DWI in New Jersey, Application Under Legal Review

Nurses Recovery

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Hello all,

I have searched this website and read many threads about nurses that have had previous infractions and dealt with the Board of Nursing and RAMP programs etc. There have been a few posts about people who have had DWI arrests however it never seems like anyone comes back to update the thread on what ultimately ended up happening. I made a mistake 6 years ago and was arrested for a DWI offense. My BAC was 0 as I hadn't been drinking, however I was under the influence of prescription drugs at that time that I was abusing. It was a mistake and since then I have done a lot to better my life including staying clean and sober for 3+ years and going through this entire nursing school process. I was just wondering if anyone had any relevant experience with a DWI in New Jersey. I disclosed the incident, all the papers that were asked for and they have uploaded them all today. This has already taken longer than I would have liked it to and I have employment pending. Any additional information would be appreciated. I heard that the board reviews cases once a month, and the date I have is Friday December 7th. Am I allowed to take part in this process at all? Can I show up in Newark and plead my case? Once again any experience would be appreciate thank you!

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Were the prescription drugs prescribed to you? If they were, there's a chance you could just claim a huge error in judgment and inexperience with the effects of prescription narcotics. If they were not prescribed to you, if you bought them off the streets to get high or got them from a friend, etc... get ready for a referral.

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Specializes in ICU/community health/school nursing.
Were the prescription drugs prescribed to you? If they were, there's a chance you could just claim a huge error in judgment and inexperience with the effects of prescription narcotics. If they were not prescribed to you, if you bought them off the streets to get high or got them from a friend, etc... get ready for a referral.

Good answer, Persephone!

Have you consulted a lawyer? At this point I don't think you can afford not to have a lawyer. Good luck.

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The prescriptions were indeed prescribed to me. Now to be honest I was abusing them, and I've made a lot of changes in my life. I have been clean and sober for over 3 years, during this time I made the decision to go back to school and start a second career in nursing, and I've graduated with my BSN. I attend 12 step meetings and have a network and a sponsor and all of that. The only reason I am saying this is because I have spoken to someone who had a possession drug charge that he lied about on the nursing application, the BON made him take part in the RAMP program and it took him almost a year to get his license. I have't disclosed any of my story to the board other than the documents they have asked for at this time.

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I have not consulted a lawyer. I will consult one down the road if it comes to it, at the moment I am holding out hope that I will get my license after the board reviews my documents.

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The prescriptions were indeed prescribed to me. Now to be honest I was abusing them, and I've made a lot of changes in my life. I have been clean and sober for over 3 years, during this time I made the decision to go back to school and start a second career in nursing, and I've graduated with my BSN. I attend 12 step meetings and have a network and a sponsor and all of that. The only reason I am saying this is because I have spoken to someone who had a possession drug charge that he lied about on the nursing application, the BON made him take part in the RAMP program and it took him almost a year to get his license. I have't disclosed any of my story to the board other than the documents they have asked for at this time.

Yes, get an attorney. Nobody needs to know you were abusing them. They were legally prescribed to you and you just weren't prepared for how strong they were. End of story. Good luck!

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Specializes in PDN; Burn; Phone triage.

Ahh I feel like nobody straight out said it? A prior addiction history in itself, even with a few years of sobriety, is often a one-way ticket to monitoring program town. If you admitted to being addicted/abusing your pills in what you disclosed to the BON...it could be a rough few years.

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There is a box they may ask you to check on your application for the NCLEX, for relicensure by endorsement, for relicensure by taking the NCLEX again ( for nurse's who want to take the test again vs whatever ), it asks if you have received treatment for addiction within the last 5 years. I had to check it, which meant an IPN referral and subsequent IPN contract for me. Have YOU received treatment for your abuse of drugs, addiction? If you have, don't lie. Lord only knows how much Big Brother is privy to these days. The DWI and treatment will definitely land you in monitoring. But, if the prescription was yours, you went to only 12 step recovery meetings as the treatment for your problems, I still would NOT go in there and spill my guts. There are behaviors associated with addiction: DWIs are one of them, but set that aside for a second. Do you drug seek? Do you doctor shop? Do you steal and lie? Are you a reliable employee (do you call in all the time)? Do you nod out while standing at the McDonald's counter? Do you go into withdrawal when you are without the drug? We have established that you got the DWI, you know that is NOT what the vast majority of people do. Did you do any of the above listed stuff, also? If not, you made a gross error in judgment, my advice still stands. You did a dumb thing, but most of us addicts don't straighten up and fly right just because we did a dumb thing. It took a stop-sign upside my head before I woke up. If you didn't exhibit any of the other behaviors, didn't go to treatment, got better with 12 step meetings I would argue that you were stupid, not addicted.

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I know in IL you would next be asked to get an assessment done by a psychiatrist and it would take a lot longer to get your license. In my state, if it was a DUI from alcohol you would must likely not be required to enter in a monitoring program if it was a one time thing and if the assessment went well. Prescription drugs may be a different story. I don't know how your state handles this stuff but you are going to have to decide what you tell them. I assume they will want more info and or an assessment done, although I could be wrong. If you say you had a problem and go to 12 step meetings I don't know if they will require you to go through monitoring or not. If you say it was a one time error in judgement I still don't know how they would take that either. So it might be good to consult with an attorney. I hate to suggest downplaying what happened as an option but if you have been clean and doing the right things for years now I would hate for you to have a bad outcome and I don't know how punitive the NY program is. Some of them are very expensive and most come with a lot of work restrictions. At least educate yourself as much as possible about your state's program and consult with a lawyer who specializes in RN licenses if they want more info from you.

Also, they will not have access to any medical records nor will they know if you went to rehab, etc unless you tell them that you did. They can't know if you saw a particular doctor unless you tell them. They can't know if you were inpatient somewhere unless you tell them. If you do tell them, then they can ask for those records. I don't know if any of your court records mention your statements on admitting to a problem or if there was mandated treatment involved so keep that in mind too because you would want to disclose anything they have access to.

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Specializes in ICU.

Were you convicted of a DWI? Did you need to install an interlock device in the car? Unfortunately, the NJ BON has been extra strict lately. They very well might order you to be evaluated by RAMP. Doesn't necessarily mean you won't get your license, but it might take some time. If that's the case, I strongly advise consulting a nurse lawyer with RAMP experience. Trust me when I tell you that you need to be beyond prepared for what RAMP entails in order to make it out quickly and not get trapped. Message me if you have any questions. I've been there, done that.

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