Sulla

*1198 Opinion

Unprofessional conduct that is used as a basis for revoking or suspending a professional license must demonstrate an unfitness to practice that profession if the disciplinary action is to comport with due process. Business and Professions Code section 2762, in subdivisions (b) and (c), 1 provides that a licensed nurse engages in unprofessional conduct when he or she uses alcoholic beverages “to an extent or in a manner dangerous or injurious to himself or herself, any other person, or the public,” or is convicted of a criminal offense involving the consumption of alcohol.

Here, the superior court reversed a disciplinary action taken by the Board of Registered Nursing (Board) against a licensee who was convicted of a misdemeanor after he caused a single-car accident while driving with a blood-alcohol level in excess of the legal limit. The court found that the Board’s order imposing discipline was contrary to a factual finding by the administrative law judge (ALJ), in connection with a separate allegation, that the licensee’s conduct and his resulting conviction were not “substantially related to the qualifications, functions or duties” of a nurse. We conclude that…