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Can You Get Your Nursing License Back After Being Revoked?

Nursing, Blog
banner: Your Nursing License was Revoked. Now What? | RN License Revocation

What should a nurse do after a nursing license is revoked? Well, the first question is, why was it revoked? Normally, a nurse’s license would be revoked because they violated the consent agreement terms if a nurse were to get in trouble or have a substance abuse issue. Usually, a board would put them on probation, which would be through a document called a consent agreement. And then in that agreement, it would have terms of, let’s say, a nurse has an opiate addiction or something like that. And then, they were caught diverting, and the board found out and put them on probation. Usually, those would include random drug testing, supervision at work, AA or NA attendance, a nurse recovery group, or something like that.

Nursing Board License Suspension Consequences

Maybe they can’t work nights or home health. In this scenario, a nurse failed a drug test. The agreement states that it automatically revokes their license if they fail a drug test. Normally, in each agreement, it’s going to say if it’s revoked. This is how long the license is revoked until you can reapply. I want to discuss some strategies and tips on what a nurse should do during that revocation period. These tips would put them in a better position to get their license back once that period ends. In most states, it’s usually somewhere between three to five years. If a nurse has a license revoked, after that period ends, you can then reapply. Well, why the license was revoked depends on what you need to do in the interim.

When Your Nursing Board License Is Revoked

So, it would help if you thought about it like, okay, you violated an agreement for a reason; this would put you on a contract for a reason. What was the reason? Substance abuse is an easy thing to handle. If they are concerned that you have a substance abuse problem, they put you on that agreement and show you what they want you to do to be safe to practice. Let’s say you had your license revoked because you violated the terms of an agreement and you were an alcoholic. Well, during that period, you need to work on the addiction. Meaning you need to go to AA, and you need to get a sponsor. It would be best if you documented all the times you went there. I don’t usually suggest doing random drug screens. Other blogs of interest 

They can get expensive. And I don’t think it’s necessary. Getting a random drug screen through that entire period would be helpful if you want to do everything possible. I mean, if you’re going to do that, then I’d probably only do that in about six months leading up to one year or two. Talk about continuing to go to a nurse recovery group or changing lifestyles, eating better, getting into shape, and dealing with stress. Most of the time, they’re concerned that a stressor leads the nurse to drink for whatever reason. Another great thing to do would be counseling, so meeting with a licensed professional counselor, substance abuse counselor, or psychologist and dealing with those issues.

Nurse’s Revoked License Probable Reinstatement

Generally, the psychologist would then state that you don’t need to come to me anymore after a period. Then you want a letter from that person saying the nurse completed this many sessions. I don’t believe that they need to continue counseling. And then, when you reapply, you would send that letter to the board. Suppose the board wanted you to go into rehabilitation or an intensive outpatient treatment program. In that case, If you didn’t do it before the suspension of your license, you should do it right away. 

What are some strategies if substance abuse is involved? If it’s a clinical issue, recovering from it is more challenging. If you had your license revoked purely due to a clinical problem, it’s tough to rehab that, right? You could do continuing education, but after a period, you’ll always have to do a refresher course if they allow you to get your license back. But, only continuing education is the only thing you can do if it is an ongoing clinical issue. Or going back to school and showing success is another thing you can do. 

Action That Prevents a Nurse From Regaining Their Licensure

There are some things that a nurse cannot recover. Usually, physical abuse towards a patient, sexual misconduct, and some major criminal issues result in a felony. There are just certain things that if a nurse does, regardless of the time, they will never get their license back. If it’s a high-profile case, I find the boards like I’m in Arizona. For instance, there have been a few high-profile cases. And I think from the board’s perspective, they kind of feel like it would be bad publicity if they took someone’s license away for whatever the issue was. 

And then, after five years or ten years, they gave it back to that nurse simply because what they did initially was. I guess so bad that they wouldn’t want to seem like they were lenient in, I think, facilitating that behavior and giving them their life license back. That doesn’t happen very often. A nurse rarely does something so wrong that no board would give them a second chance. Still, some things happen. Unfortunately, suppose you did one of those I listed. In that case, regardless of its state, you may never get your license again.

Summary From An Attorney

So, in summary, think of it like, alright, what led to the revocation? And then what can I do in that period to show the board that I’m taking the initiative, I’m dealing with my issues. Document everything you’ve done because they will want to see that when you reapply and try to fix whatever the problems were. If you were on a consent agreement and violated the contract, reapply in whatever period. It is almost 100% certain that you will be placed back on a consent agreement, regardless of how much you had rehabilitated over that period. They’re just not going to take the nurse’s word for it, and they’ll want to see at least some level of supervision or probation for a period. And then, after that, the nurse would be kind of free from any of those probationary requirements.

Your Nursing License was Revoked. Now What? | RN License Revocation

Ask an Attorney

Arizona Nursing License Suspension: Nurses contact our office and frequently ask our attorneys, does state law allow the Arizona State Board of Nursing to suspend a nurse’s license? The short answer is yes. The board can issue a license suspension based upon ARS 41-1092.11. That statute states nurses can be suspended (and ultimately have their license revoked):

“B. Revocation, suspension, annulment, or withdrawal of any license is not lawful unless, before the action, the agency provides the licensee with notice and an opportunity for a hearing following this article. Suppose the agency finds that the public health, safety, or welfare imperatively requires emergency action and incorporates a finding to that effect in its order. In that case, the agency may order a summary suspension of a license pending proceedings for revocation or other action. These proceedings shall be instituted and determined.”

Nursing Board Discipline

So, in short, yes. The Arizona Board of Nursing has the power to suspend your license if it determines you are an immediate threat to the public’s health, safety, and welfare. Some usual reasons for a nursing license suspension include:

  • Diverting narcotics.
  • Healthcare problems.
  • Criminal issues (felony, misdemeanor).
  • Past disciplinary issues.
  • Substance abuse (alcohol, prescription medications, illegal drugs).
  • Sexual misconduct.
  • Mental health disorders necessitate immediate action.

AZ Nurse Complaint for an RN, LPN, or LNA

Many ask Can a Nurse Continue to Work if Suspended by the Arizona Nursing Board? No, a nurse cannot work as a nurse if the board suspends their license. The Arizona State Board of Nursing (“Board”) protects the medical welfare of the people of Arizona. They do this by ensuring each Medical professional with a nursing license in Arizona can practice safely. If the board believes a nurse cannot practice safely, they can initiate a summary suspension.

A summary suspension can occur when the board believes that the public health, safety, or welfare imperatively requires emergency action necessitating the immediate suspension of a nurse’s license. Examples of actions that can lead to a summary suspension:

  • Substance Abuse
  • Sexual Misconduct
  • Mental Health Concerns
  • Refusal to Follow Board Order

Board grants the summary suspension of a nurse’s license; the nurse must immediately cease providing care as a nurse. A hearing will then be scheduled (within 60 days) in front of an Administrative Law Judge at the Arizona Office of Administrative Hearings.

Criminal Report

A misdemeanor criminal charge would likely not reach the threshold needed for the Bd to initiate a summary suspension (such as a misdemeanor DUI or Disorderly Conduct charge).

Other Blogs of Interest

  • Nursing Law: Pros and Cons of Alternative to Discipline Programs for Nurses
  • Easiest Way For a Nurse to be Suspected of Diverting Narcotics
  • What Does it Mean When a Nurse is Suspended?

Does a DUI Affect your Nursing License?

Can a DUI affect your nursing license? As in all my other blogs, this is a general discussion. This is not state specific. Every state has its own rules and regulations as far as when and how to report. So, this is just going to be a general discussion of the things you need to think about that may affect your nursing license if you get a DUI. 

