Nursing License Defense  >  Psychiatric Technician License Defense

Ray & Bishop, PLC, California’s Premier Professional License Firm, excels in defending psychiatric technicians from Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians disciplinary action. Our firm defends psychiatric tech licenses from accusations due to drunk driving convictions (convictions for DUI), convictions for drugs, or other criminal cases, which are violations of the Business and Professions Code and the Nursing Practice Act. If you have a BVNPT psychiatric technician license accusation, we can help defend your license.

Ray & Bishop, PLC also defends psychiatric technicians during the license application stage, when the applicant must answer questions on the application about whether they have ever been convicted of any offense or have ever had disciplinary proceedings against any license. This can be found in the Reporting Prior Convictions or Discipline Against Licenses section. We assist in explaining any “yes” answers and gathering documents to submit to the Board. A full written explanation of the event, copies of arrest and court documents, and documented evidence of rehabilitation are usually required by the Board when a PT applicant must report a prior conviction or prior discipline.

For a psychiatric technician defending their license, the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians or the Department of Consumer Affairs may begin a case against the psychiatric technician by opening an investigation into an incident or complaint. A letter will generally be sent to the psychiatric technician from an investigator working for the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians or at a Department of Consumer Affairs office. The investigator will usually want to question the psychiatric technician regarding the complaint or incident. When the investigation is complete, the BVNPT or DCA investigator will forward the case to the Board. When the Board sends the case to the Office of the Attorney General at the California Department of Justice, a Deputy Attorney General will file and serve an Accusation with a Statement to Respondent and a Request for Discovery. After receipt of an Accusation, Statement to Respondent, and Request for Discovery, the psychiatric technician must file the Notice of Defense form, required under Government Code sections 11505 and 11506, to request a hearing for the PT to defend his or her license, as failure to file the Notice of Defense can lead to a default. The Request for Discovery under Government Code section 11507.6 is a request for the evidence that the psychiatric technician will use at an administrative hearing to defend her or his license.

If a PT applicant is denied a license by the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians, the Board will send a letter to the applicant stating that the license has been denied, usually due to Business and Professions Code Sections 480(a)(2), 480(a)(3), and sometimes 2761(a). A psychiatric technician applicant has the right to request a formal hearing under Business and Professions Code section 485(b). Within 60 days of the date of the denial letter, a request for hearing must be sent to the Board to appeal the denial of the PT license. If a hearing is requested, a denied applicant will usually receive a letter from the Board to acknowledge receipt of the request for hearing and to inform the applicant that the matter is being forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General for preparation of Statement of Issues. The Statement of Issues, brought under Business and Professions Code section 2736, section 480, and section 475, opens a formal case with the Office of Administrative Hearings. When the Statement of Issues has been filed with the Board, the PT license applicant will receive the Statement of Issues and Notice to Respondent from the Attorney General. At this point, settlement is possible by negotiating terms of probation with the Board, but if settlement negotiations fail, the PT license applicant must appear at a formal hearing before an administrative law judge.

The attorneys at Ray & Bishop, PLC are experienced in defending psychiatric technicians, by saving licensees who receive accusations and by getting applications for PT licenses approved by the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians.