Next month I graduate and will be sitting for the NCLEX-RN the following month. I'm not all too concerned about the BON allowing me to take the NCLEX and get my license but instead am worried about an employer taking a chance on me. Have a job lined up but I failed a UDS in 2005 for cocaine while in the military, I was found to have 123 nanograms in my system, 177 below the NCSBNs cut-off level but 23 nanograms above the military's cut-off level.
I have paperwork explaining the positive result but the military's policy was no tolerance at the time, 2005. Of course, as my luck has it, they've since changed their policy and will allow a one time positive result.
I was not in the medical field at the time I was in the service. I was a well decorated military member and am just trying to move on with my life and eventually found that nursing is a field I could continue to serve in. I haven't told my potential employer about this but know that eventually, I am going to have to. I am supposed to submit the background check soon and am apprehensive about how to proceed. There is a box that I can either check or avoid. It specifically asks for relevant military service.
Two schools of thought here, there is no relevant military service (as I wasn't in the health care field) and I'm not getting any kind of benefit from having been in the service. Though, omitting information is kind of like lying, imo. I'm afraid of being accused and found guilty again for a crime, I didn't commit. I have official military documents proving my innocence but again, at the time, the military's policy was zero tolerance.
My initial thought was to present the official documentation to my potential employer with the hopes of understanding and a bit of latitude. Then again, I fear I'll find myself under scrutiny and without a job if I do. I haven't worked in many years primarily as a result of being so traumatized from not only the accusation but the ultimate outcome.
Just wondering if anyone here would either A. hire me or B. tell me to take a hike.
Any suggestions, comments and the like would be appreciated.
Anyone who has gone through a nursing program knows there is a lot of personal sacrifice involved with the academic journey required for success in a nursing program, so please, keep that in mind when addressing this topic. I'm not looking to be ridiculed but instead want to know if I even have a chance of ever obtaining employment as a nurse or if I just wasted a lot of time, money and most importantly the enormous amount of effort I just expended to complete the nursing program.
I'm a vet and usually, what I've found is that HR asks for your military service and asks what type of discharge you got.
Since you have a general discharge, versus an honorable discharge, most HR reps will asks for an explanation up front anyway - I would be ready to just tell the truth.
I think the keyword "relevant" gives you plausible deniability here. Your military service is irrelevant because it was not healthcare related, which IMHO makes it not relevant to their question as they phrased it. Keep your mouth shut and see how it plays out, I think you will be OK. After all you are only asking the question as they asked it, which was only about relevant military service, not just military service in general.
This is a difficult situation. Read the application carefully. There may be phrasing in there that indicates something along the lines of less than truthful could be grounds for immediate termination. My gut says to indicate your military service and be ready to provide an explanation if asked about the type of discharge.
My other concern is the BON. Are you absolutely certain you are cleared to take your exam? Where I live, they are strict to the point of rigid for previous offenses for drugs or alcohol. They may stall your application, eventually allow you to take the exam but immediately revoke your license and put you on a probation status, regardless of how long ago the issue occurred.
In response to the above post, I've submitted my fingerprints for the BON's FBI CBC. Based on the application for licensure in my state, I was not dishonest as it asked specifically if I had any convictions, which I do not. According to an attorney who commented on a situation similar to mine, I was not convicted nor punished just administratively processed for separation.
If my BON decides to put me on a probation status, I'm willing to participate in whatever measures they require of me. I just hope and pray that it doesn't come to my having to have a restricted license or something of that nature. I understand perception is reality but if you can try to imagine how frustrating it would be if you were accused of something you didn't do and had documentation proving it yet continued to be treated like a substance abuser, how infuriating it would be. I have nothing to hide and am willing to undergo whatever measures necessary to prove I am not a substance abuser/user in order to be a nurse. As all RNs, I too, have sacrificed an enormous amount of time. I've missed a lot of my children's events and firsts. I would be extremely discouraged and depressed if I did it without even having a chance of being a nurse. Obviously, I have the knowledge, potential and determination or I wouldn't have made it through the program, my class lost more than half of the students we started with.
More than anything I am just trying to determine if anyone would hire me. I mean, if I were to present paperwork explaining what happened all so long ago, is there a chance an employer would want to hire me? Does anyone have any input on that?
A new grad RN on probation may have a difficult time getting that first job. Many employers are not willing to start a new hire with "baggage". However, there are many out there that will. It might not be in an inpatient clinical area but outpatient and other areas may be a better first start if this job doesn't work out.
I wish you success. It is nerve-wracking enough to be facing NCLEX and job hunts without this additional stress.
Thank you for your response, I appreciate your taking the time to read and respond. Honestly, it means a lot coming from someone who has experience and knowledge. I realize, knowledge is power. I wish I'd have put more weight into my past before trying to become a nurse. But honestly, my nature is service, I want to serve. It gives me something to know that I have done something positive.
I called HR and they said they would definitely be getting a copy of the DD214. I also called the National Archives and they said they'd release that and anything else requested by a potential employer if I gave a blanket authorization for employment history. The good thing is unknowing ingestion was my defense and I have an 11 year old notarized letter from a person who explained the incident. Also, the military found be to not be a user or an abuser and that there was no basis or need for any type of treatment. So it's just a shame the whole thing happened and that it's all on my record. But that's the only real ding I have on my record.
Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
let me start out by thanking you for your service to our country. Now for my answer - while I am not in a hiring position now I have been and I would give you a job and a second chance especially if you could give me a clean (not below cut off) but clean UDS. The reason I say this is because I am an addict and alcoholic in recovery with over 10 years sober and I know all to well the value of 2nd chances. I would be honest about your military service and the circumstances of your discharge because some background checks are quite through and no employer likes to feel lied to when something not mentioned shows up on the background. While I do not believe you are an addict because it is quite possible to be a recreational user of something without becoming addicted - still it is important that you not insist you were clean at the time of that test. You were below cut-off but still dirty. These are the kind of lies addicts tell themselves so don't do it. What employers are looking at is not so much your past as your past judgements and if you are a person capable of making sound, safe judgements today. Like the military - nursing is ZERO tolerance where drugs are concerned. All it takes is one random dirty test even for something you have a valid prescription for to land your butt in a peer assistance recovery program. So if you have not used since the military don't start not even once when you think you'll get away with it. stay clean, stay honest. If this prospective employer rescinds their offer because of your past it just means that's not the right job for you.
traumaRUs, MSN, APRN
87 Articles; 21,287 Posts
I'm a vet and usually, what I've found is that HR asks for your military service and asks what type of discharge you got.
Since you have a general discharge, versus an honorable discharge, most HR reps will asks for an explanation up front anyway - I would be ready to just tell the truth.