Charge vs. Conviction

First, you need to identify whether your board in nursing has a reporting requirement. For instance, here in Arizona, our nurses have to report it when they’re charged, not even when they’re convicted. A charge is when you get a DUI and a ticket with an arraignment date; that’s considered a charge. Sometimes, they’ll wait to charge you if they’re waiting for a blood test. But when you are charged, it just means when they decided to move forward with whatever the violations were. 

A conviction is when you’re guilty, or you sign a plea agreement, or a pretrial diversion program, or at least most boards consider a pretrial diversion program a conviction. Like an end to whatever the criminal conduct was, that isn’t a complete dismissal. For the most part, those need to be reported. Now, when they need to be reported varies from state to state. Some require it upon renewal, and some require it upon conviction; then, as I said before, it’s when they are charged, regardless of whether they’re ultimately convicted. That’s the first thing you need to identify.

Your Nursing License was Revoked. Now What? | RN License Revocation

When 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; I’ll supplement in the future with more information. Or I was convicted of this on this date, which is what I’ve done. And leave it at that. You don’t 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 doesn’t mean you must give every detail about what happened. 

Is It Substance Abuse or a Deeper Issue?

Some broad thoughts on substance abuse and DUI: the biggest concern of any board of nursing is that if you do get a DUI, you have a substance abuse issue. The stated purpose of nearly every board of nursing is not to protect the nurses. It’s to protect the public. And so, they don’t want a nurse with substance abuse issues providing patient care. Now, just because you have one DUI doesn’t mean that you have substance abuse issues, but it could be that you do. Let me say this delicately. I always speak to people with what I would consider chronic drinking problems. And they think it’s wonderful. For example, if you have a six-pack or a bottle of wine every night, the board of nursing will consider that a substance abuse problem.

Suppose you just went out, went to dinner, had a few drinks with friends, you occasionally drink socially a couple of times a month. In that case, you don’t drink too much intoxication; that’s just regular alcohol consumption. That’s not a substance abuse problem, but the board will think that no matter what, they will start at this person as an alcoholic and then work their way down. So, suppose it’s just your first-time regular DUI. In that case, you have a relatively low BAC, and most boards of nursing aren’t going to formally discipline a nurse for something like that. If it’s a third DUI and you had a super extreme BAC level here in Arizona, that’s above 0.2. 

What Will Happen if a Nurse  Commits Third DUI?

The board is going to be concerned. And what they would do here is have the nurse undergo a substance abuse evaluation with the psychologist. Then that psychologist would write recommendations to the board. And then, the board would incorporate those recommendations into probation if they thought they had substance abuse issues. It’s implausible that a nurse with a low-level DUI will lose their nursing license. I mean, it’s infrequent. 

There must be more underlying things to end up with that result. But, if you have chronic problems, a criminal problem with alcohol or drugs, that could lead to a board decision. We don’t want this person to provide care anymore. Now, they’re almost always going to give the nurse at least the option of going on probation or entering a confidential monitoring program. Most states call it an alternative to discipline or something like that. In a worst-case scenario, at least at the beginning, you’d have the option of doing that.

Confidential Monitoring Program

Where most nurses get in trouble with persistent problems with alcohol, they’re in the confidential monitoring program, have a positive drug screen for alcohol, and get kicked out of that program. They get put on formal disciplinary probation. The same thing happens, then they get their nursing license suspended. And then, if you continue to violate the terms of the probation, it could end up in revocation. If you’ve had one DUI as a nurse, it will not end your career. It’s most likely not going to prohibit you from getting jobs in the future. 

You must be aware of this. You cannot let it happen again, but if you screwed up, I find the best defense for people who have screwed up, and it’s a lower-level thing, is to admit, you know what? I just made the wrong decision. I don’t have a drinking problem if it’s just one night, and I’ve learned from it. These are the things I’ve learned from it. These are the things I’ll do now to prevent it. And then, this is what I will do in the future. And that’s what most boards of nursing want to hear. Is that if there is an identifiable problem, you have learned from it and then incorporated that into your practice and move forward in the future.

On Complaints: Common Board of Nursing Disciplinary Actions

What are the options for a board to discipline a nurse? Now, before I get started, this topic is very state-specific. Every state has its own spectrum of disciplinary actions. So, my talk today will be general, meaning the state you’re in might make a difference. But this is the standard structure of what kind of disciplinary action is for the board. There are usually three options for non-disciplinary activities, and I think I should go through those first. There are several reasons a case can be dismissed and could be dismissed in filing a complaint.

Two Most Common Forms of Dismissal

Usually, the two most common reasons for dismissal are, one, the board doesn’t have jurisdiction over the complaint. Two, the conduct alleged in the complaint is not a violation of the nurse practice act. And then the other way of dismissing the case is obviously after an investigation. It can be dismissed if they believe there are no grounds to discipline the nurse. Most boards will then have a non-disciplinary option. I know here in Arizona, it’s called a letter of concern. It could be a reprimand or an advisory letter. It goes by different names. Still, I’ll call it a “letter of reference.” It’s simply a letter in your board file stating concern about the incident. Still, it’s not considered formal disciplinary action and wouldn’t be reported to any databases, nurses, or national practitioner databases.

Non-Disciplinary Continuing Education

It would just be kind of on file with the board. And if the nurse were to get in trouble in the future, they would look back at the letter of concern and decide whether they needed to take additional action. Some boards also offer an administrative penalty, which would be considered non-disciplinary. Other boards will give a fine or admit a straight liability if a nurse files for the renewal late or doesn’t provide the necessary fee. Some boards will give a fine, typically, or admit a straight penalty. The last option would be a non-disciplinary agreement for continuing education. Most of the time, that’s not considered disciplinary action. Not every state requires continuing education for nurses. Still, many states offer non-disciplinary continuing education where they’d have to take a course in documentation, nursing ethics, assessments, etc. 

Common Disciplinary Action Options 

Decree of Center

Those are all the non-disciplinary options. We’re here for the standard disciplinary options, and I’ll go through those. Most states usually have a decree of center or letter of reprimand. It’s a formal document that states the nurse did violate the state law in some way, but it doesn’t rise to the level where the nurse is put on probation. It’s like a formal slap on the wrist. It is necessary to report it to the database, and nurses and the nurse would have to register it in the future. Suppose any employment application states, “Have you ever been formally disciplined by a board?” In that case, they’d have to answer “yes,” but it’s a decent outcome in many cases. I guess the two choices were probation or decree of center. The decree of center is the better route to go.

Disciplinary Order for Continuing Education

Another disciplinary option is disciplinary order for continuing education. There’s a non-disciplinary potential and then a disciplinary potential. It would just depend upon the facts of the situation. I mean, the order would be the same. They must do a certain amount of continuing education where they could get in trouble. But in this case, maybe the clinical problem rose to the level that the board felt they needed to put on the record.

And so, a disciplinary order for continuing education is another option. Usually, somewhere between $500 to $2,000 is used as a civil penalty in many states, just like a fine. The difference between what led up to a complaint that ended up in a decree center and a civil penalty is maybe the civil penalty route was a little more concerning to the board, but that’s another option as well. Anything after that, for the most part, would be probationary.

Probationary

Let’s take, for instance, a nurse with substance abuse problems and several DUIs. The board felt it was necessary to put her on probation. Normal probation would include testing for substance abuse, random drug testing, AA participation, and some level of monitoring at work. Maybe you can’t pass narcotics for a period. Maybe they’ll make the nurse do counseling. They could add continuing education to a consent agreement as well. Probation can last from a year to up to three years or more. And then, after the probationary period is over. The nurses fulfilled all of the obligations of probation. They’re no longer on probation, their licenses are unencumbered, and they can work freely without restrictions.

How Can a License Be Suspended?

The levels after that are wrong. One would be a suspension. Several ways to suspend a nurse. If they were on a consent agreement and they violated the terms of the agreement. Most boards have the option to suspend the nurse’s license. The board can take a summary suspension if there’s a nasty incident. The board will take emergency action to suspend a nurse’s license. Those are kind of two ways the board can suspend a license. And finally, revocation is the worst-case scenario for a nurse. That is discipline. Suppose they violate the terms of a current consent agreement once again. In that case, many boards have an automatic option where the nurse’s license is revoked. Once again, if there’s a heinous incident, it could lead to a quick revocation.

Voluntary Surrendering of License

It’s not common for a nurse’s license to be revoked. I mean, less than 1% of nurses have their license revoked. It must be challenging and concerning conduct to get to that level. But it is always an option. A nurse can voluntarily surrender their license. That is considered a disciplinary action. I have nurses sometimes, and maybe they’re toward the end of their careers. They’re not interested in going on probation or fulfilling the terms of whatever their offer of consent agreement is. And they can give up their license. It’s called surrender.

Therefore, they no longer have their license. Normally, there would be a period when they could reapply if they wanted to. But a voluntary surrender is considered a disciplinary action as well. Those are the common reasons for a board of nursing. I guess the common reasons for disciplinary actions from the board of nursing. There’s a wide spectrum of things they can do.

Summary

I get asked, what’s your win rate, or what are your outcomes? I mean, it’s impossible to answer as an attorney who represents nurses. Getting a nurse on probation and not getting their license revoked can be a huge win. Getting somebody dismissed versus a decree of center could also be a huge one. It just depends upon the conduct. And most boards will have a range. I mean, I can see a case and understand, alright, this is where it will fall. But suppose you’re looking for an attorney, and you ask that question. 

In that case, it’s difficult to answer because every situation is unique. And so, one outcome could be enormous for one person and a terrible outcome for another. It just depends upon the situation. Some states require a certain period after either the felony. I guess the nurse or potential nurse was either convicted of the felony or completed the probationary requirements. I know here in Arizona, someone must have at least three years from the date of termination of probation for a felony case to be eligible to reapply or apply for a nursing license.

The first things are heinous crimes, and two, high negative publicity events. I know it sounds strange, but boards of nursing are very concerned about the public image of nurses. And if there’s been a past incident with an applicant that sheds negatively upon the nursing profession, that board will be much less likely to issue the license. Most of those end up being criminal in nature. Still, you need to consider that these are political agencies and the politics of issuing licenses to people that are looked at as either dangerous or incompetent is not something most boards are willing to do. 

When the State Revokes Your RN License 

Lastly, if you’ve had another healthcare license and you’ve been placed on the OIG exclusionary list, so the office of the inspector general has this list where if you’ve had a license revoked, suspended, voluntary surrender, or a certain number of crimes, they can exclude you from billing under Medicare or Medicaid. The nursing boards, for the most part, don’t care about that at all. However, the employers, or at least some employers, will. If they can’t bill for you, they will not employ you. So, you need to think, alright, what happened to put me on that exclusionary list? And then you also need to consider there are ways of getting off it after a period and, I guess, jumping through certain hoops. You need to investigate doing that disqualify as well. 

Very few things can completely disqualify a nurse from getting a license. Most nursing boards just want to see if something bad happened, have you learned from it? Did you take steps to remediate the behavior in some way? If it was maybe drugs or alcohol like DUI, did you go to AA? Did you go to counseling? Did you go to an intensive outpatient treatment program or rehab? Have you made just healthy changes in your lifestyle so that you can deal with stress better? Do you exercise discipline over your life? These are the things the boards want to hear. Just because you’ve had one bad thing happen in your past, if you’ve learned from it and incorporated positive things into your life, that’s what the nursing boards want to see.

What Can Disqualify You From Being a Nurse?

What can disqualify you from becoming a nurse? I’m only going to talk about applicants, not people the state has already licensed. This is just going to be a general discussion. Maybe I’m thinking of going to nursing school, or perhaps I’m still a nursing student, or I’ve completed nursing school. Now I must apply to a board. What things in my past could disqualify me from being a nurse in the future? Lastly, this is not going to be state-specific. It’s just going to be a general discussion. 

The first, probably the most apparent, is some heinous criminal incidents in your past. Almost none of the boards in any state contain a list of things like, if you’ve done these things, you can’t get a license as a nurse. No matter what the case, they’ll have a general guideline. But, any violent crimes, if you were a possible heavy distributor of drugs in some way, sexual misconduct. These are things that are hard to rehabilitate, or at least in the eyes of the board. And so, having those in your past could be a barrier to ever getting a nursing license. 

Getting a License After A Crime

It may not feel like it when I talk to nurses. Who are always concerned about DUI, marijuana possession, theft, domestic violence, disorderly conduct, and assault charges. But these are relatively low-level crimes. And just because you’ve had some of those in your past generally will not disqualify you from getting a nursing license. Now, if you’ve had 20 assault charges, it’s probably not going to happen to you. Still, if it’s a handful of things from 20 years ago, it will not hinder you from getting your nursing license.

And even in this scenario, where the board was very concerned about past behavior, they almost always offered the nurse a probationary license, meaning they would grant the license. Still, they would simultaneously put them on probation for one to three years. And at the end of that probationary period, their license is unfettered. That’s usually what the case is. 

The Board Is Concerned About Public Image

People make mistakes. But if the same thing keeps happening and you’re not learning from it. I mean, at some point, you’ll likely have an interview with an investigator from a nursing board if you’ve applied to some criminal history. You state I was set up, making excuses. Those are not the things that they want to hear.

Arizona Nursing Board Questions?

Complaints, Investigations, Appeals and more!

Click Here for More Information
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Can You Be a Nurse With a Felony? (the TRUTH From a Lawyer)

Blog, Nursing
Banner: Can a Felon Become a Nurse?

This is going to deal with people who may be thinking of going to 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? I’m 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, it’s going to be state-specific. I’m 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.

Most states won’t completely bar you to license if you’ve 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. 

Enrolling in Nursing School with a Felony Record 

The first thing you should probably do is call an attorney in the state you want to get licensed in who deals with nursing board issues. They’re not going to give you a “you will get licensed”, or “there’s no way” answer. But they can give you some general guidelines of what they’ve done before. The rules they’ve followed as far as felonies go. Also what you can do to put yourself in the best position to get licensed. That’s the most efficient use of your time. 

You could also go on the board’s website and find out what the rules are for felonies. Some states call it a “felony bar,” so Google that. But let’s say you do apply, they run a criminal background check, and it pops up. Almost every application is going to state that if you’ve had a felony, you must disclose it. Then you’ll need to provide police records, court documents, or any documentation saying you’ve completed your sentence. 

After you gather all of that, the board usually wants you to write a statement about what happened. At some point, you’ll have an interview with the board investigator. They will inquire about the reasons behind the incident. Now, some felony crimes will probably completely bar you from ever getting a license. Any kind of child abuse, sexual misconduct, and involving yourself in the distribution of prescription drug felonies are some examples. You’re going to have access to all the narcotics in the world when you’re a nurse. So if you have any convictions before with diverting or selling prescription meds, they’re going to be very concerned about that.

Criminal Records that Pose the Biggest Obstacle to Becoming a Nurse

Super violent crimes, adult abuse, or things that are difficult to rehabilitate from are the biggest problem for past felonies. If you have drugs, alcohol, or domestic violence problems, you can do anger management, Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, or counseling. Things that you can rehabilitate from are much easier to get a license after. Meanwhile, abuse, sexual misconduct, convictions involving honesty like fraud, and identity theft, are things some people won’t consider something you can rehab from. 

Just to recap. First, you need to figure out what state you would like to get licensed in. Second, call an attorney in that state knowledgeable about the nursing board. Ask them, what are the laws around past felony convictions there?

There may not be a bunch of specific rules about the past. I know most boards will have specific implementations if you’re currently licensed and then get a felony. But not all the boards are going to have laws that state what’s going to happen if you’ve had a past felony. But still, talk it over. Where does the board usually look? What did they do with this type of felony in the past? If there are some steps you can take during nursing school, like either going to AA, rehab, or counseling? Things that will then set you up and put you in a better position when you ultimately apply for your license. Those are important things that you need to think about.

So, take a deep breath. If you do have a felony, it’s not going to completely bar you from being a nurse most likely. Just kind of do your research and good luck with your nursing career.

Other Blogs Of Interest

  • What Would a Nurse be Subject to if Recently Convicted of a Felony?
  • Can you be a Nurse in Indiana with a Felony?
  • Nursing Law: Can you be a Nurse with a Misdemeanor Assault Charge?
a group of medical professionals.

Can You Be a Nurse With a Misdemeanor?

Can you become a nurse with a misdemeanor in your past?  Two things: one, this is not state specific. This is general information about what most boards will consider. And two, applicant nurses will be the target of this post. I’m not going to talk about what happens if you’re currently a licensed nurse and get a misdemeanor. This is about people with a past misdemeanor, who are going to apply for their first LPN, RN, or CNA. Let’s talk about the application process.

Entering Nursing School With Past Record

Normally, almost any nursing board application is going to ask for any past felonies. You’ll have to disclose those. And two, this is the important language: it may ask if you’ve ever been convicted of a misdemeanor. Some will just say, have you ever been convicted of a misdemeanor involving drugs or alcohol? Each state is a little bit different. You need to look at the specific language and then determine if it’s necessary for you to disclose the misdemeanor. Now, every board is going to run a criminal background check. I find from state to state, the sensitivity of that background check varies wildly. 

So, in one state, something can pop up whereas, in another, it doesn’t pop up at all. One consideration for many nurses is not having disclosed anything, say, from 25 years ago, which they should have done. Now it popped up on the background check. Then the board initiated an investigation and asked them to explain what happened and why they failed to disclose it.

One thing you could do is find an attorney in your state that handles nursing board cases. And if you’re unsure whether something qualifies for disclosure, talk to them and see if it meets the threshold. What you don’t want to do is fail to disclose something that should have been disclosed. And that could open you up to discipline. The board may decide to grant you a license. But they will still formally discipline you for failing to disclose a prior criminal incident you should’ve disclosed. That’s the first thing you need to think about. Alright, what does the application say? And then do I need to disclose it or not? Now, the next analysis is what’s the likelihood of you not getting licensed because of a past misdemeanor. 

a doctor probably checking a patient's record

Boards Will Most Likely Make Nurses Disclose Felonies

As I said, almost every board will make a nurse disclose felonies. And depending upon what it is, it could mean that a nurse will not get their license. Now, just because you’ve had a felony in your past, doesn’t mean that you won’t get your nursing license. That’s not a guarantee. It would depend upon the nature of the felony, how long ago it was, that type of thing. It’s highly unlikely that any misdemeanor in your past would prevent you entirely from obtaining a nursing license. What could prevent that would be if there are a bunch of misdemeanors. If you’ve committed various offenses in the past, it might affect whether you receive a license or not. If you’ve had one 20 years ago, when you were 19, it’s extremely unlikely that it will prevent you from obtaining a license. 

There are scenarios where you have had several misdemeanors in your past. Let’s just say someone had three DUIs. Maybe 10 years ago. In that time period, the board is going to ask you questions about your use of drugs and alcohol. How much do you drink? When was the last time you were intoxicated? Did you ever go into AA? Did you ever do any kind of rehab or IOP? 

They want to know if you’ve experienced brief periods of distress, which is common among people struggling with substance abuse. Or who may be experiencing other problems in their lives, such as an abusive partner or a mental health problem? Have you resolved the issues from the past, as the board will want to know? Do they believe that you pose a future risk to patient safety? It is worse for the nurse the shorter the period of time between the criminal act and the license application.

Determined to Become a Nurse?

If you’ve 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 they’ll tell you, “You’ll have to do drug tests. There’ll be supervision at work. You may have to do AA or a nurse recovery group. You can’t pass narcs.” There may be restrictions on the license, but they’ll likely also grant it. 

It’s rare that someone’s criminal background would completely bar them from being licensed. If you are willing to go on probation in some situations, it shouldn’t 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, it’ll make it harder, but it certainly is unlikely to be a complete bar for getting it.

Since we’re in Arizona, this won’t help you if you live in another state. But I believe this is sound general advice for nurses regarding what to consider if you have a criminal record. Sometimes people wanting to go to nursing school will call. They’ll say, “I don’t want to enroll in nursing school if it’s even unlikely for me to get licensed.” In that scenario, reach out to an attorney that does nursing board work in your state and ask if they have experience dealing with this type of crime. If they think it’s worth it, if it’s okay, and the likelihood of you getting a license. That’s valuable information. It would be a terrible situation to enroll in nursing school, spend all that money and time, then apply with no chance of receiving a license due to past criminal incidents. I hate for that to happen to anybody.

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November 29, 2022/by admin
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Are There Any Nursing Jobs Where You Can Smoke Marijuana Without Getting Reprimanded?

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Are there any nursing jobs where you can smoke marijuana without getting reprimanded? In short, probably not. Obviously, over the last decade, more and more states have recognized or legalized either the use of medical marijuana or recreational marijuana as well. However, just because the state recognizes medical marijuana use and you have a medical marijuana card or recognizes recreational use, this doesn’t mean that you can’t be fired by your employer for a positive either pre-employment drug screen or even a for-cause drug screen while you’re working there for several reasons. First, the nature of providing patient care means that a nurse simply cannot be impaired in any way to provide safe patient care.

Nurses Who Smoke or Use Marijuana May be Fired

And due to the nature of marijuana staying in the system for a period, it would be very difficult for a nurse to provide evidence or convince any employer that a positive drug screen was due to using completely outside of working hours or had no carryover effect that involved impairment in any way. Additionally, almost every state is an at-will employment state, and what that means is the employer can terminate an employee for any reason, at any time, without notice. Now, there are some protections if you’re a nurse practitioner, perhaps a CNA, and you have an employment contract or independent contractor agreement.

But if you’re a CNA, LPN, RN, or anything equivalent to that, most of the time, you’re an at-will employee, and they can just fire you for any reason. So, even if you tested positive for marijuana, but you prove somehow that it was outside of the normal working hours, they still could just let you go anyway. The only thing an employer can’t do is fire you for discriminatory reasons or retaliation in some way. And in most states, your opportunity or legal right to smoke marijuana is not a protected right that you can’t be fired for. So, what are some things you can do if you want to continue to use marijuana but don’t want to get in trouble at work?

How to Continue Using Marijuana Without Getting Reprimanded

Well, first, for any pre-employment drug screen that you’re going to take, you must abstain from taking marijuana for a period of time. You know when you’re applying for a job, and you know that if it’s a healthcare facility, they’re going to give you a pre-employment drug screen. You must be clean for that. That’s the first and easiest thing to do. Now, if you want to continue to use marijuana while you’re working, the best way to avoid any drug screen is not to show any size of impairment while you’re working. So, specifically with marijuana, bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and reacting in a slow manner are all huge red flags, obviously. And I’m not advocating for taking it while you’re working. If you’re going to use it, then you should do it outside of patient care hours and well before any time that you’re going to be providing any patient care.

However, if anyone suspects that you’re impaired, you are going to be given a for-cause drug screen if you’re working for a reputable organization. And if you test positive after a suspected impairment, there’s almost no scenario where you’ll keep your job. You’ll be terminated and reported to the Board of Nursing in whatever state you’re in. So, to answer the question, are there any nursing jobs where you can’t be reprimanded for using marijuana? Most likely not if there are suspected impairment while you’re working, or you test positive on a pre-employment drug screen. Hopefully, that answered the question.

Can You be a Nurse with a Misdemeanor Drug Charge?

Can you be a nurse with a misdemeanor drug charge? Obviously, this is not going to be state-specific. I’m just going to give you general tips and things to think about if you’re going to apply for your nursing license. I know that many people that read these blogs are also maybe thinking of going into nursing school and are thinking, alright, well, maybe I can get into nursing school, but I can’t get a license, and I just wasted a bunch of time and money. So, I’m going to talk more about applicants or maybe even people that are thinking of going to nursing school. This is not going to be directed towards currently licensed nurses.

Alright, so you have a past misdemeanor drug charge which could be a possession of a bunch of different drugs, potentially distribution. There are some misdemeanor distribution charges as well. If you’ve been convicted, you’ve either gone to trial and lost or most likely reached a plea with the prosecutor, and then you had to do community service, fines, maybe some drug counseling, treatment, whatever it is, the board cares about convictions for the most part and not just charges.

It doesn’t mean you’ve ultimately been found guilty if you’re just charged with a crime. Only when you’ve been convicted or reached a plea, or maybe went into a pretrial diversion program, that’s where most boards find that the nurse, in their minds, would be convicted. So, if you’ve had one misdemeanor possession of marijuana from 20 years ago, that will not keep you from getting your nursing license, let’s just say.

What Does the Nursing Board Usually Look For in Drug Charges?

When a board looks at the criminal pass of a nurse, they’re going to run two things. They’re going to ask in the application, and this changes from state to state, but usually, they’ll ask: do you have any felony convictions? And then two, potentially, do you have any misdemeanor charges involving substance abuse? It does vary from state to state. You need to look at the specific language in the application of the state that you’re looking to apply to and then just see what you have to disclose. And then, the board is also going to write a criminal background check. Then anything that pops up in that criminal background check will likely reach out to you and ask you to give a summary of what happened and maybe even potentially provide them with the police records or court documents, so keep that in mind. 

Now, in a board’s mind, what they care about is that they’re going to license safe nurses that don’t have drug problems. And the board’s stated mission is to protect the public. They’re not there to protect the nurse, so they will see how many different misdemeanor drug charges or convictions they have. If you’ve 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 wouldn’t get your license. It’s a sliding scale. You need to consider how much time had elapsed from when you had your last conviction until when you applied and then 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 was addicted to methamphetamine doesn’t mean you won’t get your license, but the board certainly wants to know, alright, if you did have 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? Maybe you’ve made some lifestyle changes. Or have a different friend group. Maybe you got away from an abusive spouse. Something like that. There must be a change if there’s 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.

When Charges Are Frequent and More Than Just a Misdemeanor

Let’s just say it’s a recent number of drug charges, and they think this nurse hasn’t done what they need to do. It’s certainly possible they could issue the license but also put the nurse on simultaneous probation for drug issues. In most states would include random drug testing, supervision at work, maybe some kind of continuing education, a nurse recovery group, counseling, rehab, whatever. I mean, there’s a variety of things they could do. But even if you’ve had a bunch of recent things, but you’re willing to do what it takes to get your license, the board can, as I said before, issue the license but put you on probation. It could be anywhere from 12 to 36 months, sometimes more. And then, if you were to get through that period, your license would no longer be encumbered. 

Now, one bad thing about being placed on probation is if an alternative to a discipline program is not available for you. In an alternative discipline program, in most states, there’s a confidential monitoring program where you can do all the things I just listed, but it wouldn’t be public. And it wouldn’t be considered formal discipline. If the board only offers you formal discipline, that’s going to stay in your record, at least in most states, forever. So, you need to think about, alright, even if I do get a license, if I have this blemish on it forever, is that going to dampen the chances of me possibly getting the job I want to get? I would say no, but it is more difficult to find a job if you have a disciplinary history.

Before Attending a Nursing School, Get an Attorney to Review Your Drug Charges or Drug Conviction

So, in summary, if you just have one or two misdemeanor drug convictions, you’re probably fine. The closer to the date that you apply, the more scrutiny you’re going to get from the board. But overall, every situation is a little bit different. What I would suggest, I’m in Arizona, so I only help nurses with the Arizona board.

Before you even apply to a nursing school, it might make sense to reach out to somebody in the state that you’re thinking of applying to, someone who has experience with nursing board issues, and just say, hey, in the past, have you had a similar scenario? And then what is the likelihood of me getting a license once I apply? No one is going to be able to give you a 100% accurate guess, but if someone’s been doing the nursing board for a long time, they can usually give you a decently accurate, I guess, estimation of whether they think you would get licensed or not. And then maybe if there was disciplinary action attached to that or not.

October 20, 2022/by admin
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Can you be a Nurse with a Misdemeanor Assault Charge? | Nursing Charges

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Hi, my name’s Robert Chelle with Chelle Law, and my law firm assists nurses with nursing board issues. Today I’m going to talk about whether you can be a nurse with a misdemeanor assault charge. 

A couple of caveats. First one, this is not going to be a state-specific talk. Every board has its own rules. It would help if you looked into whatever state you decide to apply for your license. And look at those rules specifically. This will be more of a general conversation about what a board usually would look into. 

If you did have a misdemeanor assault charge in your past. I’m only going to direct this to applicants. Say you have a current license and are wondering what will happen. Your board will have a pretty clear path of what they do with when to report a criminal charge. And what they do when you do that.

For Those Who’d Like to Enter Nursing School But Charged

People may be thinking, perhaps I’d like to go to nursing school. But I don’t know if I can get a license. Or maybe you’re 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 won’t prohibit you from getting a nursing license. Many factors determine whether a board will grant a license or not regarding past criminal incidents. Let’s 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.

Difference Between Charge and Conviction

Before I move forward, I want to discuss the difference between a charge and a conviction. Most people don’t understand the difference. So a charge means they’ve charged you with something, but they haven’t found you guilty. The boards generally do not care about that at all. I use that in the title of this article because that’s what most people search for. 

But a conviction means you’ve reached a plea agreement, went to trial and lost, and had some pretrial diversion program. Most boards consider that a conviction in some way. You were found or pleaded guilty in this scenario and have to report it to the board on your application. Or maybe they’ll do a CRI, or they will always do a criminal background check. Maybe it pops up, and they reach out to you to discuss it.

frustrated nurse

How Long Ago and How Many Were the Misdemeanor Charges?

So, as I said before, the first thing is, how long ago did it happen? Then the second is how many assault charges do you have? There’s a difference between having one 20 years ago versus seven last year. If you have a cluster of assault charges, there’s generally a reason. It’s a mental health problem or, more likely, a substance abuse problem. People don’t just have multiple assault charges because they have some anger management problems. Or at least it’s pretty rare that that would happen. Some problem with drugs or alcohol almost always drives it. So first, they’re going to say, we want the criminal records. Either the court documents or the police report. Then they may ask you to write a statement about what happened. 

