licensing exam with a misdemeanor

Nurses General Nursing

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hello, i have a question that i would greatly appreciate someone helping me out with.

according to the california BRN website (http://www.rn.ca.gov/lic/lic-dispinfo.htm) it says that all prior convictions must be reported and will be evaluated by the BRN for approval or denial of the licensing exam.

by the time i will take the licensing exam, it would have been 5+ years since i received an under-age driving under the influence (DUI). it was a misdemeanor, with no harm to anyone, and the proper rehabilitation courses were taken promptly with no other trouble with the law since.

my question is, can anyone give me any advice on whether or not i will be able to become a licensed RN with a past record? does anyone have any past experience or know any co-workers who have had a DUI or misdemeanor and became licensed without any problems?

any information and help you can give me would be appreciated and i thank you for your time.

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cquinn,

I have an underage DUI as well. Mine was 13+ years ago, in fact when I went to the courthouse to try to get a copy of the disposition of the case for my BON they laughed at me.

Anyway, I reported the offense, the eventual disposition of it, and what I had done to satisfy the court. Included a letter from the court stating the records had been destroyed, because the BON asks for them on our applications in GA. I was approved to sit for NCLEX, and didn't hear anything until after I was licensed. I eventually got a letter from the BON stating that no action was being taken at this time but that since I had a offense dealing with alcohol they would take this into account if any action was brought against my license at a later date.

It makes me a wee bit nervous since I do moderate sedation and therefore waste incredible amounts of narcs and benzo's all day long...but I am careful that everything I do concerning medications is well documented, and it was not an issue in getting my license.

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[by the time i will take the licensing exam, it would have been 5+ years since i received an under-age driving under the influence (DUI). it was a misdemeanor, with no harm to anyone, and the proper rehabilitation courses were taken promptly with no other trouble with the law since.

Have you already been thru school?

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You should be fine.......But to anyone out there, you should get with the board prior when you have an offense on your record for approval to sit for the nclex...Ive seen two people go through 2 years of school, spend thousands of dollars and denied taking the test due to a misdemeanor.....It states in the nursing application to get all that worked out prior.....But with a DUI that long ago, you will be OK in most cases....

What amazes me is people with license can divert 6 billion grams of morphine and get a slap on the wrist with some counseling and drug testing over a year or two, but make a few med errors and you can lose your license, or a probation/suspension. SO whats worse, a nurse NOT medicating his patient, but himself or a nurse that forgot to give a drug, or gave a wrong dose of colace........

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Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.

I have a misdemeanor on my record. I took the tag off my registered vehicle and put it on my unregistered vehicle. Got pulled over and ticketed for tag not matching vehicle. Got an adjudication withheld dispostion after paying a fine. I certainly hope they're not after something like that but of course I will report it and do what the application asks for.

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I have a misdemeanor on my record. I took the tag off my registered vehicle and put it on my unregistered vehicle. Got pulled over and ticketed for tag not matching vehicle. Got an adjudication withheld dispostion after paying a fine. I certainly hope they're not after something like that but of course I will report it and do what the application asks for.

was that just a citation or you got an actual misdemeanor charge........

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Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.
was that just a citation or you got an actual misdemeanor charge........
An actual misdemeanor. It required a court appearance. Seriously, I'm not all that concerned about it. I think it falls under traffic misdemeanors. If in my 50 years on this planet that's the only thing I have to report, I have faith they'd show me some mercy. It happened 7 years ago.
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thank you for the helpful replies.

i have not been through school yet, but i have sent out my applications to the nursing programs in the area already for the august semester.

at this early of a stage in my nursing career, is it possible for me to get in contact with the board to see if i would be approved to sit for the exam with my record? i would hate to go through the 2 year program and eventually be denied a license.

if i can get in contact with the board this early, could someone please tell me the best way to go about it and also how to go about it? whether it is phone, email, mail, etc?

i would love to submit my record for approval if i could this early. however, i just have no idea how to go about doing that.

any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

also, this message is for bobnurse:

bobnurse, could you please include what the two misdemeanors of the two people you knew who were denied to sit for the exam were? i am just wondering what misdemeanors and reasons people are being denied for as i am very concerned with my chances of becoming a RN due to a stupid mistake i made when i was younger.

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