Susan Wagener recently presented a webinar for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) on strategies for defending their professional licenses. The presentation focused on the professional license disciplinary process and issues specific to APRN’s (e.g., scope of practice, prescriptive authority, and the most common areas of discipline: medical diagnosis and medication error). She also discussed substance use disorder and Alternative to Discipline programs that are in place in most states, as well as ways in which APRNs can advocate on their own behalf to prevent discipline to their professional license or mitigate the discipline that may be issued. The webinar was sponsored by Nurses Service Organization (NSO), a division of AON Corporation that provides insurance coverage to APRN’s for medical malpractice and professional license disciplinary defense.
Wagener, a partner in the firm’s Chicago office, focuses her practice on the defense of health care professional licensure cases. She also regularly handles medical malpractice and nursing home litigation. She is a member of The American Association of Nurse Attorneys and regularly has the opportunity to represent nurses insured through NSO for license discipline matters. In addition to her active trial practice, she frequently writes and speaks on topics related to malpractice risk management and the defense of disciplinary matters. Prior to becoming an attorney, Wagener was a registered nurse, specializing in orthopedic and medical-surgical nursing care.