Deborah Walker spends a good chunk of her day making sure bad nurses don't get to work in New Mexico.

As the head of the state Board of Nursing, she's connected to nursing license officials in other states, hoping to avoid a situation in which a nurse with a problematic background somewhere else gets approved to work here.

That kind of situation is the subject of a new report by ProPublica, which found several nurses with troubling backgrounds were able to move to other states and find work under interstate licensing agreements.

New Mexico since 2004 has belonged to an interstate nursing compact, which some say has helped the state keep sorely needed nurses on the job.

Walker, who started her job in January, said the board takes its responsibility to check out applicants seriously.

"We don't move toward licensure until we know we've vetted people up one side and down the other," she said.

That's a big task. Nearly 18,000 people, including registered nurses and nurse practitioners, are licensed by a seven-member board that handles complaints and discipline.

Preliminary figures for the 2010 fiscal year show the board received 441 complaints. Of those, three were forwarded to other agencies while 344 were investigated, and 62 investigations are ongoing.

Of the disciplinary action taken, 90 licensees faced reprimands while 27 people were placed on probation. Twenty-three had their licenses reinstated while 17 were revoked; 109 licensees faced discipline in another jurisdiction.

When a nurse applies for a New Mexico license, officials search FBI and state police databases for criminal offenses. They also are able to communicate with officials at other states' licensing boards, Walker said.

There's no set list of offenses that automatically would disqualify a nurse from getting licensed here, as each applicant is reviewed on an individual basis.

However, someone with a felony conviction triggers a lot of scrutiny.

"If they've had a felony conviction, the likelihood is strong they are not going to be successful in their endeavor (to get a license)," she said.

But, she said, each case is different and she and the board would take into consideration how long ago a case was and how much time a person served, for example.

Since taking on the job, Walker said she's worked to shorten the time it takes the board to deal with a disciplinary case. Under state law, the board has up to two years to handle a case, but she said cases are now being resolved within an average of 180 days. She's also working to speed up the time for licenses to be processed.

In addition to disciplinary actions, the board also has a diversion program, which is a voluntary alternative to formal discipline for nurses with chemical dependency problems. About 14 percent of licensed nurses have problems with alcohol or other drugs, according to the board's website.

The board also deals with people who hold certificates for medication aides and hemodialysis technicians.

While Walker and other board officials do their best to weed out bad caregivers, nurses with checkered pasts do try to find work here.

"Do I believe I've got every single corner covered?" Walker said. "No. There are loopholes all the time. But we find loopholes, and we cover them. It's an ongoing challenge."

Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog at www.greenchilechatter.com.

ON THE WEB

To see information about a nurse and their license, visit www.state.nm.us/bon/lookup.html.


BY THE NUMBERS

Statistics about nursing license complaints and compliance:

Total complaints received: 441

Complaints forwarded to other agencies: 3

Complaints investigated: 344

Invalid complaints: 0

Ongoing investigations: 62

Revoked licenses: 17

Reprimands: 90

Licensees placed on probation: 27

Licenses suspended: 3

Licenses reinstated: 23


Source: Preliminary data from the state Board of Nursing for the 2010 fiscal year.