I85PREP
⌘ K
KY Jurisprudence study materials
KY Jurisprudence study resources

KY Jurisprudence: Professional Conduct, Ethics, and Disciplinary Processes

KY Jurisprudence · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Professional Conduct, Ethics, and Disciplinary Processes

This domain tests the standards of conduct expected of Kentucky nurses and how the Board investigates and sanctions violations. The main disciplinary authority is KRS 314.091; the Board also enforces conduct regulations, including 201 KAR 20:510 on unprofessional conduct.

Conduct and ethics

  • Nurses must practice within scope, maintain competence, protect confidentiality, respect professional boundaries, and avoid fraud, deceit, and misrepresentation.
  • Ethical duties include advocacy, veracity, fidelity, and avoiding conflicts of interest. A nurse who is impaired or unsafe must not practice.
  • KRS 314.091 grounds include fraud in obtaining a license, practicing beyond scope, gross negligence, incompetence, impairment, unprofessional conduct, criminal conviction, and discipline in another state.
  • Kentucky law and Board rules provide a reporting mechanism and protect good-faith reports to the Board. Nurses should report impairment or serious violations rather than conceal them.

Disciplinary process

  • A complaint is investigated by the Board; if sufficient evidence exists, charges are issued and an administrative hearing is held under KRS Chapter 13B.
  • Sanctions may include reprimand, probation, suspension, revocation, practice limitations, continuing education, monitoring, and civil penalties.
  • Board discipline is separate from employer discipline or criminal prosecution; one does not bar another.

Worked example. A nurse documents that a pain medication was given but diverts it for personal use. A coworker reports the conduct. The Board may discipline the nurse for falsification and impairment even if criminal charges are dropped and the employer imposes only a suspension. The administrative case turns on the Nursing Practice Act, not on the criminal standard.

Traps. Believing employer discipline resolves the Board matter; believing a patient complaint is required; using "I followed orders" to justify practice outside scope; assuming confidentiality ends when employment ends.