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Discussion

Devastated due to DUI

Hello,

I am a prospective nursing student and I'm getting ready to apply to West Coast University in California to get a BSN.

However, I received a DUI w/ injuries in the summer of 2012 (almost 3 years ago). Long story short, I was involved in car accident that injured myself and my passenger (minor injuries). It was indeed the stupidest mistake of my life, but I can honestly say that it does not reflect on the type of person I am. I've learned a lot from my mistakes and I've never driven under the influence again since then.

It was originally supposed to be a DUI felony, but my lawyer was able to reduce it to a DUI with injuries. I will officially be off probation next year September 2015 and I can expunge the DUI (I know that it will not be off my record). I've taken care of all court activities including AA, alcohol class, community service, etc.

I am not worried about admission into the university. What I'm worried most is about clinical rotations because I know that they do a background check.

My school adviser told me that they prefer to see at least 3-5 years once I reach my core classes (and clinicals) in nursing. If I apply soon, it will be a 3 years when I reach the clinicals (since the incident).

I just wanted to ask for some insight. This is something that I REALLY want to do but I feel strongly discouraged. What if I start my core classes/clinical rotations and I get rejected from the hospital I am doing the rotations at? What then? What about all the effort and money I've spent to reach where I am?

Thank you guys

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    • Featured Replies

    • Experts

    Perhaps you could cold call some places, both those that provide clinical placements for WCU, and those that do not, and flat out ask someone at HR; of course, without identifying yourself. And you might want to contact the BRN while you are at it, and ask them about the nature of your ability to get an RN license once school is behind you. Better to get bad news now if it is bad news, than to go all the way through just to have a brick wall in front of you that is insurmountable. Best wishes.

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    To echo caliotter3, your bigger concern here is getting a license. Even if you get approved at clinical sites, you may get all the way through school--all that effort and money and time--only to be denied a license. Your BSN is useless without the license to back it up. Contact the board of nursing anonymously and find out if you'll even be granted a license before you jump into nursing.

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    • Author

    Thank you both so much for your input. I will definitely go ahead and do that.

    Regarding the BON and taking the NCLEX, I know that it is definitely not impossible to appeal, show references, court documents, etc. And by then, it will probably be about 6 years since I have had my DUI.

    However for the clinical placements... I'm just really scared that I would get flat out rejected without any chance to appeal or explain my situation

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    Completely off-topic, but I would rethink doing your schooling at West Coast University.

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    • Author
    Completely off-topic, but I would rethink doing your schooling at West Coast University.

    Hi and thank you for your response. Can you please provide more info regarding your opinion?

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    • Experts
    Hi and thank you for your response. Can you please provide more info regarding your opinion?

    Although I am not the one who had originally expressed that opinion, I echo the previous poster's sentiment. Spending $132,000 on a BSN degree from a school owned by the son of the actor who portrayed Uncle Jesse on 'Dukes of Hazzard' might not be the most wise decision in the world.

    Even if you get a so-called 'discount' that knocks your tuition down to the $90,000 range, I still wouldn't attend if I were you. The new grad nursing employment market in California is oversaturated with many more nurses than can be absorbed, and it would be a shame if you were caught unemployed with such a high student loan balance. Buyer beware.

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    • Experts
    Hi and thank you for your response. Can you please provide more info regarding your opinion?

    There are many discussions concerning this school on the site. In a nutshell, if you have doubts about getting an RN license, do you think you should be going into debt for $132,000 for a probably useless BSN? And WCU, in and of itself, is a hindrance to some people when they search for RN jobs. That is all covered in the many threads where WCU is discussed, just look at them yourself and strongly consider that the warnings given may have credence.

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    Hi I'm in the same situation . I just want to ask you if you were able to get in the program ?

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    @hinnnng I am thinking about doing my BSN at WCU as well, but I am in the same boat. My DUI was back in 2017. Were you able to get in the program? Are you currently practicing?

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