Then, they may interview you at some point to discuss what happened most of the time. It’s relatively harmless. However, if the police report states that you were intoxicated, on drugs, or anything like that. The board’s primary concern will not be whether you assaulted somebody. It’s going to be, whether you have substance abuse problems, that will render you incapable or be at risk of not being able to provide safe patient care. 

So even though it may start in one place, like, okay, did you assault someone? It will quickly shift to, okay, maybe you attacked somebody, but what was the underlying reason behind that? If it was just a fist fight with somebody over a partner or something, that’s one thing. But say you’re at a bar and had seven assault charges because you were wholly intoxicated. That will concern the board the most. So please take into account how long ago it happened and how many you have. 

Probation for Nursing Students With Criminal Charges 

Last will be other criminal charges. If you’ve had an assault charge, domestic violence charge, or DUI drug possession, all that will obviously concern any board. So, if it’s just one assault charge, that’s unlikely to stop you from getting a license. If it is a long sheet of problems across multiple accounts and convictions, that will be more of a concern. So if a board did have a concern about your safety to practice. Or maybe they thought you did have anger management and substance abuse problems. That doesn’t mean they will just completely deny licensure. Many times, what they’ll do is they’ll offer some probation to the nurse.

Let’s say they have a concern about substance abuse problems. They’ll say, all right, we will grant the license, but we will simultaneously put you on probation. Probation includes typically random drug testing supervision at work and some AA and NA nurse recovery group participation. You won’t be able to work on the nursing compact. There are restrictions on the hours and setting you work in. In that scenario, the board is somewhat satisfied that they will be able to monitor the nurse in some way for a short time—most of these usually last between 12 to 36 months. And after that period is over, the nurse’s license is unencumbered, they can do whatever they want after that. So that’s the worst-case scenario.

Worst-Case Scenario: You Could be Denied License

The worst-case scenario would be denying you a license, which is considered formal disciplinary action. But even if the board has huge concerns about a nurse’s behavior, it doesn’t mean that they can’t have alternatives. One of them is being placed on probation. Now, there are also scenarios where the board will say, this is so long ago. We’re, we’re just simply not concerned about your behavior. And they would grant the license without any formal disciplinary action. It just depends upon the board and upon the nurse. 

I would suggest if you’re a nurse or at least an app or think of going to nursing school. You’re just not sure based on your past. I would find an attorney who does nursing board defense in the state that you want to apply to. And say, look, here’s my past. What’s your opinion on whether I can get a license or not?

Now, no one will be able to give you a guaranteed answer. But if someone has experience with a nursing board in any state, they should be able to provide you with a ballpark of yes or no. I’m here in Arizona, and I can tell you, I could almost with a hundred percent accuracy tell somebody, “yes. You would get licensed or no, you’re not.” Based on their past criminal incidents. 

nurse image with nurses in background

Reach Out to a Criminal Defense Attorney

So, if you have an Arizona issue, we’re happy and willing to help you. If you have problems in another state, I would suggest you reach out to someone in that state. An excellent way to find attorneys representing nurses before licensing boards. Is to look at the board meeting’s old minutes.

Every board has to release an agenda. Basically, here’s what will happen at every board meeting. And then they also have to release a summary of what happened, called the minutes. In the minutes, it will state if an attorney represents someone and what their name is. And so you can see, okay, these are the attorneys that frequently represent nurses in the state. That’ll at least give you a starting point as far as trying to find somebody besides randomly Googling people. I see some places listed on their websites that they do these things, but I see them at board meetings. 

Hopefully, that was a bit of a guideline of what to do if you’ve had a past misdemeanor assault charge.

Other Blogs of Interest

  • Can you be a Nurse with Misdemeanor Theft?
  • What Can Disqualify You From Being a Nurse?
  • Can a Felon Become a Nurse?

Can You be a Nurse with a Misdemeanor Drug Charge? 

Can you be a nurse with a misdemeanor drug charge? Obviously, this is not going to be state-specific. I’m just going to give you general tips and things to think about if you’re going to apply for your nursing license. I know that many people that read these blogs are also maybe thinking of going into nursing school and are thinking, alright, well, maybe I can get into nursing school, but I can’t get a license, and I just wasted a bunch of time and money. So, I’m going to talk more about applicants or maybe even people that are thinking of going to nursing school. This is not going to be directed towards currently licensed nurses.

Alright, so you have a past misdemeanor drug charge which could be a possession of a bunch of different drugs, potentially distribution. There are some misdemeanor distribution charges as well. If you’ve been convicted, you’ve either gone to trial and lost or most likely reached a plea with the prosecutor, and then you had to do community service, fines, maybe some drug counseling, treatment, whatever it is, the board cares about convictions for the most part and not just charges.

It doesn’t mean you’ve ultimately been found guilty if you’re just charged with a crime. Only when you’ve been convicted or reached a plea, or maybe went into a pretrial diversion program, that’s where most boards find that the nurse, in their minds, would be convicted. So, if you’ve had one misdemeanor possession of marijuana from 20 years ago, that will not keep you from getting your nursing license, let’s just say.

What Does the Nursing Board Usually Look For in Drug Charges?

When a board looks at the criminal pass of a nurse, they’re going to run two things. They’re going to ask in the application, and this changes from state to state, but usually, they’ll ask: do you have any felony convictions? And then two, potentially, do you have any misdemeanor charges involving substance abuse? It does vary from state to state. You need to look at the specific language in the application of the state that you’re looking to apply to and then just see what you have to disclose. And then, the board is also going to write a criminal background check. Then anything that pops up in that criminal background check will likely reach out to you and ask you to give a summary of what happened and maybe even potentially provide them with the police records or court documents, so keep that in mind. 

Now, in a board’s mind, what they care about is that they’re going to license safe nurses that don’t have drug problems. And the board’s stated mission is to protect the public. They’re not there to protect the nurse, so they will see how many different misdemeanor drug charges or convictions they have. If you’ve had 15 in the last three years, that is a big problem, and you will probably not get your license.

Review the Actions You’ve Taken to Resolve the Problem

If you had, as I said before, maybe one from 20 years ago, almost no chance you wouldn’t get your license. It’s a sliding scale. You need to consider how much time had elapsed from when you had your last conviction until when you applied and then 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 was addicted to methamphetamine doesn’t mean you won’t get your license. But the board certainly wants to know,if you did have addiction issues, what did you do to solve that? 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? Maybe you’ve made some lifestyle changes. Or have a different friend group. Maybe you got away from an abusive spouse. Something like that. There must be a change if there’s 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.

When Charges Are Frequent and More Than Just a Misdemeanor

Let’s just say it’s a recent number of drug charges, and they think this nurse hasn’t done what they need to do. It’s certainly possible they could issue the license but also put the nurse on simultaneous probation for drug issues. In most states would include random drug testing, supervision at work, maybe some kind of continuing education, a nurse recovery group, counseling, rehab, whatever. I mean, there’s a variety of things they could do. But even if you’ve had a bunch of recent things, but you’re willing to do what it takes to get your license, the board can, as I said before, issue the license but put you on probation. It could be anywhere from 12 to 36 months, sometimes more. And then, if you were to get through that period, your license would no longer be encumbered. 

Now, one bad thing about being placed on probation is if an alternative to a discipline program is not available for you. In an alternative discipline program, in most states, there’s a confidential monitoring program where you can do all the things I just listed, but it wouldn’t be public. And it wouldn’t be considered formal discipline. If the board only offers you formal discipline, that’s going to stay in your record, at least in most states, forever. So, you need to think about, alright, even if I do get a license, if I have this blemish on it forever, is that going to dampen the chances of me possibly getting the job I want to get? I would say no, but it is more difficult to find a job if you have a disciplinary history.

