Jobs With DUI

[emilymorgan, ASN]

Hello, all.

I had a DUI arrest last November and am entering my write-in plea due August 10th. I am pleading no contest and am going on probation and paying fines to the state of Florida for a DUI 1 charge. I am licensed through Florida and they reviewed my arrest and by some miracle decided not to take any action against my RN license.

I attended inpatient rehab in January and then completed a 6-week outpatient program as well. I have been clean and sober for 252 days. I currently work in long-term care in Tennessee but am looking for a hospital job. Anyone know of what my chances are of finding a hospital job in the area are with a misdemeanor DUI? Any input is appreciated, thanks!

[HandsOffMySteth]

Well if the BON did not take your license that is a good sign. Another good thing is the amount of time elapsed and the fact that you went through treatment. If you get an interview it will probably come up. You should be honest and admit it was a lapse in judgement but that you have been through treatment. They will probably take many things into consideration when making a decision. Given a choice between yourself and someone with a clean record, they may opt for the latter.

Good luck.

[K. Everly, BSN, RN]

Honestly, I highly doubt this will be much of a problem if it is the only thing on your criminal record and no disciplinary action has been taken against your RN license.

My suggestion would be to be honest about the offense, acknowledge the lack of sound judgement in that moment, but also remain completely private about any non-court mandated treatment you received because that acknowledges that you've had an alcohol use disorder rather than simply that you made one bad mistake.

[emilymorgan, ASN]

On 7/21/2020 at 8:24 PM, KatEverly said:

Honestly, I highly doubt this will be much of a problem if it is the only thing on your criminal record and no disciplinary action has been taken against your RN license.

My suggestion would be to be honest about the offense, acknowledge the lack of sound judgement in that moment, but also remain completely private about any non-court mandated treatment you received because that acknowledges that you've had an alcohol use disorder rather than simply that you made one bad mistake.

This is very helpful, thank you!