Two weeks after the governor demanded changes to the Minnesota Board of Nursing's "attitude and approach" to discipline, the board plans this week to discuss "policy issues" raised by the Star Tribune's coverage of the board's disciplinary actions.
Thursday is the board's first scheduled meeting since the stories began running on Oct. 6, which have reported that the board has allowed nurses to keep their licenses despite serious misconduct, including causing patient harm and sometimes death, stealing drugs from patients, practicing while impaired, and lying about their past misconduct.
The board faces demands from Gov. Mark Dayton that it get tougher on problem nurses. Last month, he called the board "asleep at the switch" and said it needs to change its culture regarding discipline.
The board plans to review its disciplinary process and whether it should meet more often to consider nursing discipline.
