Board faulted for secret discipline of psychologist

Sunday, Dec. 19, 1999 | 4:54 a.m.

State Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, faulted the Nevada Board of Psychological Examiners for reversing its policy of letting the public know when a licensee violates the rules.

The board is one of 34 professional and occupational licensing boards that Townsend oversees as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee

"The licensing boards were put in place number one to protect the public interest," Townsend told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "I would much rather err on the side of having too much information in the public arena than not enough."

The psychology board, whose main purpose is to protect the public from unqualified psychologists, approved a confidential disciplinary settlement Aug. 28 with Jerry Nims. Nims, 71, is licensed in Nevada to practice both psychology and the law.

After a three-year investigation, the board alleged in a formal complaint that Nims unethically mingled his two professions, misrepresented himself to the family of a former client and then lied to the board during its inquiry.

The board has refused to disclose the terms of the settlement to even John and Andrea Chatburn of Sparks, who filed the complaint against Nims for his dealings with her elderly father.

If consumers call the board, they will be told he has a clean record, said office manager Laverta MacKie.

"If I don't know the punishment, how do I know if it's just?" asked Mrs. Chatburn.

Nims, who served on the psychology board from 1986 to 1994 and spent the last two years as its president, declined comment.

Townsend said he plans to introduce a bill in the 2001 Legislature that would bring consistency to the disciplinary procedures of the 34 licensing boards that he oversees.

He said the Nims case is troubling because it sets a precedent of a board keeping disciplinary actions secret - just the opposite of what legislators intended.

"This is not about protecting the income rights of licensees but to protect the people they're serving," he said. "That policy has not changed and is not going to change as long as I'm here."