The purpose of this study was to determine what, if any, relationships exist between the severity of the violation, and age, gender, type of educational preparation, years since licensure, practice setting and action taken by the Minnesota Board of Nursing. The population was all registered nurses disciplined by the Board of Nursing, for the first time, between 1987 and 1991.

The data were obtained from the Board of Nursing records. The only statistically significant relationships were between the severity of the violation and age and practice setting. Although not significant statistically, the percentage of males who were disciplined during this period is of concern for the profession. Approximately 5% of registered nurses in the state of Minnesota are male while over 15% of the nurses disciplined were males.

Qualitative data were also included by discussing 10 case studies of disciplined nurses. Two nurses who had been disciplined by the board were interviewed and their stories also were discussed. This data added richness to the study and also generated ideas for further research.

The findings that violations of the state Nurse Practice Act are committed by a widely diverse group of nurses have importance and implications for nurse managers, educators, and administrators in nursing programs. The case studies and interviews also hold importance in that they are stimuli for further study and hopefully some increased understanding of the situations that lead to violations of the Nurse Practice Act.