The World According to Oatney

Ending Careers By Telephone

How is it that anyone can claim that a fair and judicial process could be conducted on such a serious matter as potentially ending the professional careers of three people by way of a telephonic meeting? As further details of the suspensions of Nurses Reynolds, Killebrew, and Stout emerge, we now know that the hearing where the nurses' licenses were suspended was a meeting of the State Board of Nursing held by way of a telephone exchange. In other words, the members thought it fine and dandy to end someone's career without being able to see and talk to them in person, or examine potential evidence in the same room. These kinds of meetings are standard procedure for many of our State boards and commissions, and that's fine-so long as the matters being discussed do not involve a judiciary process of examining evidence and finding fact. Attempting to conduct a hearing based on presented evidence via teleconference is like trying to have umpires call a baseball game without being physically present, but watching on television-the calls may not be reflective of what is actually occurring. Anyone who has ever been on the board of an organization that regularly conducts telephonic meetings can tell you of the routine logistical problems that are a part of such a setup.

Labels: Conservatism, Local politics, Tennessee politics

posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 3:59 PM