Getting Into Nursing School With A Misdemeanor
So, can you get into nursing school with a misdemeanor? Unfortunately for those in this unlucky situation, theres no clear answer. A Google search for can you get into nursing school with a misdemeanor? will show pages of theories, opinions, and tips from industry experts, but no definitive answer because each situation is unique. It may be smart for you to consult with an attorney that specializes in this, as they will be helpful in navigating the legal side of things. Each situation is different, but here are some important things to consider and understand when trying to get into nursing school with a misdemeanor.
Can A Felon Become A Nurse
This is going to deal with people who may be thinking of going into nursing school. They might decide, alright, maybe I can get into nursing school. But will getting a license from a state be a problem down the road? Im not going to focus on a currently licensed nurse who gets a felony. In short, if you do have a felony in your past, can it completely bar you from becoming a nurse? The short answer is no. But, its going to be state-specific. Im not going to talk about one state over another. This will be a general analysis of how to determine if you can get a license or not.
First, every state is going to have different rules, unfortunately. So if you apply to one state, it might be no problem. With another, it might be a complete bar to getting licensed. Before you go into nursing school, you must think, what state do I want to end up in? Then you need to research the rules of that state to figure out what felony conviction issues there are.
In most states, they wont completely bar you to license if youve had a past felony. But they will initiate an investigation and then investigate. What was the reason behind the conviction? That conviction is going to be a big determining factor in whether you can get licensed or not.
How Much Does Someone With A Nursing Degree Earn
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nurses held about 2.95 million jobs in 2016. The median annual salary that typically requires a nursing degree is $68,450.
Overall, employment of nurses is projected to grow 15 percent from 2016 to 2026, much faster average for all occupations. An aging population with chronic health problems, widely available healthcare, and current nurses nearing retirement will add to the demand for nurses.
Experience and area of the country will also influence the salary a nurse receives. Those with a nursing degree working on the East or West coast will typically earn more than someone employed elsewhere in the country.
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Determined To Become A Nurse
If youve had three DUIs within the past year, the board will be very concerned that you have an alcohol-related problem. And they may flatly deny your application or, alternatively, offer probation while also granting you a license. And theyll tell you, Youll have to do drug tests. Therell be supervision at work. You may have to do AA or a nurse recovery group. You cant pass narcs. There may be restrictions on the license, but theyll likely also grant it.
Its rare that someones criminal background would completely bar them from being licensed. If you are willing to go on probation in some situations, it shouldnt matter. Additionally, the board will consider it favorably if you clearly took some proactive measures to resolve the problems. Will a misdemeanor hurt your chances? Yes, itll make it harder, but it certainly is unlikely to be a complete bar for getting it.
Tell The Truth On Your Application
The investigation will look at things such as whether you reported the conviction on your application and were truthful about the details , the nature of the acts and whether it involved a vulnerable person, if this was a one time act or a pattern of behavior, what steps you have taken to rehabilitate yourself, and whether you show remorse. For more potential factors, see http://www.azbn.gov/documents/Substantive%20Policies/Guidelines%20for%20Criminal%20Conduct.pdf One good way to show that you have taken steps to rehabilitate yourself is having your conviction set aside. Under ARS 13-907, you can ask the court to set aside your conviction. This means the court expunges your conviction, so you can legally say when applying for employment that you have not been convicted. While the conviction will still show up when applying to be licensed as a nurse, having a set aside conviction shows the Board that the court believes you have been rehabilitated.
When applying to set aside your record, make sure to use an Arizona licensed attorney. While you can apply on your own, an attorney will be able to guide you through the process more quickly and efficiently. You will quite possibly need to present evidence on your behalf, defend against a prosecutors opposition, and/or attend a hearing.
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What About The Degree
Obviously if you werent a nurse before you were convicted, youll need to obtain the proper nursing degree before you can actual work as a nurse. As mentioned above, there are a variety of positions and thus a variety of nursing degrees. But most nursing programs will offer a classroom component in addition to actual in-hospital experience where youll get exposed to the real world behind-the-scenes of life as a nurse.
Theres a lot more to it than most people realize! That is why even after you get your specific nursing degree, there is always room to grow and advance, especially for those who are motivated to learn new approaches and are willing to dedicate themselves to continuing their education. Of course the benefit to this is an ever-increasing salary!
