DUI over 8 years ago - Endorsement to CA?

Nurses Criminal

Published

Hi All,

Almost 9 years ago I was arguing with my boyfriend and got in my car drunk and crashed it. While I regret making that mistake it actually served to catapult me into my nursing career. I would say that day was an ultimate low for me and I thank God that I did not hurt anyone other than myself. I was pretty drunk, blew a .11, and initially denied that I was driving. So this was not a typical 'got pulled over after leaving a party where I had 2 drinks' episode. I was being pretty nutty. Now that I am a nurse I see how selfish my behavior was and I am ashamed of myself. After that horrible accident and arrest I took a long, hard look at my life and where I was headed and began to pursue my nursing degree. I did a complete 180. First I volunteered at a hospital, then I completed my prerequisites at a community college. When I learned how long the wait list was for the ADN program I moved out of state. I became a CNA, studied hard and became a LPN, worked for 2 years in LTC while studying for my RN. I have worked and volunteered in health care for over 7 years - 2 as a RN. I do not drink and anyone who knows me now would say I have high moral and ethical standards. It is embarrassing to even ask for these letters of recommendation as most people are surprised that I even had a conviction. I am truly a different person.

What are the chances I could get endorsed in California as a RN with an unrestricted license? Should I try to get my record expunged before applying? I realize I am taking a risk by even applying. If they deny me I will have to disclose that when applying in the future to other states. Do you have any advice for me on how I could give myself the best chance of getting a full, unrestricted license? I will have many character letters of recommendation and I have even volunteered with disadvantaged youth as a nurse mentor. I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and advice. If need be I can be assessed by a psychiatrist or even get an attorney to help.

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Well, since no one has replied I guess I will just reply to myself. Won't be the first time I have talked to myself! Anyhow, I think I am eligible for expungement so I am sending in the paperwork to have that (hopefully) completed. In the mean time I am gathering all my paperwork (transcripts, court records, etc.) I will have at least 5 - 6 letters of reference from people who have supervised me over the years and the heads of organizations I have volunteered for. I am crossing my fingers! I certainly don't plan on moving without a license in hand! If anyone has any advice or stories regarding getting a license with a HX of DUI I would be much pleased to hear about it. Hope you all have a great night!

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Hi there! First of all , I would like to congratulate you on turning your life around. Secondly, I know nothing about endorsement in CA . However, probably as most states, these cases are handled on a case by case basis. You could work on the expungement and then investigate the process for CA . In my state you would not have a problem because of the length of time and continued sobriety. Best of luck!

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Hi twinsmom,

Thank you for your kind words! In most states I wouldn't have a problem but CA has a system all there own. Hopefully it all works out! I'm sending off my expungement paperwork tomorrow. I'm hoping and praying I will have a CA license in the next 6-9 months.

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My most sincere thoughts and prayers to you. I read these posts and can almost feel the pain and need for some words of hope coming through the screen. I pray to God and our Higher Power to intercede in the situations presented on this board. All the best to you.

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I don't know how helpful my response will be because I don't know anything about moving between states and all that entails but I will tell you what happened to me and hopefully that helps. I got my DUI 5 years prior to applying for licensure here in CA and was put on probation. I blew a .20 but there was no accident/property damage so I don't know how comparable our situations are? I can tell you I went to school with a girl who had a DUI from I want to say 10 years before applying (but fairly low BAC and no property damage) and the BRN gave her a fully active, unrestricted license no questions asked. So maybe the winning number is 10 years. Who knows though. All I can say is CA is very strict and the terms of my probation are tough. I'm talking 3 years of random drug/alcohol tests, aa meetings, therapy, mental and physical exams, chemical dependency program. All of that is very expensive too. The drug/alcohol tests alone cost me close to $500 a month. Just a heads up for you. Hopefully this helps!

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I just read your response to yourself and want to tell you I got my DUI expunged and it didnt help me :(. Not to be a Debbie the downer or anything, just want to give you as much info as possible. You seem like you really have your life together though and with all of the letters of recommendation I bet you have a good shot at it. I think it has a lot to do with how you present yourself on paper so get those letters together and anything else you can add to your application to stand out! Best of luck to you!

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Hi Aemrick,

Thank you so much for replying to my thread. I am still waiting for the expungement to go through, then I will apply. I am hoping and praying I can get an unrestricted license. It seems like such a crap shoot so I don't want to speculate if my work history will help me in any way. I will you guys know as things evolve. All I know is this Cali girl can't bear to spend another winter in the Midwest. I miss my home :-( I hope the BON Gods will take favor with me.

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Specializes in ICU, MS & Case management.

Hey there! Can you send me a private message and let me know how Ur situation turns out ? I got my dui 5.5 years ago and I have always wanted to be a travel nurse , I signed away my dreams wth that dui. Mine was similar to yours , it was a mess and I am embarassed to even say by bac. Just so you know I had no problems getting licensed in NY,NJ,CO, and HI. I live in nevada right now but want to relocate to CA as well. I've been an ICU nurse for 4 years and when I applied for my RN license in NV they put me on monitoring, I completed one year of monitoring here with random drug screens no problem, because like you I turned my life around after my dui. My application was just like yours too and I even went and got an evAl by an Addictionologist. We can talk more if you PM me. I research info and call BOns all the time =] and I want to know how your process goes for cali, I'm still too scared to apply

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Can you just leave how you are doing here, so people going through the same thing can be informed? Thank you.

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2 duis and some other little stuff almost over 10 years ago... I'm liscened in Florida and trying in Colorado. They want a bunch of documents rand letters. I'm so nervous! I dont want to move back to Florida! Any encouraging words or advice? 😢😢😷😷

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Hi Aemrick,

I am so sorry the expungement did not help :-( What state did you finally get your license in? They passed a law in California that took effect January 2015 that prohibits the BRN from denying licenses based only on an expunged conviction. Also, when a BAC is over 0.15 there are increased penalties and the charge is more severe in the eyes of the court and the BRN. I blew under that. I hope this is helpful to someone. I will be sure to keep you all updated as things progress. It may take awhile!

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