As a healthcare provider, can my license be sanctioned for alleged conduct that has nothing to do with my skills or my practice?

RCW 18.130.180(1) provides that “any act involving moral turpitude, dishonesty, or corruption relating to the practice of the person's profession” constitutes unprofessional conduct. However, in practice, licensees can be and regularly are disciplined for conduct that does not relate to their skills or their practice.While the statute includes language that would appear to limit sanction to only acts which relate to the practice of the profession, courts have repeatedly interpreted the “relates to” requirement very broadly. The conduct does not have to directly relate to the practice or even to the skills needed to perform the job. Conduct is found to “relate to” the profession if it tends to lower the standing of the profession in the eyes of the public. Acts, omissions, or criminal convictions that demonstrate dishonesty, lack of integrity, or other immorality all have fallen within this broad definition of relating to the profession, even when the conduct arguably has little or nothing to do with the skills or practice of the licensee. The courts have noted that dishonesty in one’s conduct not only tends to lower the standing of the profession as a general matter, continued professional practice by a licensee who behaves in that manner in any sector of their life also puts the public at risk. The courts essentially ask if the government knows that a medical provider has demonstrated a lack of integrity, does it have an obligation to take measures to protect the public and the profession from him?The problem with this line of cases is that it largely eliminates the “relates to” limiting condition present in the statute. Any act of moral turpitude, dishonesty, or corruption can arguably lower the standing of the profession in some way and demonstrate a lack of integrity. Licensees and attorneys are beginning to push back, but the current state of the law is not favorable to licensees who face allegations of misconduct that arguably has nothing to do with their practice.