Does a Nurse Have Due Process Rights?

Yes, the Tennessee Board of Nursing may not revoke or suspend a nurse’s license until the Board has provided due process to the impacted nurse. A licensed nurse has the right to continue practicing in her or his chosen profession without unreasonable interference by the government. As the Tennessee Court of Appeals explained in Miller v. Tenn. Bd. of Nursing (2007), “the right to engage in one’s chosen profession or occupation without unreasonable governmental interference or deprivation is both a property and a liberty interest protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Article, Section 8 of the Tennessee Constitution.”

Procedural due process means that before a governmental body --- such as the Tennessee Board of Nursing – impacts a person’s liberty interest (such as their governmentally issued license to practice a profession) that governmental body must comply or clear certain procedural hurdles.

This means that the Board of Nursing must give the nurse appropriate notice of the charges and an opportunity to be heard before a neutral, unbiased proceeding. In plain English, the essence of procedural due process is notice and a hearing. The notice must include the alleged offending conduct and the penalties that the Board is seeking. The hearing must be meaningful and not a sham.

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