A registered nurse worked at a Bentonville hospital and at a Eureka Springs hospital in 1992. The Arkansas State Board of Nursing charged the nurse under the nursing practice act with being habitually intemperate or addicted to habit-forming drugs and with unprofessional conduct. Testimony at the Board hearing concerned a patient receiving Demerol every three hours on the nurse's first day at the Eureka Springs hospital in April 1992.
On April 21, 1992, the nurse worked a twelve-hour shift and was given the narcotics keys mid-afternoon. At the end of the shift another employee checked the narcotics cabinet and suspected tampering, and paged the nursing director. The director tried to reach the nurse that evening to request a drug screen but got an answering machine and left no message. The nurse called in sick for the next scheduled shift.
After a hearing on August 11, 1993, the Board entered an order on August 17, 1993 suspending the nurse's Arkansas license for three years and setting conditions for reinstatement. The nurse appealed, arguing the decision was not supported by substantial evidence.
The circuit court affirmed the Board. On April 3, 1995 the Arkansas Supreme Court also affirmed, holding under the Administrative Procedure Act that the Board's decision was supported by substantial evidence.