What Disqualified You From Being A Nurse
A handful of things can disqualify you from becoming a nurse. First and foremost, you cannot become a nurse if you are a registered sex offender.
Multiple drunk driving convictions in the past three years will also stop you from becoming a nurse. Finally, a felony conviction could. However, the latter may not.
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Past Offences And Findings
You must truthfully state if you have ever been found guilty of an offence, refused registration, had a finding related to the practice of nursing or another profession against you, or are involved in certain proceedings.
You do this by completing the form, and by providing additional information to the College for review if you answer yes to any question on the form.
Answering yes to a question means the College will require additional information for review before it can proceed with your application. It does not mean that you will be refused registration.
The College keeps all information confidential except as required or allowed by law. Where required, supporting documents must be sent to the College by the proper authorities. Supporting documents that are not sent directly to the College from the proper authorities will not be accepted.
Criminal Record CheckAs part of the registration process, the College of Nurses of Ontario requires all applicants to provide a recent criminal record check. A criminal record check helps protect the public by allowing the College to identify those individuals with criminal records that could affect their ability to practise safe and ethical nursing.
For more information, including how and when to submit the criminal record check, read FAQs: Criminal Record Checks
You must tell the College if you have ever been found guilty of any of the following in any jurisdiction:
How A Dui Affects Taking The Nclex Exam
Yes, a DUI can affect their ability to take the NCLEX Exam. One of the questions that they may find on the NCLEX application pertains to legal convictions and board disciplinary actions. A DUIeven a first offensemay affect their ability to take the exam.
Most states require that applicants provide a notarized summary explaining the offense along with a certified copy of the final court documents. The court documents must come directly from the court in a sealed envelope. The State Board of Nursing must review the application before any decision about taking the NCLEX Exam can be made.
A DUI is a serious matter that may or may not prevent students from getting into nursing school and pursuing nursing jobs. A review of the application does not mean that they will not be allowed to take the exam. Each State Board of Nursing may rule differently on a case-by-case basis. Applicants should just make sure that they are truthful on the application.
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When Did Do Nurses Need To Report Duis
Alright, when do I need to report it? If I need to report it, then how do I need to report it? For the most part, it needs to be in writing. And I would not submit a long story about all the details like I went out to dinner with Sally and had this many drinks. That is not going to help you.
It would help if you stuck to the facts. I was charged with this on this date, and my arraignment date is this Ill supplement in the future with more information. Or I was convicted of this on this date, which is what Ive done. And leave it at that. You dont want to give them any more information than you must. And the essential requirement is that you let them put them on notice of what happened criminally. Still, it doesnt mean you must give every detail about what happened.
For Those Whod Like To Enter Nursing School But Charged
People may be thinking, perhaps Id like to go to nursing school. But I dont know if I can get a license. Or maybe youre just getting out of nursing school, and you think, oh crap. Now I have to apply. Is this going to be an issue?
In short, probably not. If you have a misdemeanor assault charge in your past, it likely wont prohibit you from getting a nursing license. Many factors determine whether a board will grant a license or not regarding past criminal incidents. Lets go through those. First, how long ago did it happen? An assault charge that occurred 20 years ago will be taken less seriously than one that happened a year ago.
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Nursing Background Check Criminal Records And State License
The first things are heinous crimes, and two, high adverse publicity events. Boards of nursing are very concerned about the public image of nurses. And suppose theres been a past incident with an applicant that negatively impacts the nursing profession. In that case, that board will be much less likely to issue the license. Most of those end up being criminals. Still, it would help if you considered that these are political agencies and the politics of issuing permits to people gives the eye. Either dangerous or incompetent is not something most boards are willing to do.
Should I Get A Master Of Science In Nursing
A Master of Science in Nursing would deepen your educationcovering general nursing topics, clinical rotations, and courses on various nursing specializationsand, of course, open even more doors for you.
Itll make it easier to land management positions. You may also be able to pick up a specializationbecoming Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nurse Anesthetist, or Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, for examplewhich can be highly lucrative.
Such programs are, nevertheless, expensivewith online courses costing between $35,000 and $60,000. Itll take between one and two years full-time and two-to-four years, part-time, or longer, if youre applying to an RN-to-MSN program, designed for students who dont already have a BSN. Youll have to spend another couple years taking foundational classes on campus.
Soweighing the money you can expect to lose from tuition fees and working less due to your studies against the money you can expect to gain from earning the new degreetheres a strong chance that it will take a few years before you see a return on your investment.
