Advice please

[Mjdarr]

I need a little advice here. I have been accepted into my schools nursing program. I have passed the background check and the drug test but my fingerprints came back flagged for an incident that took place 8 years ago. I was charged but it was dismissed in court. Now I am afraid they will rescind their offer. Anyone have this happen? Please?

[Persephone Paige, ADN]

What is the charge?

What I have found is that what the charge is makes all the difference. If you were charged with theft, violence, abuse, fraud... those tend to follow you. Even if it was reduced to a misdemeanor.

If you got drunk in public and cut a shine, that probably will be ok. Supposedly, things that have been resolved are not supposed to interfere with employment after 10 years. And if they did factor in, the prospective employer would just never admit that was why they didn't hire you. You need an 'in.' a connection to overcome certain obstacles sometimes. Start making connections within the professional communities...

Without knowing what your specific charges were ( and I understand your reluctance to share ) this is the best I can do. Theft, abuse, neglect, violence, and drugs ( especially distribution ) will follow you forever.

[Mjdarr]

So the charge was simple assault due to a domestic with my abusive partner. It was 8 years ago and it was dismissed in court. I was not convicted of anything but the arrest is showing. I just want to know if they will tell me now I can not attend nursing school.

[Persephone Paige, ADN]

I applied for expungement for a felony drug charge that was 'dismissed.' I completed drug court, and the state did Nolo Prosequi. Whatever that means... I was not convicted. Check into expungement. There are certain things that can never be expunged... So, even if the charges didn't stick, there may still be an arrest trail ( for assault ).

I cannot tell you the outcome, I can only tell you that doing everything you can to erase this is never a bad idea. We always pray stuff will never come back on us. Years pass by, we change our lives for the better, etc... But it only takes a background check and denial based on said background check ( and a denial may not be. "we've decided against you because of your background." It can come in the form of a big smile, welcome and then withdrawal of the offer, no longer answering your calls, etc... I stopped leaving that stuff to chance. Because it's not just about the institution, a patient could see your name, look you up and say, "man, that school has students with arrests for assault!" They think over everything that could possibly tarnish their reputations or leave them open to a lawsuit.

I have no idea how much good an expungement actually does. But at least Joe Blow can't look you up and make a spectacle out of you.

Good lucK!

[medsurgRNCali, ASN]

You wouldn't need to expunge something you were never convicted of