Dropped misdemeanor

[Itsagreatdaytosavelives]

I just got provisionally accepted into a RN program pending the results of my background check and drug screen. I was charged with a misdemeanor about 4 years ago due to a piece of a marijuana joint found in my vehicle. I let them know it wasn't mine and that it could have been from any of the number of people who rode in my car with me on a regular basis. They didnt arrest me. I went to court and pleaded Not Guilty, did pretrial intervention since I couldn't prove that it wasn't mine, and did 15 hours of community service and the charge was dropped completely. Im not concerned about passing a drug screen but I am concerned about the background check. Would this even show up on the background check that the nursing department is going to do? It shows that it happened in my county public records but it clearly states that there was no conviction and the charges were dropped. I just dont know what to expect.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

Moved to an appropriate forum to ensure maximum responses.

Have you done your own background check to see? Unless you have worked to remove this from your record, it is likely to be there.

Good luck!

[karmax1]

Just be honest. Explain everything in detail when you answer the questions!

Some nursing jurisdictions will use both fingerprinted based and name based criminal background checks. If it is a name based, your case will pop up. If you were arrested/fingerprinted, only the fingerprinted based criminal background check will pop up.

It will be very difficulty to predict your case. But it seems to me the charges against you were weak to begin with.

Again, just be honest about it. Open it up instead of letting the Board find out about it. Only the Board can determine the outcome. Don't think too much. There is always hope somewhere and you have to be positive. The outcome sometimes is so positive and when you look back, you may ask why did I think too much?

I recently had a traffic citation in one of the Southern States. All traffic offenses in the South are misdemeanor in nature. I was so worried and I was crying, depressed and loss of appetite. Instead of feeling sad, I wrote a note to the Board, explaining everything in detailed and I sent it to the Board via email. The result said, "As long as you were not arrested/fingerprinted, there is no need to report it. I was so relived. Of course, my case is different from yours and it is most likely it is in different jurisdictions. Some states are open minds about the criminal history. In my case, if you go to Texas, the BON will consider it as a "minor traffic violation." Do not just confine yourself to only one jurisdiction. Move around will help. Good luck.