CSI nursing program

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Feb 25, 2017

In all honesty, I've never heard of a nursing school that DOESN'T do a background check. Maybe some of the online RN-BSN or MSN programs don't do it, especially if they don't have you do clinicals or field work. I would presume that it's 99% likely that your school does background checks. And keep in mind that the hospitals/facilities that you will do clincials at will likely want to see a background check as well.

Whether the misdemeanor will show on a background check if the court date is still pending...I don't know. It may, it may not. The fact that you were arrested may show, it may not.

Nursing schools can and do accept applicants with criminal histories. It's up to each school to decide what they are comfortable with. But the one thing that will damage your chances more than anything is if you fail to disclose or even lie about your criminal record, and the school learns about it. You would need to contact the school and ask them.

While you're here, also start thinking ahead. When you graduate school and apply for the NCLEX, you will have to disclose that criminal record to the BON. You will also have to disclose it to future employers. A charge of trespassing may seem insignificant to you, but who knows what will set a BON/future employer off?

If you don't have an attorney involved now, get one involved to help you get the charges dismissed, help you get acquitted, or if that can't happen, to help minimize the damage. If you do get convicted of any crime, talk to your attorney to see if expungement is a possibility down the road.

Best of luck.

Yassine2826 · Feb 25, 2017

So if it's dismissed which is my only hope, will that mean it won't show on my background check? .... Thank you for the information appreciate it

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Feb 25, 2017

So if it's dismissed which is my only hope, will that mean it won't show on my background check? .... Thank you for the information appreciate it

Don't know. It's possible that nothing will appear after charges are dismissed. It is possible that it will show as being dismissed. Your arrest may still appear either way, or it may not.

IMO, if it does show, having dismissed charges is a hell of a lot better than having a conviction on your record. We can only hope others see it the same way.

You could try running a background check on yourself and see what comes up...but the downsides to that is that you'd have to pay for it (around $30 or so), and there's no guarantee that the school will use the same background checking service--they may use a different one and get different results than you do.

You can't undo the past--you did whatever you did to get charged, and that won't change. Your focus should be on minimizing the damage that it could cause you.