OK, I know this has been asked a million times on allnurses re: being a nurse, but....

Do you need to have a clean criminal record to become a surgical tech?

I have a niece who would be interested, and be great at it, but has a checkered past.... she asked me, and I honestly didnt know what to tell her....anybody know?

The facilities that require background checks for nurses generally require background checks for ALL of their employees.

The schools that are reputable require it before admission into any allied health care position and most facilities require it as a condition of hire as well. Even if they could manage to get into a program, it doesn’t mean they would be hired.

I was inquiring about a girl I had precepted once and was told that she never landed a job as a surgical technologist because the school’s background check missed something but when she went to hire in to facilities, they found it. It would be risky for your niece to spend all that money and time for the program and may never be able to use the education.

Thanks for the info, guys....I should have thought of that (the hospitals doing the background checks)...But I was thinking in terms of licensing/certification....

I think it depends how serious the issues were...in my state, if you were convicted of a felony they can deny your license. Misdemeanors don't count.

We were actually talking about a similar issue a few weeks ago at work...one tech and a couple of nurses had been arrested in the past but not for felonies. They are all good at what they do and had no problem getting hired.

I think also if you're honest, and upfront, that goes a long way.

sorry, i almost forgot. some states have registered surgical technologists, so the state does a check before registration.