I'm wondering if anyone has any insight on what the potential problems would be with getting hired, or even doing student clinicals in a hospital, if you've been arrested during a non-violent protest. I am considering joining in the attempt to shut down the NY Stock Exchange on Thursday, to honor the 2-month anniversary of the beginning of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and it is at least somewhat likely that many people will be arrested during this action.
Likely charges for this kind of arrest would be something like "disorderly conduct" (impeding of traffic, failure to disperse after being given an order to do so, creating annoyance or alarm in public, loitering, etc). I don't think most people arrested during an Occupy protest have spent even one night in jail, but charges are being pressed so people are ending up with criminal records on misdemeanor charges.
I'm not even a nursing student yet - I'm hoping to enter an Accelerated BSN/MSN program in the spring. But I am wondering if anyone knows what kind of issues there might be for me as a student and as a future nurse if I'm arrested during a protest, just so I go into this with my eyes open.
If your board of nursing is anything like mine, they will give you ZERO advice, guidance, or emotional reassurance regarding how they handle different types of criminal records. They will not tell you that there is a certain "threshhold" of crime that would bar you from being licensed. The only way to find out is to complete school (providing that a school will accept you with your record), then apply to the board, then wait about 3-4 months for them to issue a decision. The only thing they will tell you is that decisions are made on a case-by-case basis after they receive your criminal records. So if you're in the mood to work your tail off through 4+ years of school spending tens of thousands in tuition and THEN find out whether you can become a nurse, have at it. One thing to keep in mind - the BON is not your friend. They are very accustomed to taking a "prosecutorial" posture and they have plenty of attorneys working for them.
".......widespread anti-war protests in 2002/03?" Huh?
The 1960's war protests were wide spread and had huge turnouts, compared to the '60's you can fit the 2002 protests on a pin head
You want to protest to shut down Wall Street because of corporate profits and then you want to become a nurse? right? So my question is where do you think you will be working a few years down the road? I don't think you know this but there are fewer and fewer non profit hospitals, LTC's left...
i'll tell you this...not only could an arrest affect your chances of getting in to your school, but your state's nursing board could then reject your application to sit for the NCLEX once you have graduated. even then, after you have taken (and passed) the NCLEX, your state could then choose to give you a license that is probationary...where 95% of hospitals wouldn't even look at your resume.
i am learning first-hand how all this works...as i said before, i graduated in 2010...and received my R.N. license soon after. i didn't think my previous record would be that much of a problem, in transferring my license to another state...as my state was quite lenient.
unfortunately, the reality is that each state makes their own rules, and has standard procedures in dealing with individuals with prior arrests. i was initially given a 'probationary' license, and quickly had this averted to 'active' status after going in front of my state's nursing board.
some states do not even have a system in place to 'prove yourself.' i know for a fact that California's nursing board has a policy that if there are prior arrests, they will immediately reject your request for a fully 'active' license and then you can "appeal" this decision, in order to hopefully get a 'probationary' license.
needless to say, i started this process over a YEAR ago to transfer my license.
It is fine to show your support for a one time event, but the consequences can harm you many times in the future. Consider supporting them in a non-threatening manner, such as donating money. That activity can not land you in jail.
I was arrested a decade ago during WTO protests...I was charged with disorderly conduct, saw a judge, released on my own recognizance...
When applying to nursing school I had to disclose what I was arrested for and provided a simple explanation. Same thing when applying for the RN license as well as a state nursing job.
I got into nursing school, got my license and got the job. Just be clear about what happened and emphasize the peaceful aspect of circumstances.
Go to OWS if it's what you want to do; if it's causing you too much stress to think about the consequences, then go down there and stay on the sidelines, or maybe work with the Indymedia center, or help out in some way that's less related to direct action.
i'll tell you this...not only could an arrest affect your chances of getting in to your school, but your state's nursing board could then reject your application to sit for the NCLEX once you have graduated. even then, after you have taken (and passed) the NCLEX, your state could then choose to give you a license that is probationary...where 95% of hospitals wouldn't even look at your resume.
i am learning first-hand how all this works...as i said before, i graduated in 2010...and received my R.N. license soon after. i didn't think my previous record would be that much of a problem, in transferring my license to another state...as my state was quite lenient.
unfortunately, the reality is that each state makes their own rules, and has standard procedures in dealing with individuals with prior arrests. i was initially given a 'probationary' license, and quickly had this averted to 'active' status after going in front of my state's nursing board.
some states do not even have a system in place to 'prove yourself.' i know for a fact that California's nursing board has a policy that if there are prior arrests, they will immediately reject your request for a fully 'active' license and then you can "appeal" this decision, in order to hopefully get a 'probationary' license.
needless to say, i started this process over a YEAR ago to transfer my license.
