Nursing school background checks in CA

[Nervous00]

Hello,

Can any nursing students in CA let me know if they were required to submit a fingerprint card as part of their background check upon entering nursing school? I ask because I'm in kind of a complicated situation. I have a felony on my record which occured when I was a minor. Since this was a juvenile crime the record will not show up under any background check except a DOJ or NICS check, both of which require finger prints to be submitted. There are only a few organizations (most state agencies and law enforcment) that are allowed to access these systems, and only the ones that have access are the ones that I must report my conviction to (like the BON) This is important because if I were convicted as an adult and had an open record, nursing schools could pull up my record and report it to the hospital which would basically make it impossible for me to do rotations. My lawyer advised me that schools don't have access to the "fingerprint" systems but time is coming up and I am getting more nervous each day so I thought I'd ask you guys just to make sure.

Any comments are greatly appeciated!

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

these are links into parts of the california board of nursing website that you should go to and read. you will have to submit fingerprints when you apply for a license. the faqs specifically recommend that you have all your paperwork on your conviction and rehabilitation ready to submit to them in order not to hold up the processing of your application any longer than necessary. life's lesson learned, eh? your mistake will follow you all your life. you should assume that some of the clinical sites your nursing school sends you to may require students to submit fingerprints just the same as they require it of their employees. after all, they are only looking out for the safety of the public they serve. make sure you have copies of your court papers and any probation or parole papers. you need to keep them for the remainder of your life with other important papers like marriage and birth certificates. like hospital records, some of the specific documentation in them is destroyed after a number of years so it will be up to you to keep all your copies of them so you will be able to show people the specifics of your case if asked.

http://www.rn.ca.gov/lic/lic-exam.htm - these are the instructions that need to be followed for a new graduate to become licensed as an rn in california

http://www.rn.ca.gov/faqs.htm - frequently asked questions on the california bon site. includes a question about the fingerprint requirement in the licensing and examination faqs. you should also read the faqs about prior convictions and disciplinary actions.

[Bala Shark]

Here is the LVN board of nursing PDF document saying that the applicant does not need to know disclose a juvenile conviction..

http://www.bvnpt.ca.gov/pdf/method5.pdf

[Bala Shark]

It is important to note that the LVN and the RN board of nursing uses live scan for their fingerprint source..The prints go to the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ)

[Sheri257]

My friend who graduated in the LVN program in California did not have to report any thing that happened under the age of 18 unless she was tried in adult court on her fingerprint sheet to the board of nursing..

Here is the LVN board of nursing PDF document saying that the applicant does not need to know disclose a juvenile conviction..

http://www.bvnpt.ca.gov/pdf/method5.pdf

The LVN board and the RN board are two different agencies with different policies. So I wouldn't assume that the LVN board's policies apply here because the BRN is a completely different agency.

Case in point, I work as an RN in a hospital where a GN with a DUI manaqed to get accepted in school, got a job as a GN, started the job with the rest of our orientation group despite the fact he couldn't get a temporary permit, went through the full RN orientation (except couldn't give meds and was designated a "nurse intern"), and now works as as an PCT. I feel so bad for this guy who one day I was giving off report to and a few days later was our aid. The guy is so competent. It's such a shame but the state said no permit and no license. He's extremely pissed off at the school for letting him get as far as he did.

Also, the BONs want to know about adjudications withheld, or adjudications without judgment. This way the bases are fully covered.

This is a classic example of what can happen. If you go back and read numerous threads on this subject, people with DWI's, junvenile records, etc. have all said that the reason they got licensed was because they disclosed it to the BRN's up front.

The state of California and many other states, for example, have diversion programs. If your friend with the DWI, for example, had notified the BRN and, perhaps, gone through such a program while he was in nursing school, maybe he would be licensed right now.

:typing

[Sheri257]

State facilities are not so understanding. Someone with a serious felony like me will never work there. As I have been advised by my lawyer this (and applying for my license) is the only time I should report my conviction. Doing so at other times may expose problems that could have been easily avoided by following the correct legal procedure, which unfortunately is not always to openly disclose everything.

Ok, but your lawyer probably doesn't know how nursing school works and how non-disclosure can cause other problems that you may not be aware of. Have you checked the school's policy on this? Because if non-disclosure violates the school's policy, this could cause problems as well. As I previously mentioned the BRN allows individual schools to set their own policies on this.

When we were assigned the clinical rotation at the state facility, we were not allowed to switch with other students to try to get into other rotations. For one thing, there were only two psych facilities in the area and, because of that, there's wasn't a lot of leeway to switch people around to begin with. The class had to be split in half with groups doing psych rotations at different times because there were limited clinical slots available.

Also, the fingerprinting, etc. had to be done during the school break, long before the semester started, because it takes so long to process the paperwork. They also had to give us special ID's, key assignments for locked down areas of the facility, etc. which takes a lot of time.