Before Attending a Nursing School, Get an Attorney to Review Your Drug Charges or Drug Conviction

So, in summary, if you just have one or two misdemeanor drug convictions, you’re probably fine. The closer to the date that you apply, the more scrutiny you’re going to get from the board. But overall, every situation is a little bit different. What I would suggest, I’m in Arizona, so I only help nurses with the Arizona board.

Before you even apply to a nursing school, it might make sense to reach out to somebody in the state that you’re thinking of applying to, someone who has experience with nursing board issues, and just say, hey, in the past, have you had a similar scenario? And then what is the likelihood of me getting a license once I apply? No one is going to be able to give you a 100% accurate guess, but if someone’s been doing the nursing board for a long time, they can usually give you a decently accurate, I guess, estimation of whether they think you would get licensed or not. And then maybe if there was disciplinary action attached to that or not.

Will a Misdemeanor Hurt My Chances of Nursing School?

Before a nurse even needs to apply for a nursing board license, they must also get into nursing school. And many nurses ask me, can a misdemeanor hurt my chances of getting into nursing school?

Nursing School Background Check 

So, the answer is probably not. What will happen is most nursing schools will run a background check on you. That background check will show any criminal convictions you’ve had and most likely any criminal incidents that led to charges. But not convictions for the past seven years. Now, in this case, I’m guessing anyone concerned about a misdemeanor means they’ve been convicted of it. So, let’s talk about that specifically. 

Misdemeanor for Nurses

A misdemeanor is a lower-level crime. You have felonies and misdemeanors. Misdemeanors generally end up with no jail time. It’s usually fine in some DUIs. In Arizona, for instance, you will get jail time, even though it’s a misdemeanor DUI. But for the most part, misdemeanors end up in probation, community service, that type of thing. So, if a misdemeanor did pop up on your background for a nursing school, it’s likely they’d want an explanation. One way of facilitating that is to write out a statement of what happened. Also, if it’s possible, they would want to look at the court documents. So, it might be a good idea to get those in advance. I wouldn’t give those to nursing programs unless they specifically ask for them. Still, having them for the future is not a bad idea. Because it’s extraordinarily likely when you get done with nursing school and apply for a license in whatever state you’re in. The board of nursing will go through the same investigation. They will ask for the court documents.

Common Misdemeanors 

So, it’s a good idea to have a criminal record for the school anyway. What the misdemeanor was will also play a role. They will, obviously, determine whether the nursing school has an issue with that or not. Most misdemeanors for nurses are theft, usually shoplifting, and domestic incidents. So, either domestic violence, disorderly conduct, or disturbing the peace. Something that comes out of a domestic incident between a spouse, a partner, and boyfriend, or a girlfriend. You know, something like that. 

And then substance abuse-related misdemeanors, DUI, public intoxication, and drug possession. They probably make up 90% of all misdemeanors that nurses have in their past. If there’s not a pattern, you haven’t had five DUIs or an entire string of misdemeanors. Then I would think that most nursing schools honestly would not care at all.

Getting Into a Nursing Program with Past Record

A nursing school wouldn’t want to bring a nurse into the program when they know whatever that nurse did will likely preclude them from getting a license, which makes the school look bad. For the most part, the schools are fine with misdemeanors and to move it forward. After you graduate from nursing schools and move on to get licensed by a board of nursing. And I can say specifically since I deal with the Arizona Board of Nursing. I can’t think of a time when a nurse had one or two misdemeanors in their past. And they didn’t end up getting a license in one way or the other. 

It’s when you get into felonies that the boards take a much higher level of scrutiny. And depending upon the timing of the felony could, it could stop you from getting a license.

Arizona Nursing Board Questions?

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May 27, 2022/by admin
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Can You be a Nurse with a Misdemeanor Drug Charge? | Nursing

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Can you be a nurse with a misdemeanor drug charge? Obviously, this is not going to be state-specific. I’m just going to give you general tips and things to think about if you’re going to apply for your nursing license. I know that many people that read these blogs are also maybe thinking of going into nursing school and are thinking, alright, well, maybe I can get into nursing school, but I can’t get a license, and I just wasted a bunch of time and money. So, I’m going to talk more about applicants or maybe even people that are thinking of going to nursing school. This is not going to be directed towards currently licensed nurses.

Alright, so you have a past misdemeanor drug charge which could be a possession of a bunch of different drugs, potentially distribution. There are some misdemeanor distribution charges as well. If you’ve been convicted, you’ve either gone to trial and lost or most likely reached a plea with the prosecutor, and then you had to do community service, fines, maybe some drug counseling, treatment, whatever it is, the board cares about convictions for the most part and not just charges.

It doesn’t mean you’ve ultimately been found guilty if you’re just charged with a crime. Only when you’ve been convicted or reached a plea, or maybe went into a pretrial diversion program, that’s where most boards find that the nurse, in their minds, would be convicted. So, if you’ve had one misdemeanor possession of marijuana from 20 years ago, that will not keep you from getting your nursing license, let’s just say.

What Does the Nursing Board Usually Look For in Drug Charges?

When a board looks at the criminal pass of a nurse, they’re going to run two things. They’re going to ask in the application, and this changes from state to state, but usually, they’ll ask: do you have any felony convictions? And then two, potentially, do you have any misdemeanor charges involving substance abuse? It does vary from state to state. You need to look at the specific language in the application of the state that you’re looking to apply to and then just see what you have to disclose. And then, the board is also going to write a criminal background check. Then anything that pops up in that criminal background check will likely reach out to you and ask you to give a summary of what happened and maybe even potentially provide them with the police records or court documents, so keep that in mind. 

Now, in a board’s mind, what they care about is that they’re going to license safe nurses that don’t have drug problems. And the board’s stated mission is to protect the public. They’re not there to protect the nurse, so they will see how many different misdemeanor drug charges or convictions they have. If you’ve 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 wouldn’t get your license. It’s a sliding scale. You need to consider how much time had elapsed from when you had your last conviction until when you applied and then 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 was addicted to methamphetamine doesn’t mean you won’t get your license, but the board certainly wants to know, alright, if you did have 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? Maybe you’ve made some lifestyle changes. Or have a different friend group. Maybe you got away from an abusive spouse. Something like that. There must be a change if there’s 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.

When Charges Are Frequent and More Than Just a Misdemeanor

Let’s just say it’s a recent number of drug charges, and they think this nurse hasn’t done what they need to do. It’s certainly possible they could issue the license but also put the nurse on simultaneous probation for drug issues. In most states would include random drug testing, supervision at work, maybe some kind of continuing education, a nurse recovery group, counseling, rehab, whatever. I mean, there’s a variety of things they could do. But even if you’ve had a bunch of recent things, but you’re willing to do what it takes to get your license, the board can, as I said before, issue the license but put you on probation. It could be anywhere from 12 to 36 months, sometimes more. And then, if you were to get through that period, your license would no longer be encumbered. 

Now, one bad thing about being placed on probation is if an alternative to a discipline program is not available for you. In an alternative discipline program, in most states, there’s a confidential monitoring program where you can do all the things I just listed, but it wouldn’t be public. And it wouldn’t be considered formal discipline. If the board only offers you formal discipline, that’s going to stay in your record, at least in most states, forever. So, you need to think about, alright, even if I do get a license, if I have this blemish on it forever, is that going to dampen the chances of me possibly getting the job I want to get? I would say no, but it is more difficult to find a job if you have a disciplinary history.

Before Attending a Nursing School, Get an Attorney to Review Your Drug Charges or Drug Conviction

So, in summary, if you just have one or two misdemeanor drug convictions, you’re probably fine. The closer to the date that you apply, the more scrutiny you’re going to get from the board. But overall, every situation is a little bit different. What I would suggest, I’m in Arizona, so I only help nurses with the Arizona board.

