Getting into nursing school with a record

CinDRnyc · Feb 27, 2012

I'm not sure if this will help you at all but here is what I've seen from friends ive known with the same situation:

You can do a self check on your fingerprints via the FBI: go to their website

Did you have the record expunged or sealed? If not, it is probably still there

Depending on what nursing program you are applying to, try to get some information on the background checks and how extensive they are, in addition look into your state's board of nursing background exclusions.

Some things don't show up anymore after 5 or 7 years, it just depends. Don't assume that it will go away on its own. You say your lawyer got charges "dropped" but that doesn't sound like they were sealed or expunged, Find out.

llg, PhD, RN · Feb 27, 2012

I agree that you need to find out FOR SURE what will be discovered during a background. My employer generally does not hire anyone with a history of violent or unstable behavior. Do you really want to have to go through the explanations, etc. every time you switch jobs or go to a new clinical site for school? If it is going to appear on criminal background checks, you might want to consider another career before investing too much time, effort, and money into a career that is going to require background checks.

mdv731 · Feb 27, 2012

I have a feeling it will still show up. I am still in the process of getting it expunged. N while I appreciate your advice llg, I dont think you have the right to tell me to consider another career path. It was a misdemeanor. It is not considered a heavy crime such a DUI, theft, assault, etc. I didnt commit a felony or anything. Im still a good decent person and I would hardly call myself unstable. I just gave him a piece of mind which was mistake and I should of kept it to myself.

MyMystudentRN · Feb 28, 2012

ya that little statement about finding another career was unnecessary. You do not need to think about finiding another career. Most jobs if not all require background checks not just with nursing. I know people who have gotten jobs in healthcare who has done worse then this. I mean life is life and it goes on outside of work. HR, unit managers, whoever some are understanding if you are not afraid to tell them your story they will listen others will judge you right off the back because of what the background check pulled up. Just continue to do what you have to do and do not stop. Try not to worry about the charge and continue to apply to jobs of your choice.

Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN · Feb 28, 2012

I have a feeling it will still show up. I am still in the process of getting it expunged. N while I appreciate your advice llg, I dont think you have the right to tell me to consider another career path. It was a misdemeanor. It is not considered a heavy crime such a DUI, theft, assault, etc. I didnt commit a felony or anything. Im still a good decent person and I would hardly call myself unstable. I just gave him a piece of mind which was mistake and I should of kept it to myself.

I think you misunderstood. Llg was not saying you are not a good decent person and therefore you should consider another career path. The point was that you need to consider before spending a ton of time and money on school, you will very possibly have trouble getting licensed as a nurse with this on your record, and even if you are licensed, you will have trouble obtaining employment. Sound advice, IMO.

jt43 · Feb 29, 2012

I don't think it's going to be an issue since the charges were dropped. You weren't convicted of anything. I think it's easy enough to explain as a domestic dispute in which your ex made a complaint and ultimately the charges were dropped.

mazy · Feb 29, 2012

I think you misunderstood. Llg was not saying you are not a good decent person and therefore you should consider another career path. The point was that you need to consider before spending a ton of time and money on school, you will very possibly have trouble getting licensed as a nurse with this on your record, and even if you are licensed, you will have trouble obtaining employment. Sound advice, IMO.

I'm going to agree with this. LLg is only telling you to be very thorough in researching this, because you don't want to go through the whole education process, and spend all that money, only to find that you won't be able to obtain a license.

Or, as purple has pointed out, even if you get a license, to find yourself unemployable.

The rules in nursing are strict and sometimes you can work things out in your favor, sometimes not.

The job market is brutal right now and competition for jobs is tight so best to make sure you get your ducks in a row before you take the plunge.

There is nothing being said about who you are as a person, and from what you are describing it sounds like a really screwed up situation and I hope you can get that expunged.

Exhaustipated, ADN, BSN · Feb 29, 2012

According to the nursing program info sessions I attended last year, it isn't necessarily the schools that have issues with criminal records (although, I suppose it could be, in some cases), but often, it's the clinical sites. The schools have no control over that. In fact, IIRC, both schools I visited mentioned they don't even see the results of the background checks; only the clinical sites do, and they approve or reject at their own discretion. One program director spoke of how students in the past had gone through classes, only to be rejected by a certain clinical site partway through the program. The result was the student couldn't complete the clinical portion of the program and was unable to graduate.

You might try talking to the director of the program you're considering about your situation. Chances are they won't be able to tell you for certain whether clinical sites will approve you or not, but they may be able to give you some insight on what you need to do or what you can do to improve your chances.

Good luck!

llg, PhD, RN · Feb 29, 2012

Thank you mazy and Purple_Scrubs. You are right. I was not saying that mdv731 is a horrible person and that she shouldn't be a nurse or anything like. I was simply saying that she need to find our FOR SURE whether or not the events in question will appear on a background check. If they do appear, she will need to be prepared for the fact that some places of employment will not hire her because of such a record.

Whatever appears on a background check will most likely be discovered and employers will act on that information. Either they will ask for her to provide a detailed explanation of the events and copies of any court records, etc. ... and then decide whether or not to hire her (or whether or not to let her do a school clinical in their facility or not) ... or they will simply reject any application from her without discussion.

Does she really want to invest in a nursing education without knowing for sure what her status will be afterwards? I recommended she find out ... and then base her decision on that information. I wouldn't want to make that big investment in an education only to discover afterwards that I was going to be very limited in my job options.

I wish her well, whatever she decides. But I stand behind my recommendation that she find out FOR SURE what a background check will reveal ... and think it through thoroughly ... before she makes up her mind.

Trauma Columnist · Feb 29, 2012

Moving to nursing licensure with a criminal history forum.

BTW - we do not provide legal advice and none of us can say FOR SURE what is going to happen. What we DO advise you to do though is to talk with your school and also puruse the board of nursing site for specifics.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Feb 29, 2012

While threatening to shoot someone was considered a misdemeanor, these days most schools and employer are not going to care whether it was a "minor" issue or involved an ex. They are going to see someone who made a death threat to someone they were involved with. And that is going to be seen in the current environment as a serious issue.We have school children shooting one another with little warning. We have domestic violence that is spilling over into the workplace and harming innocent coworkers. Recently, a divorced friend of mine was gunned down by mistake by an estranged husband that invaded the local community theatre, and shot several men, trying to kill anyone his wife "might" have been involved with. Top with a former coworker that became so angry when asked to float, that he stalked off the floor and called to tell his wife that he had his guns and was thinking of using them.The OP may feel that she did not mean it and it is a lesser crime than a felony, but most employers, clinical sites and schools are going to take it much more seriously for good reason. And even if charges were dropped, the data is out there courtesy of the Internet.