In several other cases, convicted felons were described as having "clear" records on the bureau's public website. Among them: a Corona nurse convicted in December 2005 of bludgeoning her boyfriend to death and a Colton nurse convicted this year of using a patient's identifying information as part of a real estate scheme.
In February 2007, nurse Cynthia Knott was arrested after allegedly selling drugs to undercover investigators that had been stolen from her job at the Fresno County Jail. Investigators found hundreds of pills from the jail in her home, records show. She pleaded no contest to felony grand theft and possessing Vicodin for sale, was featured on the local TV news and was sentenced to a year in jail.
This September she was caught with methamphetamine and arrested again.
In Knott's court file are three letters from the vocational nursing bureau in 2007 asking the court to provide records for its review. Notes on the letters indicate that the court complied.
But as of last week, Knott was a nurse in good standing with the bureau, according to its website.
Knott's mother, Becky Owens, said that her daughter's arrest was a misunderstanding and that prosecutors scared Knott into pleading no contest. "They found medicine that she had taken home by mistake," Owens said.
Not every crime is directly related to nursing. But in many cases the potential for patient harm is obvious: Stolen drugs may not go to the patients for whom they are intended. An addicted nurse may make mistakes while under the influence. A sex offender may go on to commit similar offenses.
Several healthcare executives said they were troubled by the bureau's slow pace and by the dearth of information it disclosed about pending discipline. Hospitals and clinics rely on that information to vet job candidates.
Until recently, the vocational nursing bureau's website indicated that nurses had clear licenses even if they were in the midst of proceedings to restrict or revoke their licenses.
After reporters began inquiring in recent weeks, Lopez, the Consumer Affairs Department director, ordered the bureau to post documents online outlining pending accusations, starting immediately.
The bureau itself has recognized its increasing workload and received approval last year to hire at least eight more staffers for enforcement. But some weaknesses go beyond staffing.