If you put the school in a position where they have to try to change the assignments after the fact because you didn't disclose the problem, there would not be enough time to get the fingerprinting, ID's, keys, paperwork etc. done before the rotation starts. All of this makes it virtually impossible for the school to switch students around after the fact and still meet the clinical hours schedule.

If the BRN says your ok, why not be honest and upfront with the school about it? The BRN does encourage schools to work with students in these situations. Chances are they'll be willing to work with you, and it would give them enough time to try to get you into sites where fingerprinting, etc. isn't an issue. They're also required to keep the information confidential.

If you end up not being able to do a rotation because you didn't tell them ahead of time and give them enough time to deal with it, that could cause a lot of problems, regardless of the legalities or what your lawyer says.

Not to mention, it just looks bad if you're not honest and up front with the school to begin with. And besides, if they already know, you won't have to sweat every new clinical assignment ... worrying if there's going to be a problem ... because you've already disclosed it.

:typing

[Bala Shark]

I would go to the BON and ask them since they are more qualified to give accurate advice..That is the best thing the original poster can do rather than have people give misinformation and lead the orginal poster in the wrong direction and nervous..

[cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN]

Entering Nursing school with a felony on your record and thinking about not disclosing it should make people nervous. Plus, I think we all said to contact the state board. Nobody is giving misinformation here, we are all just sharing what we've been told from our nursing schools and state boards. In Az, you definately HAVE to disclose juvenile felonies. Why would some state boards care about that and some not?

The truth is-it doensn't matter what we say, what your lawyer says, what nursing school says. It only matters what your state board says. Make sure they (BON) has ALL the information when you ask-not just generalizations.

[Sheri257]

The truth is-it doensn't matter what we say, what your lawyer says, what nursing school says. It only matters what your state board says.

Well ... that's true. But what the school says also matters. From the CA BRN website:

http://www.rn.ca.gov/practice/pdf/edp-i-33.pdf

Can a nursing program require students to meet clear background checks prior to admission or as a requirement for progression in the program?

Admission and progression policies are the purview of the program & the institution.

Can a clinical agency refuse to allow a student to do a clinical course at their agency as a result of a prior conviction?

Yes. The Board would encourage the nursing program to work with the agency to clearly identify the types of prior convictions that would exclude a student from clinical rotation

If a student is denied access to a clinical site due to a positive criminal background check does the nursing program have to find an alternative site for the student to meet course requirements?

No. The Board encourages programs and agencies to work collaboratively to review students with a prior conviction on an individual basis since the specific conviction may not prevent the student from ultimately being licensed.

While the BRN encourages alternative placement ultimately the program would need to follow their published policy regarding the options available to the student in this situation.

Looks to me like the board wants students to work with the schools on this. This is why I personally think it's better to tell the school about it beforehand and work with them proactively ... rather than risking them finding out after the fact.

:typing

[Nervous00]

I owe you guys a big thanks for all the help you have provided. I've been thinking it over and I think my best course of action is to disclose my conviction to the nursing director after I am admitted into a program. I didn't want to do this for fear of been viewed or treated differently but clearly not disclosing can cause problems with clinical rotations.

As far as licensing I am confident that I can be licensed because the person who I spoke with at the BON told me it's not a matter of if, but when. Even if they deny my application the first few times, which would be unlikely given I provide the appropriate documentation of how I have changed and am a functional ember of society, I can reapply after fixing any reason for denial. I also need to call the BON again to see if they require juvenile convictions to be reported. I was told all licencing agencies have access to, and therefore consider juvenile convictions but the LVN application proves that assumption wrong.

Thanks again

Nervous (but a little less)

[Bala Shark]

I owe you guys a big thanks for all the help you have provided. I've been thinking it over and I think my best course of action is to disclose my conviction to the nursing director after I am admitted into a program. I didn't want to do this for fear of been viewed or treated differently but clearly not disclosing can cause problems with clinical rotations.

As far as licensing I am confident that I can be licensed because the person who I spoke with at the BON told me it's not a matter of if, but when. Even if they deny my application the first few times, which would be unlikely given I provide the appropriate documentation of how I have changed and am a functional ember of society, I can reapply after fixing any reason for denial. I also need to call the BON again to see if they require juvenile convictions to be reported. I was told all licencing agencies have access to, and therefore consider juvenile convictions but the LVN application proves that assumption wrong.

Thanks again

Nervous (but a little less)

To help you out a little, when you apply for the RN license, they will have things you should report and not report in your criminal record on the application..If you can get access to that, that would help you breath a little easier..Apparently the RN BON does not have those applictions on PDF format..Maybe your school will let you look at it if they let you..

[Bala Shark]

My brother is a policeman..He tells me that the records of a juvenile is not disclosed in the computer only adult offenses when he looks someone up..There is a difference in looking at a juvenile and an adult..

I am not saying not to disclose information but this is how the system works.