The New York State Department of Health’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) or Office of Professional Discipline (OPD) may conduct an investigation against you, which may subsequently lead to your hearing. After going through the motions of this hearing, the OPMC or OPD board may send a notice regarding their decision to suspend your medical license. This notice may explain their reasonings for the suspension, along with any associated fines you are expected to pay. Understandably so, this decision may be devastating to your career as a medical professional. Continue reading to learn whether you can return to work after a medical license suspension and how one of the experienced OPMC/OPD misconduct defense lawyers at Walker Medical Law can ensure you are equipped to rejoin the medical field.
Approximately when can I return to work after a medical license suspension?
Before all else, you must understand your capability to appeal the OPMC’s or OPD’s decision to suspend your medical license. This is so long as you file this petition within 30 days of receiving your notice, or otherwise the date disclosed in your notice. Here, you may need to produce solid evidence that proves the Board’s findings at your initial hearing were unfounded.
Unfortunately, it may be proven difficult to make the Board overturn their initial decision. In this case, you may have to wait a while until your medical license is reinstated and you can return to work in the medical field again. That is, the typical waiting period before reinstatement can be requested is three years.
What should I do while waiting for my medical license to be reinstated?
Further, you must understand that you are not guaranteed the reinstatement of your medical license by simply filing the request and paying its fee (i.e., a $750 check to the New York State Education Department). That is, you may be summoned to attend a medical license restoration hearing, in which you must demonstrate to the Board why you deserve to have this privilege returned to you.
So, for this hearing to go smoothly, it is in your best interest to be productive during the time your medical license was suspended. In other words, it would help your case if you can prove the following circumstances as true:
- You can show the Board that you participated in rehabilitative programs to resolve the root cause of your medical misconduct incident (i.e., inpatient drug and alcohol rehab if you had substance abuse issues).
- You can show the Board that you participated in legal, volunteer work adjacent to the medical field during your suspension (i.e., administrative work at healthcare organizations).
- You can show the Board that you participated in Continued Medical Education programs for your particular practice area during your suspension.
What you need the most is likely strong legal representation from one of the skilled OPMC/OPD misconduct defense lawyers. Someone at Walker Medical Law is awaiting your phone call.
