hearing aids
- Continuing education fraud
- Sexual misconduct with a patient
Any person can submit a complaint to the board. The board will review the complaint and dismiss any unsubstantiated allegations.
However, if the board believes the complaint is credible, it can conduct sting operations against you to obtain more evidence. It can also investigate the matter for some time before concluding whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant further investigation.
If the board decides to investigate the matter, it will send you a notice of investigation. Consider hiring a seasoned attorney immediately and avoid speaking with the board investigators without your attorney. Additionally, your lawyer can fight an interim suspension that the board might have issued. You cannot stop practicing during the investigation phase, as it can last for many months.
If your board decides to proceed, it will issue you a formal accusation. Your defense lawyer will evaluate the document and help you respond by filing a notice of defense. The notice of defense preserves your right to fight the allegations and request an administrative hearing. You should file your notice of defense within fifteen days of receiving the formal accusation. Failing to respond can result in a default judgment and the loss of a professional license.
An administrative law judge presides over the administrative hearing. During the hearing, the judge will listen to the evidence and arguments presented by the involved parties. The ALJ will make a proposed decision within thirty days and forward it to your board, which can modify, adopt, or reject the recommendation. If you are dissatisfied with the board’s ruling, you can file an appeal.
Your defense attorney should prepare you adequately for the hearing. They can also cross-examine any witness against you, use character witnesses in your case’s favor, and present mitigating proof to assist you in obtaining the most favorable case outcome.
The board imposes the following disciplinary actions:
- A public reprimand
- License suspension
- License revocation
- Probation
- Referring the case to the attorney general for further investigation that could lead to civil or criminal penalties.
- Citation
Ways to Prevent Facing License Issues
You have dedicated years and invested money to obtain your professional license, and the last thing you want is someone filing an accusation against you with the board.
You may have heard of the phrase, The best defense is a good offense. It holds to safeguarding your profession. Here are different strategies to prevent professional license issues before they arise:
You Should Operate within the Scope of Your Practice
As a compassionate healthcare practitioner, you are compelled to do what it takes to ensure your patient is okay. Nonetheless, acting in good faith does not allow you to exceed the scope of your practice. Engaging in interventions outside your scope could lead to professional discipline and substantial liability.
Maintain Correct Records to Avoid Mistakes
Thorough documentation is a key to effective practice. If it is not in your chart, it did not occur. Correct records serve as proof that you provided care and administered interventions, ensuring continuity of care. Inaccurate or incomplete documentation can result in legal complications and misunderstandings.
Ensure you are thorough in your charting practice and document each patient care activity you perform, so you can avoid forgetting essential details.
Cultivate Effective and Good Communication Skills
When offering care to patients, ensure that you explain their treatment plan and its purpose to them. It allows patients to express their questions and concerns and be actively involved in their well-being and care.
Moreover, effective communication fosters robust relationships among colleagues. A minor misunderstanding could lead to complaints and errors. Consider using standardized tools to reduce the likelihood of miscommunication.
Ultimately, you should be prepared to engage in difficult conversations with patients and colleagues.
Seek Support and Practice Self-Care
You should take care of yourself so that you can effectively care for your patients. Seeking support and practicing self-care to prevent burnout. Eat healthy foods and exercise. Additionally, if you face challenges due to the emotional or physical demands of your job, consider seeking counseling services.
Probation Terms and Conditions
The board acknowledges that probation terms serve as disciplinary guidelines and that it should review every case on an individual basis. If there are circumstances that justify deviation or omission from the guideline, the board requires the administrative law judge to provide an explanation for them. It assists the board in analyzing the recommended decision and making a decision based on the case facts.
Here are some of the probation terms:
- You must comply with all local, state, and federal laws, including every regulation governing your professional practice. Additionally, you should submit a written and comprehensive account of your arrest to your licensing board within five days.
- You should notify your board within five days of the change of your mailing or residence address.
- You should submit a written notification if you leave the state to practice or reside in a different state. Please note that your probation duration is during the time you are away.
- You should submit to the board your verification of conduct and decorations under penalty of perjury. The decorations verify your adherence to your probation conditions.
- During your probation duration, you should not work as a faculty member in an approved or accredited school of audiology or speech-language pathology.
- Your licensing board can require you to enroll in and complete a course related to your violation. Within sixty days of the board’s decision, you should submit your plan to adhere to the requirement. You should acquire approval of the plan from the board before enrolling in the course of study. You should complete the course within the initial year of probation. Your instructor should present proof of completion to the board.
The board will restore your professional license after completing probation.
If you violate your probation, the board will seek to revoke your probation and execute the stayed disciplinary order. You should have received a previous notice and an opportunity to be heard.
How License Suspension Differs from Revocation
When facing a disciplinary process, hearing the phrases “license revocation” and “suspension” attracts severe consequences that could disrupt your livelihood and career. Understanding the difference between these phrases can help you navigate your disciplinary process and advocate effectively for your career and future.
License suspension bans you from practicing as a speech-language pathologist, audiologist, or hearing aid dispenser for a given duration, which can be months or even years. Your licensing board can suspend your license for multiple violations. While you will retain the license, you cannot use it during your suspension period until your board lifts the suspension. For instance, the board could suspend the license for one year and require you to complete continuing education and pay reinstatement fees. The board uses the suspension as a rehabilitative measure to rectify your conduct while preserving the ability to practice.
On the other hand, revocation is the permanent cancellation of the license. You cannot practice unless you satisfy strict reinstatement requirements and reapply. Licensure boards reserve the right to revoke licenses for severe violations, such as fraud, convictions related to the profession, and gross negligence. Sometimes, you could be barred from reapplying once the board revokes your license.
After the board imposes the disciplinary action, you should review the notice it sends you. Read to understand your allegations and the proposed discipline. Also, be sure to pay attention to deadlines if you wish to file your appeal. Your defense lawyer should be able to interpret the details in the notice and protect your rights and livelihood.
Why You Should Hire a Professional License Defense Lawyer
Here are some reasons speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and hearing aid dispensers require legal assistance:
- Protecting your livelihood — Your career is your livelihood. Fighting for it aggressively can ensure that you continue to work on your profession and provide for your family.
- Legal expertise — When you hire a seasoned attorney, you benefit from their experience, knowledge, and resources, thereby increasing your chances of achieving a favorable case outcome.
- Offers emotional support — The professional disciplinary process and investigation can be daunting and stressful. Your dedicated lawyer can offer the reassurance and emotional support you need and deserve during this challenging moment.
- Preserving your reputation — Your professional license is your badge of honor, representing your dedication to patient well-being and care. Fighting for your license and career helps protect your professional integrity and reputation.
- Reduced penalties — Your lawyer can present mitigating proof, ensuring the board imposes reduced penalties and a favorable case outcome.
Find a Seasoned Professional License Defense Lawyer Near Me
As a certified audiologist, hearing aid dispenser, or SP, you should comply with your licensing board standards and regulations to retain your license. Your career is founded on assisting patients with hearing issues, and it relies on public trust. That is the reason why it is frustrating to discover that public trust has been compromised when someone files a complaint with the board. The board takes allegations seriously, and if the complaint has merit, you could face disciplinary action. San Luis Obispo License Attorney can review the case facts to develop a viable defense strategy to assist you in navigating the process, obtain the most favorable case outcome, and protect your interests. Please call us at 805-764-9771 to schedule your free case review.
