NJ Nursing Grad With DUI Awaiting Licence

Nurses Criminal Nursing Q/A

I made a horrific mistake and drove after drinking in 2015. I lost my driver's licence, paid a lot of fines had an interlock device installed. Then I graduated nursing school (May 2017). I disclosed everything to the board, I sat for and passed the NCLEX. Now I'm waiting for a license number. Most of my classmates received theirs in 2 days. It's been WEEKS for me. I drove to the BON (2 1/2 hours away) because I couldn't get any answers over the phone. I was told that I am on the agenda for 10/6 for review. Can they refuse me? I am a single mom of 2 who lost her job after 13 years in (started at 19), during school and now my unemployment is gone. I have a job who REALLY wants me, all lined up but is waiting for that number. If this doesn't pan out, I will lose everything. I have next months rent and little food im stretching out. Does anyone have any insight? I've read MANY threads, blogs, public NJ BON disciplinary actions...and im at a loss. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

30 Answers

Oooh...heads up. This is not going to be a short answer. I am gonna warn you that there is a lot of info in this response, and most is gonna be terrifying. I will preface it all by saying that I hope that I am wrong. I really do. But unfortunately I have personal experience in this particular subject, and while my information is not specific to NJ, most states operate similarly.

First, this process likely will not move quickly. At all. On a rare occasion, it can move quickly with a more positive outcome...but that has not been my experience or the experience of many I have spoken to.

Since your DUI is recent (2 years is recent, 15 years is not), the BON may decide to require you to voluntarily” enroll in their impaired nurses monitoring program as a condition to receive your license at all. Refusal would mean no license regardless of the NCLEX being passed.This is a very real possibility, although I can't say it's always done this way. Just hella often. Again, I hope you are more fortunate than many of us were.

I am not familiar with the typical monitoring contracts on NJ specifically (hopefully someone who is can chime in)...some states have contracts that are as short as 3 years, others as long as five years. I am in a five year program. The programs all involve frequent random drug/alcohol testing for the duration of the program and require you to secure, attend, and pay for a addiction assessment by an addictionologist of their choosing to determine if rehab/IOP, etc. will be required for you.

There are many other hoops they make you jump thru if they require you to enter a monitoring contract. There is some individualizations of which hoops they may assign to you, for example, some nurses are placed on a temporary controlled substance restriction (even for alcohol) while some do not have that requirement at all; that means you cannot work in a nursing role where you would administer any Schedule or controlled meds, and you would not have permission to waste. This is obviously problematic when finding a job, but not impossible. Usually the restriction is a minimum of six months, up to a year. At least with an alcohol conviction, there is a chance you wouldn't have this. Some contracts say no night shift, most say no traveling or home health, and most require you work where you have another RN available to supervise you.

Even if the Board does not discipline your license (and yes they can discipline a brand new license), they require you to inform your employer of your monitoring status and the employer has to submit either monthly or quarterly reports on your performance to your case manager.

I won't list every potential requirement...but I already hit the high notes. I HIGHLY encourage you to go to the Nurse Recovery forum on this site and you will find MANY stories nearly identical to yours. Yes, unfortunately there are many nurses who encountered significant issues obtaining licensure with a DUI in their past. That being said, there are posts in that forum where people struck gold and had very good outcomes and few hoops to jump thru, comparatively.

I know you are probably horrified that I even mention all this, but I am just being straight up and transparent. I'm assuming that you checked the box in your application that asked about a history of drug and/or alcohol abuse history? That is why you have a date set with the Board?

You see, your DUI was quite recent; two years may seem like a long time ago, but it's often not long enough for the Board of Nursing often times. Some people have faced monitoring or even discipline at the start of licensure for DUI's/substance abuse that happened over a decade before they were ever licensed. The Board doesn't care so much if you were addicted; a DUI is considered proof of alcohol abuse. You don't have to have an addiction to face hot water with the Board. Proof of abuse is often plenty.

Typically, the Board will require all of your court records and they will want to see proof of sobriety;s such as proof you regularly attended AA, have a sponsor, any urines or breathalyzers you took to be compliant with your sentence/probation...yada yada yada.

Now, I know you are getting ready to tell me that you are not an alcoholic and this was a one time thing. Okay, that's fine. But I'm just being honest when I say the BON does not care in the slightest and they are never, ever your friend or interested in the backstory of how you made your mistake. They see it as a sign of poor judgement regardless of the mitigating factors, and they want to protect the public from potentially being subjected to poor judgement. If it sounds heartless...well, it just is what it is. They just don't care.