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Criminal Records That Can Make A Person Ineligible To Be A Nurse In Florida
Florida Statute section 464.018 lists a number of offenses that will constitute grounds for denial of your nursing license. These include convictions such as robbery, child abuse, possession of a controlled substance and domestic violence. You can read the statute in its entirety at here. If you are convicted of one of these crimes, the Board does not have to issue you a license until you it feels you can safely be a nurse.
Additionally, Florida Statute section 435.04 also lists other offenses that could lead to your denial of a nursing license. This list repeats some of those found in 464.018, but also includes things like assault, battery, and sexual battery. You can view this statute here.
Finally, Florida Statute section 408.809 lists other disqualifying offenses. Again, there are some repeats from the above statutes, but this section also includes things such as Medicaid fraud, identity theft and forgery. This statute can be seenhere.
What Do Disciplinary Boards Care More About Nurses
Now, in a boards mind, what they care about is that theyre going to license safe nurses that dont have drug problems. And the boards stated mission is to protect the public. Theyre not there to protect the nurse, so they will see how many different misdemeanor drug charges or convictions they have? If youve had 15 in the last three years, that is a big problem, and you will probably not get your license.
If you had, as I said before, maybe one from 20 years ago, almost no chance you wouldnt get your license. Its a sliding scale. It would help to consider how much time had elapsed from when you had your last conviction until when you applied and how many you have. You can also think that if you did have a drug problem at the time, what have you done to fix the problem? if a nurse is addicted to methamphetamine doesnt mean you wont get your license.
Still, the board wants to know, alright, if you had addiction issues, what did you do to solve that problem? Did you go to AA or NA, or did you go to counseling? Did you seek treatment, maybe you went into inpatient rehab, or maybe you went into an intensive outpatient treatment program in IOP. Perhaps youve made some lifestyle changes, have a different friend group, or got away from an abusive spouse or something like that. There must be a change if theres just a big cluster of drug problems at a time. There must be some rehabilitation change for the board to feel comfortable with issuing a license.
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What The Nursing Board Will Ask Future Nurses To Disclose
What happens is, on any application, it will ask you to disclose past criminal incidents. Now, what they ask you to disclose varies from state to state. Nearly all states ask for felony convictions, and not all states ask for misdemeanor convictions. You need to check the applications wording and see what they asked you to disclose. Just because you didnt or dont have to disclose a past domestic violence conviction doesnt mean that theyre not going to investigate it because what theyll do is theyre going to run a criminal background check. And if that incident pops up, they will likely contact you to discuss it. Some states dont care about small misdemeanor stuff where there wasnt a string of incidents, but others will want a detailed statement from you about what happened. And then theyll likely want the police report and the court documents.
Get An Arizona Nursing Degree With A Criminal Record
Below is information on becoming a nurse in Arizona if you have a criminal record. To see if you are eligible to clear your criminal record, take our FREE Eligibility Check.
If you are considering a career in nursing in Arizona but are worried that your criminal record may prevent you from doing so, there is good news. Despite your criminal record, you are probably eligible to be a nurse now or will be in the near future as long as you meet all of the other requirements put forth by the Arizona State Board of Nursing.
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What Are The Conditions That Help You Get A Nursing License After A Conviction
The State Boards of Nursing must ensure that the licensed practitioners in their states are honest, reliable, and trustworthy individuals to protect the public.
They are also aware that sometimes life circumstances force people to make choices they later regret.
To ensure they award second chances to those who truly deserve it, each state board has established its criteria for handling applications for licensing candidates with a criminal record.
In some states, like Texas and Arizona, the nursing board will require the applicant to wait five years once their prison sentence is completed before applying for a nursing license.
Texas Nursing Board also considers how old you were when you broke the law.
For instance, if you were under 22 years old, those crimes are likely to count less against you as they will be passed off as the indiscretions of youth.
Another thing you can do to increase your chances of getting your license application approved is to show the board you have changed, and you live now as a law-abiding citizen.
If you can show, you have spent time working towards public service. Maybe, you volunteer at a church counseling group or help out in a nursing home, taking care of the vulnerable.
Get a character testimonial from the person in charge to show that you have left your criminal past behind.
Pro-TipBear in mind if you’re refused a license in one state, it does not automatically mean your application won’t be successful in another state.