What does 'unprofessional conduct' include in Floridian nursing practice?

• A. Conduct that is courteous and respectful.
• B. Strict adherence to all rules.
• C. Conduct unbecoming a nurse that endangers patients or violates statutes or rules, including incompetence, fraud, substance abuse, boundary violations, and confidentiality breaches.
• D. Only breaking a minor hospital policy.

Answer: (C)

Unprofessional conduct means actions by a nurse that harm the public by violating nursing laws, rules, or accepted standards of practice. The best answer describes conduct that is unbecoming and can endanger patients or violate statutes or regulations, with concrete examples like incompetence, fraud, substance abuse, boundary violations, and breaches of patient confidentiality. These are exactly the kinds of issues that the Board would treat as grounds for discipline because they undermine patient safety and trust in the profession.

Other choices depict scenarios that aren’t necessarily unprofessional conduct: being courteous and respectful reflects professional behavior; strict adherence to rules is about compliance, not misconduct; and breaking a minor hospital policy may be inappropriate, but it isn’t the broad category of unprofessional conduct unless it also harms patients or violates laws or standards.