criminal background

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I hear different things about having a background and becoming a nurse..some people have told me that you can not have a background at all if you want to go to school and become a nurse and then I read a few different things depending on what school you go to...I read that you can't have any felonies and it depends on the misdemeanors..and I guess the time frame...so my concern is would if you have 2 misdemeanors..one misdemeanor for unlawfully taken theft and one for conspiracy.They both are the same charge and they are almost 12 yrs. Old and you haven't been in any other trouble besides that. It basically was one of those stories where you were at the wrong place wrong time kind of thing. You were at the scene so you got charged..would you be able to go to school to become a nurse?

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The problem is not so much the school but the hospital/facility you would be doing clinicals at. My school ran a background check at orientation after we got our acceptance. My niece passed her background check for the school but failed one for one of the hospitals (she had a misdemeanor as well). She had to file an appeal but was eventually allowed to do clinicals at the facility.

You can start by researching potential schools and finding their policies on background checks.

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Specializes in Dialysis.

Also, you may go to school, but BoN may not allow you to take boards. They do it on a case by case basis and will not tell you until after school when applying for licensure

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I hear different things about having a background and becoming a nurse..some people have told me that you can not have a background at all if you want to go to school and become a nurse and then I read a few different things depending on what school you go to...I read that you can't have any felonies and it depends on the misdemeanors..and I guess the time frame...so my concern is would if you have 2 misdemeanors..one misdemeanor for unlawfully taken theft and one for conspiracy.They both are the same charge and they are almost 12 yrs. Old and you haven't been in any other trouble besides that. It basically was one of those stories where you were at the wrong place wrong time kind of thing. You were at the scene so you got charged..would you be able to go to school to become a nurse?

If you've been law abiding for the past 12 years, it seems appropriate to try to have your record expunged. I'd talk to a lawyer and see if you can do this.

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Specializes in Prior military RN/current ICU RN..

"seems appropriate" is not factual. In nursing "seems" is not a word you want to use. 1. Contact the school you want to apply to. Be honest. 2. Contact the board of nursing in the state you want to work and be honest. Worrying about things and not getting factual evidence is pointless. Get the answer BEFORE you waste thousands on school. You may be fine...who knows.

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Specializes in Dialysis.
"seems appropriate" is not factual. In nursing "seems" is not a word you want to use. 1. Contact the school you want to apply to. Be honest. 2. Contact the board of nursing in the state you want to work and be honest. Worrying about things and not getting factual evidence is pointless. Get the answer BEFORE you waste thousands on school. You may be fine...who knows.

BoN will not answer prior to applying for licensure. They will say evaluate case by case upon background check. Its been the talk of many threads on here

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Specializes in Dialysis.
If you've been law abiding for the past 12 years, it seems appropriate to try to have your record expunged. I'd talk to a lawyer and see if you can do this.

Expunged records still show up.

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Expunged records still show up.

For the BON, yes. But for typical background checks, no.

It would still be a good idea to get misdemeanors expunged, and with a clean record for 12 years, the OP may stand a good chance of getting them expunged. She has little to lose by trying.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Almost anyone with a criminal record can attend nursing school...

The issue is licensure. Only your state board of nursing can provide the answer as to whether you are eligible to attain licensure as an RN.

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school MAY not be a problem, given how long ago it was, although the fact that its theft may disqualify you. even if theyre misdemeanors, there are certain ones that automatically disqualify you. If you have an idea of where you want to go to school, there should be a student handbook that will tell you exactly a list of things that will automatically disqualify you, so download that handbook or go to to the school and check that out.

If you get into nursing school, then clinical sites may be another issue. The clinical setting may reject you based on your background for the same reasons, and at that point theres nothing you can really do. If you cant complete clinical you cant continue through school, point blank. And that is something you won't really find out until after you're accepted and the school sends your background info to the clinical sites.

Should you be okay with these 2, then after graduation you will have to tell the BON about these crimes when you go to apply for your Approval To Test. These are handled on a case-by-case basis so no one can really tell you how "likely" you are to be approved. You may get your approval immediately, otherwise they will ask for more information such as official court documents saying that you have completed all the terms and conditions involved with your convictions. Youll probably need a few letters of recommendations as well. From there, if they find you are sufficiently rehab'd, youll get approved, otherwise they will ask you to meet in front of a panel of Board members, at which case you're gonna want to look through these threads to see how others have handled that. And of course, there is a chance that they reject your attempt at approval altogether, at which case you either take your losses, or appeal, which ive read, is a whole giant process on its own that i wont get into here. You can search for those on this forum as well.

And lastly, should you get approved and make it through all of these (possible) hurdles, then theres of course finding employment with a criminal record. And thats something else that once again no one will be able to tell you how easy or hard itll be. It all depends on HR and how patient you are in fighting your way into a position. I've read (and known personally) people with sealed records, misdemeanors, and or a long-time-ago felony in one case, all that have found a position. I also know personally another 20 people with clean records that haven't landed a job yet.

This is pretty much as in depth of the process as I can tell you it goes, without speaking anecdotally more than factually. If its worth it to you, then go for it, but those are essentially each of the hurdles that you may face along the way. It may work out, or it may not. Try to gather as much information from the school you want to attend, and surrounding hospitals where you may do clinical before you decide to go all in, spend a bunch of tuition money, and time, and get shut down somewhere along the way.

Good luck bud.

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Thank you so much everyone you all have helped me...

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[COLOR=#000000]Hello Cheethaj, I am taking my NCLEX this year and I got a DUI 20 years ago. I am having a hard time putting my paperwork together because it happened in another state. Do you think it would be worth it to pay a lawyer to get my paperwork together? If not, I would very appreciate it if you can send me also letter of explanation and other helpful docs to serve as a guide. My email is, [email protected]. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the help and encouragement you have been given us. Blessings[/COLOR]

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