Violations, Prohibited Conduct, and Enforcement and Penalties
What counts as a violation
Prohibited conduct includes practicing without a license, practicing beyond scope, aiding unlicensed practice, falsifying records or license applications, failing to meet CE or reporting obligations, practicing while impaired, and patient abuse or exploitation. Questions often describe conduct that is unethical but ask whether it is a statutory violation; the answer depends on whether the conduct falls within the enumerated grounds. Know the categories and recognize that many violations are defined by Board rule as well as statute.
Enforcement pathways
Enforcement can arise from a patient complaint, a peer report, a self-report, or an agency referral. The Board investigates and may resolve by consent order or hearing. Penalties include reprimand, probation with conditions, suspension, revocation, civil penalties, and costs. Criminal exposure is separate and belongs to prosecutors and courts. Traps include: assuming a violation automatically results in revocation (sanctions are graduated); assuming a consent order is not discipline (it is); and assuming the Board must wait for a criminal conviction before acting (it need not).
Reporting obligations
Licensees may have duties to report certain conduct, such as impairment or abuse, to the appropriate authority. Questions test whether the professional should report, and to whom. The safe analysis is to follow the statute and Board rule, protect the patient, and document the report.
Worked rule of thumb
For any enforcement scenario, ask: What duty was breached, to whom, and what is the proportionate response? Then match the answer to the Board's graduated sanctions rather than jumping to the most severe outcome.
Trap to avoid
Do not assume that because conduct is unethical it is automatically a statutory violation-or vice versa. Match the facts to the enumerated grounds.