Can I still be a nurse? and in what state?

[mbruno]

hi out there i really need some feedback on my situation... i just graduated with honors with associates' degree in applied sciences and i'm also part of the honors society phi theta kappa... i live in central florida area and my dream and goal is to become a crna...unfortunately in august of 2009 when i was driving home late from my part time job when i got arrested. i was caught putting some rims in my car which i found off the side of the road, apparently an officer found my actions to be suspicious and arrested me... at the time i didn't know that the rims were from a dealership that was nearby. so now the state attorney is charging me with three counts of felonies grand theft burglary of tools and possession and conveyance of a vehicle. i explained my situation to a couple of lawyers to see if they could help there were a couple of options which i had... take it to trial but all the lawyers weren't pushing for that despite the lack of evidence against me.. no finger prints on the vehicle and no surveillance of me actually trespassing and no finger prints on the actual tools. in addition the foot prints found at the dealer ship didn't even match my shoe print, and the other option was a pretrial divergence.... i have never been in trouble with the law not even as a juvy and for the same reason i know that to be in the medical field you have to pass a criminal background, which ****** me off cause i worked so hard up to this point to have some bs charges against me destroy my dream... so apparently i qualify for this pretrial divergence program... at the moment i chose to go for the pretrial... one cause my lawyer said it will be a hard case to win at trial, he has 18 years of experience and he has told me that he has seen many innocent people go to jail especially in little cases like this one, and two i have a family to think about if i go to jail i'll ruin my life and my career cause the charges will definitely stick ...unfortunately i was at a wrong place at the wrong time now i'm going through this pretrial thing once completed the charges will be dropped... once dropped i want to know if my dreams have really been destroyed or do i still have a chance of for filling them? can someone please give advise......

[FLmomof5]

All that being said, we cannot give legal advice on this site.

I think that it does not break TOS to tell a story. Once there was a young man who was accused of a heinous crime. It was a felony and it was a he said/she said type of case that he was likely to lose. He wasn't guilty so he fought it and fought it. (public defender's office) The judge in this southern town doesn't like those who fight so the day before trial the judge decides that he can't have the PD and has 30 days to get a lawyer he can't afford. He searches and searches. Most want $10K retainers!!!!! Finally, he found one young lawyer who took mercy upon him. She agreed to a $1K retainer, but only on the agreement that the young man accept a plea bargain. The plea bargain was made and accepted. The young man was convicted of a misdemeanor instead of a felony. He received probation, not jail. His plea is always there, but has a far lesser impact on his employability as an adult.

It is unfortunate that our legal system often works this way. The BON is concerned with what you were *convicted* of and the circumstances and what type of crime.

In the end, it is your BON that will decide.

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

questions we seem to be encountering more and more often have to do with the effects of a criminal history on nursing licensure:

• is it possible to become licensed as a nurse if you have a criminal history and if so, can i get a job?
  
• is it possible to become licensed as a nurse if you have a mip, dui, or other related charges?
  
• what happens if you are charged or convicted of a crime after licensure?
  
• can i go to nursing school and/or be licensed/be employed if my record has been sealed or expunged?
  
• what if i have a “deferred adjudication”? will i have to declare this as a conviction?
  
• will i be able to go to nursing school and/or attend clinicals with a criminal record?
  
• what can happen if i receive a mip/dui/dwi or other charge while still in school?
  

these are questions that the members of allnurses.com cannot answer. the only reliable source of information is your state board of nursing.

if you are currently licensed as a nurse and have been charged with or convicted of a felony or misdemeanor including dui/dwi or any criminal offense, you need to contact the bon in every state you hold a license/wish to be licensed and ask their reporting requirements.

if you are a nursing student or are interested in becoming a nurse you need to contact your bon and/or your school of nursing directly. you need to be completely candid with them as to the nature and disposition of the crimes. each board of nursing makes a determination on a case by case basis and some are willing to issue a declarative statement in advance.