Professional Conduct and Discipline
What this domain tests
The Board's disciplinary authority under RSA 318 - the grounds it can act on, the process it must follow, and the sanctions it can impose. Items often present a fact pattern and ask whether the conduct is a violation, whether the pharmacist had a duty to report, or whether the Board's procedure was proper.
Common grounds for discipline
- Fraud or deceit in obtaining a license, or in dispensing and billing.
- Negligence or incompetence in practice, including repeated dispensing errors and failure to counsel.
- Violating the controlled substances laws, including dispensing without a valid prescription or ignoring red flags.
- Practicing while impaired by alcohol, drugs, or a physical or mental condition that affects competence.
- Unprofessional conduct, such as breaching patient confidentiality, abandoning a patient, or failing to cooperate with a Board investigation.
- Discipline taken in another jurisdiction, which New Hampshire may treat as independent grounds.
Process and sanctions
A complaint triggers an investigation; if the matter is not resolved, the licensee receives notice and an opportunity for a hearing, with the right to counsel and to present evidence. Sanctions range from reprimand and civil penalty through probation with monitoring, suspension, and revocation; the Board may act summarily where continued practice poses an immediate danger to the public. Impaired practitioners are generally steered toward treatment and monitored return to practice rather than automatic revocation.
Worked example
A pharmacist is arrested for driving while intoxicated and does not tell the Board. Reasoning: the arrest is a reportable event under the Board's self-reporting rules, and failure to report is a separate violation that can be charged even if the underlying charge is later dismissed. Reporting obligations attach at the arrest or charge stage, not at conviction.
Traps that cost marks
Assuming a criminal charge must be proven before the Board may act - the Board applies a different standard. Assuming an expunged or out-of-state matter is invisible. Treating Board investigators as adversarial when cooperation is a licensure duty.