Jenny Barnhouse, Executive Director
Oklahoma Board of Nursing
P.O. Box 52926
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73152
Re: Atkinson, Case No. 10.2025080199.26
Dear Executive Director Barnhouse:
This office has received your request for a written Attorney General Opinion regarding action that the Oklahoma Board of Nursing (“Board”) intends to take in the above-referenced case. On August 15, 2025, Bobbi Jean Atkinson (“Applicant”) submitted to the Board a complete LPN Endorsement Application for a U.S. Educated Nurse requesting a Multistate License to practice licensed practical nursing (“Application”).
The Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act (“Act”) authorizes the Board to impose discipline, including denying a license, when a nurse “[i]s guilty of a felony, or any offense . . . an essential element of which is fraud, dishonesty, or an act of violence, whether or not sentence is imposed;” or “[i]s guilty of unprofessional conduct as defined in the rules of the Board[.]” [1] 59 O.S.Supp.2023 §567.8(B)(2) and (B)(7).
Between May of 1993 and December of 2009, Applicant was charged and convicted of numerous misdemeanor and felony offenses involving forgery, theft, and passing bad checks, among multiple other charges. On March 11, 2026, Applicant was offered an agreed settlement to include approval of the Application. On March 24, 2026, Board staff contacted the Applicant, and the Applicant declined the agreed settlement offered on March 11, 2026, and verbalized an understanding of the implications of declining said offer.
The Board proposes denial of the Application for licensure. It is, therefore, the official opinion of the Attorney General that the Oklahoma Board of Nursing has adequate support for the conclusion that this action advances the State’s policy to protect public health, safety, and welfare by ensuring nurses meet minimum standards of professional conduct.
Cheryl Dixon
Deputy General Counsel
[1] Unprofessional conduct means “conduct detrimental to the public interest[.]” OAC 485:10-11-1(b)(3)(H).
