I'm pretty certain I can't be a nurse

[menot]

I will call during the day tomorrow to verify but I'm pretty certain no school will take me with my criminal background, at least not now, I will have to wait a few years. I know some of my charges were reduced and I have a couple years of pre reqs before I even apply to nursing school, so maybe. But I seriously doubt it, there are so many people who want to get into this nursing program that they can afford to be picky about who gets in

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

Any violence or theft related convictions will certainly make it difficult if not impossible to find employment as a nurse. Even if you are admitted to a nursing program and graduate you then need to be eligible for licensure and oddly enough that presents a weird catch-22. Most BON's seem to have a policy of not telling you if you will or will not be able to get licensed until you actually apply for said license. Then it is considered on a case by case basis. Unfortunately that may mean graduating and only after spending all that time and money being told you can't be licensed anyway, at least in your preferred state.

If you are able to overcome the hurdle of becoming a licensed nurse you will then most likely need to pass a background check before you are hired and I know at least where I work any criminal convictions involving theft or violence of any kind automatically makes you ineligible for hire.

I am not saying your goals will be impossible to reach, but I fear you have a hard hill to climb to get there.

[menot]

Misdemeanors or not, these are pretty serious. Are these unresolved charges, or were you convicted? If charges, get through court first before telling the BON and schools what you were charged with. No need to self incriminate if you aren't convicted.

Now, that aside... As I mentioned - these are serious. Assault? Domestic violence? Shoplifting? I say this without judgment, although it wont sound like it snd I apologize for that. You clearly have had moments during which you were out of control, making horrible decisions, and acting on impulse. For the sale of future patients that would be in your care, you need to get your world under control before you receive the trust of vulnerable strangers.

Put some distance and some years between this behavior and these charges/convictions. You'll have to convince a nursing school and your BON to overlook them and even then, potential employers tend to like less complicated hires.

Again, forgive what probably sounds like judgment. I offer these thoughts as help, not as criticism.

You don't sound judgmental and I don't take it as criticism since I know all these charges are one time issues. Besides I hate butt kissers keep it real

[menot]

I still want to do nursing school and I don't care if I work as one. I want to do law school and nursing school. I feel like I missed out on a lot of education with my addiction and past that now I want to learn and get degrees. I can't explain it a college degree to me would mean just as much to me as the birth of my only daughter. I want to get several associates degrees and one Masters the law degree. I want associates in nursing, archaeology, biology, and that's it.

So my question is can I go to nursing school just for the education and maybe I can get hired at a job, or not?

[menot]

Any violence or theft related convictions will certainly make it difficult if not impossible to find employment as a nurse. Even if you are admitted to a nursing program and graduate you then need to be eligible for licensure and oddly enough that presents a weird catch-22. Most BON's seem to have a policy of not telling you if you will or will not be able to get licensed until you actually apply for said license. Then it is considered on a case by case basis. Unfortunately that may mean graduating and only after spending all that time and money being told you can't be licensed anyway, at least in your preferred state.

If you are able to overcome the hurdle of becoming a licensed nurse you will then most likely need to pass a background check before you are hired and I know at least where I work any criminal convictions involving theft or violence of any kind automatically makes you ineligible for hire.

I am not saying your goals will be impossible to reach, but I fear you have a hard hill to climb to get there.

Does it give time limits on the convictions or lifetime ban?

[canigraduate]

I still want to do nursing school and I don't care if I work as one. I want to do law school and nursing school. I feel like I missed out on a lot of education with my addiction and past that now I want to learn and get degrees. I can't explain it a college degree to me would mean just as much to me as the birth of my only daughter. I want to get several associates degrees and one Masters the law degree. I want associates in nursing, archaeology, biology, and that's it.

So my question is can I go to nursing school just for the education and maybe I can get hired at a job, or not?

That's pretty awesome that you want to learn and improve. You can go to school just for the education. A few states will let you use that to get a CNA certification and you could work as a CNA.

However, you can't work as a nurse until you are licensed. You can only get a license by passing the NCLEX. You must get permission from the state board of nursing to even take the NCLEX. This is where you are going to run into trouble. It's called an authorization to test, or ATT, and you have to apply for it. I had to get fingerprinted and had a SBI/FBI background check.

Also, a lot of schools won't take you if they believe you will not be eligible to sit for the NCLEX. Their funding and reputation are often built on NCLEX pass rates.