I have personal experience in this arena and I have relationships with too many nurses who have been through this process for varying reasons. Hopefully those nurses will chime in.

My best advice is when you communicate with the Board, don't make excuses. Own up to what you did, take responsibility, but MOST IMPORTANTLY tell then every single thing you did to fix the problem and what your plan is to keep it from escalating or ever happening again. The Board likes remorse and ownership and they like to see you with a solid plan in place.

Finally, NJ's specific monitoring program is called RAMP, or Recovery and Monitoring Program of New Jersey-an alternative to discipline. I encourage you to look them up and read.

This process typically does not move quickly. We aren't talking a few weeks here. But you worked hard for your degree and if they offer it to you, I encourage you to find a way to make it work.

I sincerely hope that you don't have to face this process. I do. But since you did ask, it wouldn't be fair to not give you a heads up. Please, please the Nurse Recovery forum. You will find much more information from people who have been in your exact position.

Hugs and best wishes to you.

Did you disclose your DUI on your application? Did you provide the BON with arrest report and certified court documents? Did you provide them with letter explaining the details of the incident and what steps you took to prevent such thing from happening again? Did get some character letters from your instructors/ employers?

This could be a lengthy and expensive process so you should find a non nursing job to pay ur bills until the BON decisions comes thru( it may takes months). I hope that I am wrong, wish you luck

please consider appearing before the board. Appearing will give the impression that you really are concerned about the outcome and they can see your face and realize you are what you say you are.

Hi,

Did you wind up receiving your license? I am from nj and in the same situation as you except mine was ten years ago. I call every day and am told to call back in 7-10 business days. I have a Job lined up as well. Do you have any advice? I hope it all worked out for you!!

Going through a similar situAtion and would love to know if you got your license please respond back!!

Specializes in ICU.

Similar situation, wondering if anyone heard from the board or received a license in this circumstance. Anything would be very helpful. Thanks.

They just finished my criminal history review today and I was told the board will review me in September. I asked if this was typical and the lady said that I look like I'm in good shape since they are reviewing me so quickly. Some people wait an entire year to be reviewed and I put my application in in June and passed nclex July 10th. Hoping for the best

I have been going back and forth with the NJ Board of nursing regarding my DWI arrest that took place 6 years ago. If anybody from this thread can update on how it went for them it would be appreciated. At this point I have provided all of the documents that they have requested and the last information I have from them is that my application is under legal review.

I received an unencumbered license!

I am currently enrolled in an accelerated BSN program. I got my DWI in 2018 while I was in my first semester and it was the worst mistake of my life. I am set to graduate next year 2021 and am super worried about the possibility of me not being able to get my nursing license after I graduate and pass the NCLEX. I have a friend that had a DWI and still hasn't heard back from the board and its been over a year! I went through the whole process, paid my fines, had to have an intoxalock in my car, lost my license for 7 months. I also had a domestic charge that was dismissed in the courts a few months ago. I just find myself losing hope from time to time and thinking to myself if it's even worth it anymore.

To be honest I think you may find yourself in a bit of trouble. Everything is decided on a case by case basis. I would consult a lawyer. I wouldnt give up as you are almost done, but the fact you got a DUI WHILE in school ilplus another charge albeot a dropped one is definitely going to make it difficult. Although, with all this covid-19 stuff and such a high demand for nurses they may be a bit more lenient. Are you in NJ? When applying for your license be sure to include all your court documents, interlock receipts, any classes, idrc stuff, and write one hell of a letter of remorse. I have a friend who got a dui before I did and hers was less severe than mine and she had to go through the ramp program prior to getting her unencumbered license. No nights, no narcs, weekly meetings, random urine/hair/skin tests, all of this at her expense. She was very fortuante to have been working as a tech at the hospital or else I imagine it would have been difficult for her to have found a job as an RN. Why they came down so harshly on her and let me slide I have no idea. I think it may have to do with the fact that I wrote a really good letter of explanation that was honest and remorseful, and I also never had to get an interlock as part of my plea agreement. I am sorry youre going through this, we all make mistakes. The point is to kearn from them. I wish you the best of luck. Schools should be more forthcoming about the potential issues we may face beyond the basic background check.

Oh I'm sorry, I do not have anything with DUI. It was for a misdemeanor. I'm wondering about specifically that.

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