A Question for California RNs...

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I have a 25 yr-old cousin who 2 years ago was in a psychiatric facility for a 72-hr hold (a 5150). She had been severely depressed for a couple of months and had a nervous breakdown and thought she was going to kill herself so she asked her counselor to take her to the facility. Well, she hasn't had any other episodes and has a clean record and does not require any meds. She has recently been thinking about becoming a RN here in California. She's wondering if this past incident would prevent her from becoming a nurse in CA...Would she be able to pursue this career?

Thank you for your help ;)

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Specializes in ED, OR, SAF, Corrections.

Well, it is a form of discrimination and you'd think would be against the law, but there are certain positions which require in-depth background checks (usually those requiring a security clearance of some kind) and they may have rules about what's in your background that prohibits you from being hired.

The only thing I know for SURE would exclude you from nursing is a felony conviction, though there is still a 'morality clause' for most BON's. Not even former drug use/abuse automatically prohibits.

You can certainly NOT divulge it, but if you used insurance to pay for it - they can and will likely find out via that route, and finding out they may choose to exclude a person on that basis - though good luck proving it because employers are not supposed to be spying on your health history.

I went to nursing school years ago with a classmate who used to be a heroin addict and she was receiving Methadone daily throughout school. She graduated and passed NCLEX and has been licensed and working all these years as far as I know - lost touch about 10 years back (though I don't know if she's still on the Methadone). All I know is that it didn't prevent her from becoming licensed.

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There are lots of nurses with psychiatric difficulties and histories, including multiple hospitalizations, in some cases. They are successfully pursuing their careers. The BON of any state (not just CA) will ask on the application for licensure if you have any psychiatric or substance abuse history (in addition to asking about criminal background), but, in general, what they want to know is that any symptoms are controlled and stable enough to permit you to practice safely as a nurse. I'm not aware of any psychiatric diagnosis or history that would definitely, by itself, rule out becoming a nurse -- the state BONs deal with these situations on an individual, case-by-case basis.

Best wishes to your cousin!

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Specializes in mostly in the basement.

Surprisingly, CA BRN does not include any questions about mental health or drug use history on their licensure applications. They do include legal convictions, though.

Good luck to your cousin.

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Surprisingly, CA BRN does not include any questions about mental health or drug use history on their licensure applications. They do include legal convictions, though.

Good luck to your cousin.

Wow, that is surprising.

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if you get an RN in another state, can you practice in CA?

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if you get an RN in another state, can you practice in CA?

Endorse the license into CA. Or practice at the VA with any state license.

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Endorse the license into CA. Or practice at the VA with any state license.

Not just the VA -- any federal employment (active military, US Public Health, etc.)

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There are so many processess to go through trying to get a CA endorsement.Just an endorsement!!!

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