Soo Many Posts On Criminal Records

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There are soo many posts on criminal records and applying to take the NCLEX. We have such a nursing shortage yet it is so difficult to try to obtain licensure with a record even after the fact of passing those hard 2 or 4 years of nursing school. There should be a new rule that people should be able to find out if they are even able to take the boards before they get into school. I feel that if someone who has a record and has passed nursing school compared to someone with a clean record that can't even pass the first semester should have the same opportunity without such a hassle. Besides something associated with murder or whatever.

And why do nurses who already have licences and become druggies get to have second chances with their diversion programs etc. The BON even encloses information to those nurses about where to get help. Where is the justice for those who have paid their dues back to society and are not yet nurses?!!

I think it basically boils down to this for employers: which is cheaper? Paying for lawyers and repairing image after someone gets hurt/killed as a result of an abusing employee? Or paying for the services to prevent the incident in the first place? In short, they do it because it passes cost-benefit muster. Giving employees a break provides incentive to get them to seek help before disaster occurs.

I also think that, depending on where you live, legislation dictates certain requirements that employers have to follow in order to have things like random drug screening and such.

As Karen pointed out on another thread, apparently hospitals can also lose Medicare, Medicaid and other insurance coverage if they don't screen for criminal records, etc. ahead of time. My guess is that would probably be the biggest issue for employers, not just lawsuits after the fact.

:typing

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

As far as second chances with drugs: nursing is both a high stress job and a job w/ convenient access to drugs. It is a potentially deadly combination. How fair would it be to place someone in the line of fire and then summarily dismiss them without a second chance? Besides, the peer programs are NOT cakewalks. Many, if not most, do not make it through them. I have tons of respect for somebody with the willpower and the courage to make it through one of those programs. That's apple and oranges to the first part of your post, if you ask me.

~faith,

Timothy.

I agree. The OP seems to be a bit hypocritical...let "criminals" become nurses if they pass the boards because the "deserve it" if said "criminal" can pass nursing school, and has changed their way?!? but do not give nurses a second chance...(who already earned their keep) because they are "druggies"? why shouldn't a nurse who already passed nursing school and did not have any problem becoming licensed, because they have not committed acts of crime, have a second chance?

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Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.

I agree with the OP to some degree. It does seem like a waste of time (and space and money) to attend Nursing School and your BON will not give you a license upon completion of all the requirements. I think schools should require all students to request that the BON determine if he/she can obtain a license as part of the application process.

If licensor has concrete rules, then it should definitely be a requirement before ACCEPTANCE into a Nursing Program. Criminal records that are not consistent with licensor should be used to make a student ineligible. However, I do not know if BON decisions are consistent.

I hear licensor is on a case-by-case basis and subjective in some ways. So it may be possible that you can be given the "OK" one year (before Nursing School) and be turned down for a license a few years later (after you pass the NCLEX). Again, I am not sure.

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I agree with the OP to some degree. It does seem like a waste of time (and space and money) to attend Nursing School and your BON will not give you a license upon completion of all the requirements. I think schools should require all students to request that the BON determine if he/she can obtain a license as part of the application process.

If licensor has concrete rules, then it should definitely be a requirement before ACCEPTANCE into a Nursing Program. Criminal records that are not consistent with licensor should be used to make a student ineligible. However, I do not know if BON decisions are consistent. Nursing school is just too much work to risk finding out after the fact that you can't be licensed.

I hear licensor is on a case-by-case basis and subjective in some ways. So it may be possible that you can be given the "OK" one year (before Nursing School) and be turned down for a license a few years later (after you pass the NCLEX). Again, I am not sure.

We didn't have to do a criminal background as criteria for nursing school acceptance but, once we were accepted, we did go through a criminal background check before we started since JCAHO recommended this a couple of years ago. However, from what I understand, nursing school background checks aren't mandatory if state law or regulations doesn't require it.

The school background check didn't involve fingerprints so, some things might not show up that otherwise would with fingerprints. However, when we had to go through a psych rotation at state facility, we did have to submit fingerprints. Apparently only state boards and law enforcement agencies can run fingerprints. Also, any clinical site can require students to go through a criminal background check and some of them do.

I'm not commenting on the OP specifically, but I'm constantly surprized at the number of posts lately where people do go all the way through nursing school without consulting the BRN. Just my personal opinion but, no matter how embarrassing it can be, I wouldn't want to go through the torture of nursing school and not know if I could be licensed at the end of the road.

