Medicine may be more than just your career; it may also be your life. So you may find yourself completely distraught when you receive the devastating news that the Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) or Office of Professional Discipline (OPD) has stripped you of your right to practice. This may feel like the end of the road for your professional career in medicine, especially if you believe your personal reputation has been tarnished in the New York State medical community along the way. Well, for this, please follow along to find out whether you can work in the medical field ever again after getting your license revoked and how one of the proficient OPMC/OPD misconduct defense lawyers at Walker Medical Law can help you navigate this rather scary, unknown time.
Can I ever get my medical license back after its revocation?
You should not throw your hands up in the air and forfeit, so to speak, after having your medical license revoked. That is, there may still be paths back to licensure that are worth exploring. The New York State Education Department may allow some physicians to apply for restoration post-revocation after a three-year waiting period. However, this may depend on the seriousness of the misconduct that caused them to lose their license in the first place. Then, there must be sufficient supplementary evidence that they are no longer a risk to the public, such as proof of attending rehabilitation programs, therapy, and psychiatric assessments, along with character witnesses to back them up.
Can I work in the medical field ever again if I lose my license?
Even if you cannot get your medical license restored by the New York State Education Department, there is still hope for your professional career in the medical field. For one, just because you lose your physician license does not necessarily mean you cannot acquire another professional license and become a nurse practitioner, physician assistant, pharmacist, or therapist. However, this separate licensure may still be denied by the State Board if your physician license loss involved a serious felony, drug-related conviction, or crime of moral turpitude.
If you do not want to redo the educational, examination, and licensure processes, you may consider healthcare-adjacent jobs. Namely, you may consider becoming a professor at a higher education institute, a medical research coordinator, a scientific data analyst, a healthcare risk management consultant, an administrator at a hospital, etc. Again, though, many healthcare employers conduct background checks before hiring, regardless of whether your prospective role involves direct patient interaction. So your reputation may precede you, and you may face difficulties getting an initial job offer, but it is not entirely impossible.
You probably have more questions regarding this topic, and we would be happy to answer them for you. Please schedule an initial consultation with one of the talented OPMC/OPD misconduct defense lawyers from Walker Medical Law. We look forward to our conversation with you.
