Credit check - so worried all of the sudden.

FutureOBNurse2118 · Aug 11, 2011

I've never heard of this and I work at a hospital right now. I wouldn't let it bother you, there can't be too many places that practice this because none of the hospitals in my area do this.. Just worry about making it through school and getting your license first, then you can worry about it. I doubt its going to be the norm by the time you graduate. Chances are, youll be able to find a position where this isn't an issue.

want2banurse35 · Aug 11, 2011

In this economy I wouldn't care what anybody thinks about your "bad credit." That is a small amount you owe. Some people owe thousands of dollars. I personally know many people who had A-1 credit until this recession, but when it takes you over a year to find a job, your credit is going to suffer (many people have run out of savings). I don't think the amount you owe will stop you from getting hired. My niece has terrible credit and she got a job at a hospital in the admin dept. Good luck!

Sanuk · Aug 11, 2011

I wouldn't stress about it either, but have you considered trying to call the hospital (or office) where you have the bad debt and see if you can make small payments? Sometimes even 10 dollars a week will work. Then you can let the credit agencies know that you are in repayment (and not in default).

I don't know how much weight they give to these checks, but I have been required to sign a waiver for hospitals to check mine at two places in DFW.

ErinRN2B · Aug 11, 2011

Thanks for your input. I have a really anxious personality by nature and tend to stress majorly over every little thing - especially things concerning my future. Never in my life have I felt "poor," but being a full-time student with a student husband and a two-year-old is financially draining. Some of my medical bills are related to my pregnancy, but most are from when I had to have emergency gallbladder surgery in 2009.

I'm also a pretty private person, and the idea of a potential employer knowing the not-so-flattering parts of my life before they even get to know me is a little annoying.

I guess maybe I should start looking into some kind of debt management services or something. At least something to think about...

ParkerBC,MSN,RN, PhD, RN · Aug 12, 2011

erin,

at my previous place of employment, we conducted credit checks as part of the background check. we were looking for people who are currently late on credit obligations. in other words, if you are currently 30, 60 days late on your car, credit cards, or mortgage, we generally would not hire the person. the reason is that the person is more likely to steal from the employer to help get “caught up”. given the current market, employers can do just about anything to ensure they are selecting the “best” candidate from the enormous applicant pool.

having medical bills will not, i think, prevent you from securing employment. also, you should check out this site: www.creditboards.com i ran across it one day when surfing the net. it appears that many people are having medical collections removed from their credit report as it is a violation of hippa. i only read a small part of the article, but it may be something to take a gander at.

good luck.

ErinRN2B · Aug 12, 2011

That's ridiculous, IMO, I'm sorry. Having debt doesn't automatically turn someone into a thief.

halkogirl · Aug 12, 2011

I had bad credit and got a job for an insurance company. They ran a credit check and never said anything. I had way worse credit than you, from the sounds of it. They still hired me, and I had access to people's social security numbers and bank info. HTH!!!

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Aug 12, 2011

That's ridiculous, IMO, I'm sorry. Having debt doesn't automatically turn someone into a thief.

Desperate people do desperate things........unfortunately. It also shows how responsible you are......but the checks that are done by employers do have medical bills included whether or not they have been turned over for collection.....that is against the law......:)

IaCountryGirl · Aug 13, 2011

I've recently ran across a lot of posts on this site about hospitals and other places of employment running credit checks on potential new hires. This scares me to death because I have bad credit. I probably have about ~ $1,100 in unpaid medical bills. I am sure that this looks REALLY BAD to a health care organization and it scares me to death. Obviously I never wanted to have bad credit, but for the past two years I've essentially been forced to chose between keeping the lights on and paying a $300 medical bill. Before anyone flames me or tells me what an irresponsible person I am, I didn't ever want this to happen.
One of the reasons I am looking forward to my career as a nurse is so that I can get my finances back in order and work on maintaining good credit. I'm so upset over this that it's causing me to lose sleep. Does anyone have any advice on this matter? Please help, I don't want to be dealing w/ this level of stress a week before class starts.
* I'd like to add that besides the negative financial information on my credit report there is nothing in my background that really worries me too much. I've never been arrested or charged with anything more serious than a speeding ticket. I thought that that's what really mattered when you are applying for nursing jobs, but I guess not...

A lot of places do this now and it's not just hospitals. I wouldn't panic- if you're going up for a job that you know requires a credit check, then discuss the matter ahead of time with the person interviewing you so they know what will come back. Just simply give them the facts- money was extremely tight and you were doing the best you could.

IaCountryGirl · Aug 13, 2011

I guess maybe I should start looking into some kind of debt management services or something. At least something to think about...

Do you research carefully if you do this route. But don't pay a company to do something you haven't tried doing yourself first. I would call them and tell them "I have x amount of dollars I can send you every week". Then mail them a money order. NEVER give them access to your checking account.

Camwill, ASN, BSN, MSN, DNP, LPN, APRN, NP · Aug 13, 2011

If someone has a criminal background those applicates should be looked at with caution. Checking credit is a violation of privacy and gives someone namely a employer the right to judge someone without knowing the facts. The credit bureau is very flawed. I have someone using my social and things are on my credit that I have been trying and paying money that I can't really afford right now. What happens is it comes back. Tried to get my social changed and I was told I can't change it unless it my cause deathly harm... Really. So credit checks to me is discrimination. You have not be proven guilty of anything legally, otherwise you would be in jail or have a criminal record. Example of the crazy things going on, a man was hired with a criminal history but served his time and had a good credit check. Another man had his credit stolen but no criminal history paperwork and judgements about the credit fraud but did not even get looked at for a job because he was a credit risk. It does not make since, also there are a lot of unemployed facing the same problems, can't find a job for a year you will be 30 60 90 days late. Come on unemployment does not pay your bills..lol. hopefully a couple of these lawsuits of discrimination will get enough attention. The legal system is there for a reason, innocent until proven guilty. At least I thought that was the way it was suppose to go.