Does the BON have access to all court documents?

[onehope67]

Hi all,

When I was younger I got myself into a sticky situation and am now paying for it. In high school I landed a co-op job at my local hospital and I stole a co-worker's jeans from the employee locker room. I lied about doing it even though I got caught. The absolute worst decision I have made in my entire life. Needless to say, I wound up with a larceny misdemeanor conviction. My question is this: when I disclose this and my other juvenile misdemeanor to the board, do I have to tell them that it occurred in a hospital? I feel like this will REALLY hurt me, even worse than the larceny misdemeanor itself. Does the BON have access to this detail or do they just have the record itself? Thank you for any feedback you may have.

[PDXCCRN]

This depends on the state. But in general, the BON will use the report generated by your fingerprint submission to the federal and possible state level DOJ/FBI. They will see all charges and outcomes as reported by these agencies.

If the charge of larceny appears on your DOJ/FBI report, it would behoove you to self-disclose this information to the BON. When you self disclose, you are going to have to explain the circumstances, and the BON may require you to provide police reports, et cetera. And this is what you are concerned about.

Each state is going to consider different mitigating evidence when they evaluate granting you a license. Your best bet is to do lots of research, including calling the BON, and perhaps contacting an administrative attorney who is familiar with the board of nursing in your state to get their opinion about what you need to provide (if anything) to show rehabilitation.

I am not a lawyer, so do your own due diligence. And know that each state is different in how they approach criminal history. But know that your criminal history does not make you a bad person. And it certainly will not make you a bad nurse. Pursuing an education and career reflects positively on yourself. Good luck!

[ked022214]

The best advice that I can give you is to hire an attorney to help you through the process of applying for your license! It's shows that you're a responsible adult serious about becoming a nurse.