Good point...I think my state is probably one of the more lenient ones, so I didn't have to "appeal" anything.
oh and trust me...you ARE working for the "Man" if you are hoping to get in to health care. individuality, political idealism, and personal conviction are not things that are highly regarded.
oh...i might add here...that if you are ever given a 'probationary' status on your license, it will follow you AD INFINITUM.
my license will always show a 'previous action' in my issuing state. this means that anyone can go to my state's nursing board website, type my name in, and pull up my license. with a click of a button, anyone (insert employers here) can then see EXACLY (in detail) what you had to appear in front of the nursing board for.
so basically, the legal system is completely separate. all my past misdemeanors were expunged off my legal record years ago. nothing will ever show up on background checks....but the nursing boards website will always show.
".......widespread anti-war protests in 2002/03?" Huh?
The 1960's war protests were wide spread and had huge turnouts, compared to the '60's you can fit the 2002 protests on a pin head
You want to protest to shut down Wall Street because of corporate profits and then you want to become a nurse? right? So my question is where do you think you will be working a few years down the road? I don't think you know this but there are fewer and fewer non profit hospitals, LTC's left...
Ditto to what AJPV said
Thanks everyone so much for your input thus far.
In response to NeedchageofPace, I'm well aware of the role that for-profit hospitals play in health care. I hope someday to be a certified nurse-midwife in independent practice, but before then I know that I will need to work in a hospital to consolidate my skills and that this hospital will likely be for-profit, given the state of things.
FYI, Occupy Wall Street isn't exactly about "corporate profits" - it's about the much larger issue of the collapse of our financial system, widening income and social inequality in the US and elsewhere, and why there has been almost no legal comeuppance for the large banks and other institutions who allowed this collapse to occur, and no political change to ensure that it does not occur again. I certainly don't support every aspect of the way OWS is being implemented, but I support its goals overall. There's lots being written about OWS online in case you want to read more (it's even got its own Wikipedia entry, of course...).
I'm not up to speed on the legalities of being arrested as part of a large number of protesters in a demonstration like that. Does a conviction automatically follow? Is there anything concrete that will show up in a background check? Will being released on your own recognizance show up in a background check? Or do the arrested individuals pay a fine and go on their way like in traffic court?
They aren't going to arrest everyone, and as others have pointed out, the protesters do get some advance warning that the police are going to intervene, so you may be able to get out before things get bad...although you should probably stay away from bridges and streets that can be blocked off.
For the most part I support Occupy, but I've stayed away from the protests because I wouldn't want that to come back on me professionally. And the fact of this job is that we are subject to a lot more scrutiny than other professionals so we have to be very careful. Kind of sad when it comes down to our right to express our opinions in public, but that's the way it goes.
I think that one way you could show your support is to follow the lead of Bank Transfer Day and put your money into a credit union. I did that several years ago after being burned by Wells Fargo and it was the best financial decision I ever made. Highly recommend it.
AJPV
366 Posts
If your board of nursing is anything like mine, they will give you ZERO advice, guidance, or emotional reassurance regarding how they handle different types of criminal records. They will not tell you that there is a certain "threshhold" of crime that would bar you from being licensed. The only way to find out is to complete school (providing that a school will accept you with your record), then apply to the board, then wait about 3-4 months for them to issue a decision. The only thing they will tell you is that decisions are made on a case-by-case basis after they receive your criminal records. So if you're in the mood to work your tail off through 4+ years of school spending tens of thousands in tuition and THEN find out whether you can become a nurse, have at it. One thing to keep in mind - the BON is not your friend. They are very accustomed to taking a "prosecutorial" posture and they have plenty of attorneys working for them.