HELP!! Just Kicked out of Nursing School bc of Hospital Backround Check

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My whole life has just turned upside down because I was forced to leave my Nursing Program last week. I've worked so hard for years in school to get 170credits, 3.7GPA:bookworm:, a B.S. and into Nursing School. I knew I wanted to get my Masters in Nursing and an R.N.. I already talked to the Maryland Board of Nursing and they said I could get licensed bc I had no felonies, I had a few misdemeanors(2 CDS possession, 1 pety theft) most recent was over 3 years ago. I completed one clinical setting and the day before I started at the second one, BOOM:no:, I get called in and told I must WITHDRAWL bc the Hospital DENIED my Background Check and I couldn't PASS without clinical:crying2:. I can't return until I have a record that Hospital will approve. I lost all tuition money and am soo lost. I don't know what to do!?!? My lawyer said Guilty verdict CANNOT EVER BE EXPONGED!!! My heart broke, he said I COULDN'T get a GOVERNORS PARDON until at leas another 4-7 years. What do I do?? Give up my DREAM? Choose another program and risk this again?? Or try to think of another career? I have been in school for 8 years and had 1 year left:arghh:!!! I looked up a Masters in Health Systems Management, but am afraid that may be a problem too with my record. I don't know WHO to ask to HELP me? Please does any one have any advice?

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I had to quit also. I ad three misdemeanors. All are 6-7 years old. I wa told to get them expunged and come back. I did and I start in fall... Don't give up! I too was devastated beyond words.

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They can be expunged after 5 years of completion of sentence. In my sate at least ky.

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We can't give legal advice. Your attorney can tell you what your options are. They may very well involve waiting another year. Meanwhile, if the BoN told you there would be no problem with your license, get that in writing. See if your school will give you another clinical placement based on that. If not ... back to #1, speak with attorney.

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Specializes in Psych, Case Management, Care Coordination.

Wouldn't have even made it into the nursing program at my school. Background check is done before you can even register!

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Wouldn't have even made it into the nursing program at my school. Background check is done before you can even register!

The last school at which I taught (state uni BSN) did background checks on all the students up front, but only because the clinical sites required them. They would happily take you into the program and take your tuition money knowing that you had legal problems in your background, but they would leave it up to individual clinical sites to refuse students. If you (a student) got refused by a clinical site, the school would try to place you in another clinical site for that rotation, but, if that didn't work, you had to withdraw (which sounds like the OP's situation).

The school also didn't care if you had legal problems in your background that would probably preclude licensure -- they would take your tuition all the way through the program and let you find out on your own, after graduating, that you weren't going to be able to get licensed. The program administrators felt that that was between the individual student and the BON, and not their concern. I thought it was a pretty crummy way to run a program (to not even warn people that there may be a problem down the road).

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

Many schools will tell you up front that a facility can bar a student from doing clinicals there because of the student's criminal record...and the facility has the legal right to do so :/

It would have been nice if the school would work with you to find an alternative clinical site, as I can't imagine that a nursing school has only one clinical site for its entire program.

I agree that you need to talk to an attorney to see what your options are regarding your criminal record.

Best of luck.

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I feel your pain. I have an extensive juvenile record (3 misdemenors for disturbing a school function when I was thirteen, 2 batteries on a school peer when I was fourteen and 2 grand theft autos when I was fifteen years old). I was sentenced to 6 months in a juvenile residential facility and since that time my life has completely change. During my detainment I was pregnant. I had my child while incarcerated. I was released a couple months later at the age of sixteen. From that point on, my life did a 360 degree turn. I was awarded my GED. I enrolled into Keiser University where I earned an AS degree in Medical Assisting. I then pursued my AA in Nursing so that I could go for my BSN in nursing. Well, after three years of education and completing all of my prerequisites, I applied to the nursing program of 400+ applicants. I was one of the 70 students accepted. I am now 21 years old. I have two beautiful boys and a wonderful husband. I bought my first home at the age of 19. I've been working as a MA for almost 4 years. I triage 60+ patients a day at the busy Internal Medicine office I work for. I'm around PAs, NPs and MDs all day. All who can support my case with character letters. I have access to personal information, I am around controlled medications etc. As an accepted student I was required to submit my fingerprints. The school conducts a FBI background check. So, my juvenile records came up which explains the dilemma I am in now too. I don't know what to do. It does not matter if I get these records expunged because it will always appear during a FBI background check. I feel like such a failure for myself, for my children and my family as a whole who supported me though all the longs nights of studying. I was under the assumption that I did the crimes, I paid the price, I was rehabilitated and I just assumed that it was okay to move on with my life. I've wanted to be a NP ever since I did a class project at the age of 8. I was stupid, completely stupid, I made mistakes as a juvenile and I'm in disbelief that the mistakes I made as a minor will hinder me from obtaining any kind of licensure whether it's a RN, NP or even Loan Originator license. Even if it's 50 years from now I will never be allowed to work in a career with these requirements. I cannot blame anyone but myself for the mistakes I've made. I can say that the mind frame I had then and the mindset I have now reflect two different people. How can I ever make something of myself if I'm never allowed the chance? The purpose of the juvenile system is to rehabilitate, I'm rehabilitated, now what?

All I've been doing is praying and sending out emails. The FL Board of Nursing states that they review on a case by case basis. But that means nothing because the schools create the admission policies.

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

MA's are allowed to triage?

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So.... they hospitals will except you as long as they are expunged?

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I hope to hear a follow up on your case..... good luck.

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I'll be honest...not trying to be mean but I don't believe this story. I have a ton of reasons:

First of all, any nursing program that requires a background check is going to require it as part of the admissions and selection process. They are not going do a background check after enrollment, because otherwise, any student that cannot pass the check that they drop takes away a slot from someone that can stay and pay them tuition $$$$$.

Second, we ALL KNOW that no BON in the entire country is going to tell someone that just picks up the phone and calls them out of the blue and asks about a criminal background, "Oh, as long as you don't have any felonies, you are fine." They tell everyone the same thing: We cannot give you a determination until you actually apply for licensure.

Third, no attorney (unless it's a really, really stupid one) is going to tell you that a guilty verdict can never be expunged. That is not true...a judge has the legal authority to expunge whatever the heck he orders and no state has any laws that dictates what he can and cannot throw out.

Fourth, governors only pardon felonies...if you want a misdemeanor pardoned by the governor, you had better be a celebrity or somebody important. That is how rare that is.

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