:typing

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Actually, just very recently, someone from Cali posted in the student forum that they did check with the BRN before entering nursing school, and they were cleared. I don't know if they got that in writing or not but, apparently, the BRN will advise you ahead of time on whether your record will prohibit you from sitting for the NCLEX. Just FYI.

:typing

I let them know my situation, they just told me to put my package together of recommendation letters, my letter, paperwork from record, etc etc. and send it to them in a package to be reviewed.:lol2:

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This brings an interesting question to my mind. If one has obtained, let's say, a bachelor's degree in nursing, and then finds that one cannot obtain a license (due to not being able to pass NCLEX or the Board deeming one's criminal background as not eligible for licensure), then where could one go from there without having to go back to school? What jobs could one obtain related to a bachelor's in nursing without licensure? What career paths could one look into?

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Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.
What jobs could one obtain related to a bachelor's in nursing without licensure? What career paths could one look into?

You can work in Health Care and Social Work with a BSN and not be a Registered Nurse. Of course, all the jobs I have ever had in both fields required a Finger Print Card and routine Background check. I think the problem is not a lack of license, but the criminal record that might prevent someone from working in the field. Just a thought. :twocents:

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Specializes in PP, OR, med-surg,oncology, urodynamics.

i totally understand the reason and the moral behind the process the bon puts applicants through. however, most of the nursing programs are similar, depending on the type of degree offered, and we all have to pass the nclex. so why do requirments vary so much from state to state? i was charged (never convicted)with a misdemenor while in nurisng school, reported it the bon, and was granted permission to take the nclex. i did obtain my license in my home state. unfortunately, i've relocated to the state of texas, as a result of the hurricane, and unfortunately i'm still working as a clerk instead of a rn. my case is still pending, but like my mother says "delayed but not denied." a little different than the original posting, but just as frustrated:angryfire :madface:

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

Someone with previous criminal legal entanglements faces 3 potential hurdles:

1) acceptance into nursing school (including whatever clearances are required by the school, which are typically dictated to the school by the facilities they use for clinical experiences)

2) licensing requirements by the state BON

3) whatever background checks are performed by individual employers

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Specializes in NICU, Psych, Education.
This brings an interesting question to my mind. If one has obtained, let's say, a bachelor's degree in nursing, and then finds that one cannot obtain a license (due to not being able to pass NCLEX or the Board deeming one's criminal background as not eligible for licensure), then where could one go from there without having to go back to school? What jobs could one obtain related to a bachelor's in nursing without licensure? What career paths could one look into?

An interesting question, but I still see jobs in the classifieds pretty frequently (banks, insurance companies, etc) that say 'BA/BS required.' From looking at the ads, it doesn't seem to matter if the degree was in finance, nursing, or underwater basketweaving. But even if you slid past any background check into one of those positions, you still might get a lot of questions about why you didn't pursue work as a nurse and you might end up back at square one. As far as health-related jobs for a BSN with no license, I'm really not sure.

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Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.

Also, any clinical site can require students to go through a criminal background check and some of them do.

I

:typing

I taught a couple of years back and we were doing background checks on all our students. The hospitals in the area required these before clinicals could be done.

That's why it surprises me that anyone might be able to get all the way through school and then not be eligible for licensure. It would make sense to me for anyone in that situation to check with the state board prior to getting too deep into school. I'd think that if the school thinks an individual is potential nursing material, they might even help that person get a ruling from the board early on.

I just recently read the Texas rules regarding this issue, and was surprised to find it not as cut and dried as I expected. I did that after learning about an individual who completed the first semester of a nursing program and then switched to a different health care role. She had past legal issues and wasn't eligible for licensure, but I don't know if there was a Board ruling on that or that was what the school decided.

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I taught a couple of years back and we were doing background checks on all our students. The hospitals in the area required these before clinicals could be done.

That's why it surprises me that anyone might be able to get all the way through school and then not be eligible for licensure.

Actually, it doesn't surprize me. Even if a nursing school does a background check, they don't run fingerprints ... only state licensing and law enforcement agencies can. The background check I had with my nursing school was done through a company that relied mostly upon public records.

Therefore, things like juvenile records or expunged records, etc. may not show up until the person submits fingerprints to the board. From what I understand, fingerprints are the most thorough background check but, nursing schools can't run those.

Maybe a solution would be to allow nursing schools to submit fingerprints to the board ahead of time rather than after the fact. When I took a CNA course, fingerprints had to be submitted before you started the course (although it was through a different state agency, not the BRN).

I don't see why the same thing can't be done for nursing schools.

:typing

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