10 Most Common Examples of Unprofessional Conduct in Nursing


Written By: Sarah CruzanSarah Cruzan RN, BSN

Sarah Cruzan is a registered nurse with 6 years of hospital, sales, and education experience. She is passionate about engaging clients and providing exceptional care. Sarah was a competitive swimmer for 15 years. She received a scholarship to The Ohio State University and swam varsity for 4 years. Read Full Bio »»
RN, BSN


If you are a nurse dedicated to having a successful career, one of the most important things you can do is ensure you follow proper protocol for professionalism and avoid any appearance of unprofessional conduct. All nurses should ask, “What are the common examples of unprofessional conduct in nursing, and how can I avoid them?” Although there are several ways nurses can demonstrate unprofessional conduct, I will share the 10 most common examples of unprofessional conduct in nursing with you in this article to give you insight into which behaviors you should be careful to avoid. By having a professional attitude and conducting yourself in the appropriate way, you can help promote positive outcomes for patients, yourself, and your team, and look forward to a rewarding career!



What are the Common Examples of Unprofessional Conduct in Nursing?

(The following are the 10 most common examples of unprofessional conduct in nursing.)


EXAMPLE #1: Stealing medications or controlled substances

The number one best example of unprofessional conduct in nursing is stealing medications such as controlled substances. Nurses who steal medications tend to do so by not giving the prescribed medication to their patients, or they falsely waste the medication and keep it for themselves. You may be wondering what types of medications nurses tend to steal. Most of the time, nurses will steal controlled substances like opioids, stimulants, or CNS depressants. If you were to divert medications, you would not only lose your job but you could also be charged with a felony and lose your license.


EXAMPLE #2: HIPPA violations

As a nurse, it is your professional responsibility to protect confidential patient information, also known as HIPPA information. There are several ways a nurse may commit a HIPPA violation. For example, if you have a friend or family member who is admitted to the hospital where you work, if you are not assigned as their nurse and access their chart to see how they are doing, you are violating HIPPA. Another example of violating HIPPA laws occurs if you provide any information to any person who is not authorized by the patient to have that information. For instance, if the family member of your patient calls and asks to see how they are doing, if they are not on the list of authorized people to receive information, disclosing any information about the patient to them is a HIPPA violation.


EXAMPLE #3: Patient abandonment

Another example of unprofessional conduct in nursing is patient abandonment. If you were to leave your shift or take a break without notifying anyone, you could be accused of patient abandonment. Even falling asleep at work and failing to care for your patients could be reported to the board of nursing and investigated. The level of repercussions following patient abandonment is typically determined by any harm that came to the patient due to abandonment, plus any attempts that you made to notify your manager or have someone cover for you. If you were to abandon your patient and harm came to the patient due to this, you could be charged with negligence, lose your job, have your license revoked, and may be sued for negligence by the patient.


EXAMPLE #4: Committing a crime outside of work

Committing any crime outside of work is considered unprofessional conduct in nursing. Nursing boards have the authority to act against you for any actions that violate good character or moral provisions, even if these incidents occur outside of work and in your personal life. If you are charged with a crime, you are required to report the occurrence to your State Board of Nursing.

Examples of crimes include driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, possessing illegal drugs, theft, and fraud. It is up to your B.O.N. to determine what action, if any, it takes against your license, but certain crimes could result in suspension or revocation of your nursing license.


EXAMPLE #5: Violence toward a patient or family member

One of the most obvious examples of unprofessional conduct in nursing is violence towards a coworker or a patient. Most hospitals have a zero-tolerance policy toward violence. As a nurse, you are there to help protect your patients and do no harm, so being violent to your patients or their families is unacceptable. If you have a patient or family member who is becoming aggressive, the best thing you can do is remove yourself from the situation and call security.

I remember when I was a bedside nurse on a postpartum unit, one of my coworkers had an escalating situation with her baby’s fathers. The father was in an argument with the mother, and my coworker attempted to appease and separate the father from the situation. However, this backfired, and the father became aggressive towards my coworker. My coworker matched the aggression of the situation and was later written up for aggressive workplace behavior.


EXAMPLE #6: Providing care that is outside your scope of practice as a nurse

As a nurse, it is your responsibility to understand your scope of practice, meaning you understand what you can and cannot do in your practice as a nurse. For example, if a doctor gives you a verbal order to run a diagnostic test or give a patient a medication, this is within your scope of practice as a registered nurse. However, if you feel a patient needs a medication and you administer it without a verbal or written order from a doctor, this would be outside your scope of practice.

