2bamboo

Florida, a sunny place for people with shady pasts. Just kidding!

Dear RN2be44, Congratulations!! In Florida, where I was licensed, all I had to do was send 2 or 3 letters of recommendation along with my application for the license. I don't remember if I had to send in the court documents - they may have looked that up themselves since all the DUI's were in Florida. No lawyer needed. Didn't have to go before a Board. Everything was done by mail. This was in 2009 - maybe they are stricter now. I remember that one of my letters of recommendation was from a guidance counselor at my college - we had become friends and he wrote a great letter in my behalf! Make sure the authors of your letters are in trusted positions. At my first job I worked with an RN who had a prior drug arrest, and she was able to get a Florida license. I thought it would be hard and it turned out to be easy. What state are you in?

Thanks for replying! I did assume it wouldn't be too hard with one DUI - it's my 3 that I'm worried about. If they do grant me the license with restrictions, I fear that nobody would hire me because of those restrictions - so why even bother. That's why I'm trying to find out on here if anyone has ever been in my predicament. If Florida gave me an unrestricted RN license 10 years ago with 3 DUI's, now 10 years on with no further arrests and being sober, why wouldn't another state give me an unrestricted license too? Is Florida that much more lenient than other states? Or is it just that getting a license by endorsement is always more strict than your original state was? Thanks.

That's good to know. I will update on here if I apply to any other states.

I had 3 misdemeanor DUI's when I applied for nursing school and was accepted, no problem. The Florida Board of Nursing wouldn't tell me that they'd grant me a license when I graduated. They said they take it on a case by case basis. I took a leap of faith and graduated anyway. All they asked for when I applied for the license were 3 letters of recommendation!! I hope this gives you some idea. Good luck.

Hi, I'm a nurse in Florida who got 3 misdemeanor DUI's before I became a nurse. They are 20, 30, and 32 years old. I've been sober for 20 years, and a nurse for 10 years. I had no problem getting a license in Florida, but I hear that it's harder to get a license by endorsement. I'm interested in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, but I'm open to hearing about ANY states where someone with a similar situation was able to get a license. I'd also like to know what conditions they put on the license - AA meetings, psychiatric evaluation, restricted license, IPN Program, etc. Thank you!!