Nurses and DUI pending. Please give advice

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Please give me some advice and no judging as no one is perfect. I have reached out to numerous friends that are nurses but cannot get a real answer.

I was arrested for a DUI, which is pending. I contacted the BON Florida they advised not to disclose until the resolution

My questions:

1) Can I apply for other jobs with the DUI pending or do I need to wait because of the background check?

2) Will I lose my nursing license because of the DUI?

It is still pending, so hoping it gets dropped or charges lowered because there is now concrete evidence that I had been drinking.

Thank you.

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I'm not sure, but I just want to say good luck with this, and I hope you keep us posted.

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Per the site TOS, we can not give legal advice other than for you to seek legal advice. You can contact an attorney familiar with dealing with nursing boards through: TAANA Executive Office - Home

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

Moving to the Criminal History forum for more targeted responses. This is a moderated forum, and all posts are reviewed before being published. So any responses make take a little bit to appear.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

OK, let's answer the questions.

My questions:

1) Can I apply for other jobs with the DUI pending or do I need to wait because of the background check?

You can apply for jobs at any time. Whether this is on your background check right now, who knows? It may be there, it may not be there. And that's a problem: if you say "no" to a criminal history question but your background check says "hang on, something's here," an employer may not look too kindly upon that. Even if its not yet a DUI conviction and just pending, employers aren't too impressed when they see anything involving drinking and driving.

If you do choose to job hunt now, seek an attorney's advice when completing the application, especially the criminal history questions.

2) Will I lose my nursing license because of the DUI?

It is still pending, so hoping it gets dropped or charges lowered because there is now concrete evidence that I had been drinking.

Only the BON could answer that. They may say Yay, they may say Nay, they may say Yay but here's a lot of hoops to jump through first and a couple of stipulations to have on your license later.

You did the right thing in contacting the BON right away. Be sure to follow-up with them if you get convicted of DUI. Be sure to have an attorney to help you with dealing with the BON, especially if you have to appear before them. See the obligatory TAANA link above.

Now...IMO, one DUI does not an alcoholic make. Only you can decide if you have a problem with alcohol and if so, whether you are ready for recovery.

However, I will tell you that getting a second DUI will strongly suggest to employers and BONs that you might have that problem. So take some time now to explore your alcohol use and why that DUI happened. And if you think you need help, get it now.

Best of luck.

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Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.

Do not panic and don't cheap out and not get a lawyer. However, you are not going to lose your RN license over this. You may have to sign up for a state monitoring program for a while. How that program works depends on the state you live in. Your may require a chemical dependency assessment (which you would have to pay for). Cases are handled thereafter on an individual basis. And then as long as you answer the "any convictions" question honestly, (assuming this comes to that) you will be OK. Lying on that question can cause more severe repercussions than answering honestly and taking the dose of medicine that the BON recommends.

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thank you!

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thank you.

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I will. thanks.

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