When I worked as a night shift nurse, one of my coworkers could not reach the doctor when a patient needed pain medication. Rather than waiting to give the medication or finding the on-call provider, the nurse gave the medication without an order. Because it was outside of her scope of practice to order and administer medication without an order, the nurse was later reprimanded and reported to the board of nursing.


EXAMPLE #7: Falsifying records or documentation

It is important to remember that when you are a nurse, the information you document is part of a legal record. If you make up information in a patient’s chart, you are falsifying records. For example, if you forget to do blood pressure, do not make up a value, admit to your mistake, and create a late entry. Another example of falsifying records could be pre-charting your work before completing it. Your nursing documentation should always happen in real-time. Your supervisor or even an attorney can access the information you charted in the electronic medical record and easily find out if you were truly charting in real-time. If you are caught falsifying records, you could be fired or even criminally charged.


EXAMPLE #8: Behaving inappropriately on social media sites

The best practice for social media use in your nursing career is to never post any information regarding your job, your coworkers, or your patients. In the age of social media, it is tempting to talk about what you did at work as a nurse. However, it is important to remember that you are required to protect your patient’s privacy at all times.

I remember when I was a nurse in a labor and delivery unit, one of my coworkers posted a photo of her patient and her new baby, stating, “Today was a tough delivery, but she pulled through!” My coworker was reprimanded for a violation of patient privacy for sharing not only a picture of the patient without their consent but also details of their care. In this situation, she could have easily been sued or lost her license because of violating HIPPA regulations.


EXAMPLE #9: Lying to the board of nursing or your employer

Another example of unprofessional conduct in nursing is lying to the board of nursing or your employer about your resume credentials. This incident could be as innocent as you forgetting to renew your nursing license and continuing to work under an expired license. Fabricating parts of your resume, such as where you received your nursing degree, your nursing licensure, or other credentials, is another example of lying to your employer or board of nursing. Lying about your credentials could result in the loss of your job, and in cases where you acted outside of your scope of practice, you could lose your license altogether or be criminally charged.


EXAMPLE #10: Not following infection control protocols

One of the first things you learn in nursing school is how important infection control protocols are for keeping patients safe. If you fail to follow protocols during a procedure, such as inserting an IV or following sterile protocol in an operating room, you could be putting your patients at risk for an infection or even death, which is an example of unprofessional conduct in nursing.

I remember when I was a circulation nurse in a labor and delivery unit. One of my duties was to ensure that the operation room during a cesarian section remained sterile and safe for the patient. During one of the deliveries where I was circulating, the father of the baby broke the sterile field by touching the surgical technician’s instruments by accident. No one else saw this happen, but I knew I had a responsibility to speak up and let the doctor know what had happened, even though it would delay the procedure and frustrate the doctor. Had I not reported what happened, that would have been unprofessional conduct on my part.



My Final Thoughts


If you are a nurse who wants to do the best job possible, part of that requires knowing which behaviors are appropriate and which are not. With that in mind, it is good to ask, “What are the common examples of unprofessional conduct in nursing?” Although there are many behaviors that could constitute unprofessional nursing behavior, the 10 most common examples of unprofessional conduct in nursing are the ones featured in this article. Being aware of what is considered unprofessional conduct is essential in helping you perform to the best of your ability and have a successful career.



List Of Sources Used For This Article


1. https://www.intelycare.com/career-advice/what-is-unprofessional-conduct-in-nursing/
2. https://allnurses.com/top-ten-reasons-being-fired-t504615/
3. https://www.hipaajournal.com/what-happens-nurse-violates-hipaa/
4. https://www.intelycare.com/career-advice/what-is-unprofessional-conduct-in-nursing/
5. https://www.ncsbn.org/public-files/NCSBN_SocialMedia.pdf
6. https://www.myamericannurse.com/substance-use-disorders-and-drug-diversion-among-nurses-what-you-need-to-know/


Sarah Cruzan, RN, BSN
Sarah Cruzan is a registered nurse with 6 years of hospital, sales, and education experience. She is passionate about engaging clients and providing exceptional care. Sarah was a competitive swimmer for 15 years. She received a scholarship to The Ohio State University and swam varsity for 4 years.