Before you even apply to a nursing school, it might make sense to reach out to somebody in the state that you’re thinking of applying to, someone who has experience with nursing board issues, and just say, hey, in the past, have you had a similar scenario? And then what is the likelihood of me getting a license once I apply? No one is going to be able to give you a 100% accurate guess, but if someone’s been doing the nursing board for a long time, they can usually give you a decently accurate, I guess, estimation of whether they think you would get licensed or not. And then maybe if there was disciplinary action attached to that or not.

Thinking nurse physician

Other Blogs Of Interest

  • What Would a Nurse be Subject to if Recently Convicted of a Felony?
  • Can you be a Nurse in Indiana with a Felony?
  • Nursing Law: Can you be a Nurse with a Misdemeanor Assault Charge?

Can you be a Nurse with a DUI?

First, let’s just talk about what it means to have a DUI. You could’ve been charged with the DUI but never convicted. That’s not going to prevent you from becoming a nurse. I’m just talking about convictions here, meaning you either pled guilty through a plea agreement, went to trial, lost, and were found guilty. That’s what I’m talking about. Or, maybe you reached a pretrial diversion program, which most boards consider a guilty outcome. Now, first, this is just general information. Every state has its own specific rules as far as kind of criminal background.

Thinking of Enrolling or Just Enrolled in a Nursing School?

I’m just going to give you general information, and things to think about. Maybe you’re thinking about entering nursing school or maybe you’re just finishing up nursing school and now you’re going to have to apply to boards and you’re like, oh no. I do have the stuff in my background. I never thought about it. Can I get a license? So, totally delay any major fear. 99 times out of 100, yes, if you have a DUI in your past, you’ll still be able to get your nursing license. Now, it may be under some conditions, but it’s very rare unless it’s a felony DUI that would prevent you from getting a nursing license, like completely. Let’s just kind of break down what a board will look at if you have a past DUI.

Usually, when you apply, and this is state-specific, it’ll normally say, have you had any convictions regarding substance abuse or alcohol or something like that? A DUI obviously is yes, considered one of those. And it’s going to say, alright, well, tell us when it happened, where it happened, give us a little statement about what happened. And then they may even want the nurse to provide them with a criminal record.

There are two parts to any record of the police documents and then the court documents. And they’re separate. They’re normally not in the same place. You’ll have to request them from both. Once you have all of that, you’ve submitted a statement, then depending upon the length of time that you elapsed since you had the DUI, what your BAC was. Do you have three DUIs versus one? Do you have any other kind of substance abuse-related, some drug charges, possession sale, a lot of disorderly conduct, or domestic violence-related incidents involving alcohol?

Is it One DUI or an Underlying Substance Abuse?

If there are any kind of major red flags beyond just I’ve had one regular DUI in my past, what a board will normally do is they’re going to investigate. The investigation will be kind of a review of all of the criminal and court documents. And then they’ll usually ask to speak to the nurse.

What happened here? What was going on in your life at the time? Did you have to do any kind of rehabilitation? Did you go into rehab, maybe an IOP, have you been doing AA? What are your current drinking habits? Those are the questions they’re going to ask to determine whether you have a problem or not? I mean, the main, well, not the main, the stated purpose of every board of nursing is to protect the public, not to protect the nurse. They’re not there for you. They’re there to protect the public.

Suppose they’re going to license somebody with a criminal background involving a DUI. In that case, they want to ensure that you don’t continue to have substance abuse-related problems that may bleed into the clinical side of providing patient care. Or, if you had problems in the past, you must fix them somehow. As I said before, doing rehab or an IOP or counseling, AA, all those things. Just because you’ve had one DUI in your past doesn’t mean you need to do all those things. Well, you probably don’t need to go to rehab or AA or do anything if you just had one DUI 10 years ago and made a stupid decision. Now, if you’ve had three DUIs and you had a very high, like over 0.2 BAC, at least in Arizona, it’s called a super extreme DUI.

Yes, you probably do need to do those things to show the board that you have dealt with the issues and that you no longer have those problems. They’re going to ask about all your current drinking habits, so how much do you drink now? When I talk to a nurse and say, okay, you’ve had one DUI, fine. It’s a great scheme of things. That’s not a big deal, but what are your current drinking habits? And they say I drink a six-pack every night before bed. Okay, but most boards will describe that as someone with a substance abuse problem.

Think of them as the parish organization; anything above regular social drinking will shoot up red flags for them. Now, suppose they think you may have an issue. In that case, some boards will then have a nurse get a substance abuse evaluation by a psychologist, maybe a substance abuse counselor, to get an opinion on whether they have any substance abuse problems. And whether that professional believes they need a monitoring program. 

Worst Case Scenario For Nurses Who’ve Had a DUI

That’s usually, the worst-case scenario for a nurse with DUI in their background is that the board will essentially force them to go on probation for a period. And they’ll grant the license simultaneously. They’ll say, yes, you can be a nurse, but you’ll be on probation for 12 months and have to do random drug screens, AA, recovery group, and supervision at work.

Can’t use your multi-state privilege if your state offers that. That’s usually the worst-case scenario for a nurse to get completely denied a license based upon a single DUI in their past is extraordinarily rare. Almost for sure would-be other factors involved beyond just that one incident. So, take a deep breath. If you’ve had one DUI, it doesn’t mean the end of the world, and it doesn’t mean you’re never going to get a nursing license, but there may be some things you’ll have to explain.

If you do have an extensive criminal history, it’s probably a good idea to contact an attorney in your state that handles the board stuff, maybe to come up with a plan or to kind of say, alright, do I need to do these things before I apply for my license? That would make the most sense. As I said before, I’m only in Arizona, so I can only assist nurses here in Arizona. But I think this is good general advice for any nurse who’s had a DUI in the past.

Cross armed nurse with stethescope

What Can Disqualify You From Being a Nurse?

What can disqualify you from becoming a nurse? I’m only going to talk about applicants, not people already licensed by the state. This is just going to be kind of a general discussion of, alright, maybe I’m thinking of going to nursing school, or maybe I’ve completed nursing school. I must apply to a nursing board and get my nursing license. What are some of the things in my past that can disqualify me from being a nurse in the future?

Lastly, this is not going to be state-specific. It will be a general discussion as an attorney representing nurses or future nurses from the nursing board. The first and probably the most obvious thing is some heinous criminal incidents in your past. Almost none of the boards in any state contain a list of things like, if you’ve done these things, you can’t get a license. No matter what, they’ll have a general guideline.

But, any kind of violent crimes, if you were a maybe heavy distributor of drugs in some way, sexual misconduct, those are types of things that are hard to rehabilitate from, or at least in the eyes of the board. And so, having those in your past can be a bar to getting a license ever. When I talk to nurses that are always concerned about DUIs, marijuana possessions, theft, domestic violence, disorderly conduct, and maybe an assault charge, it may not feel like it, but these are relatively low-level crimes.

And so just because you’ve had some of those in your past generally will not disqualify you from getting a license in the future. Now, if you’ve had 20 assault charges, it’s probably not going to happen for you, but if it’s a handful of things from 20 years ago, it’s not going to hinder you from getting your nursing license.

And even in this scenario where the board was very concerned about past behavior, they would almost always offer the nurse a probationary license, meaning they would grant the license, but they would also simultaneously put them on probation, which could be one to three years. And at the end of that probationary period, then their license is unencumbered. That’s what normally happens. I guess the timing of the felony would matter. Some states require a certain period after either the felony, I guess the nurse or potential nurse was either convicted of the felony or completed the probationary requirements. I know here in Arizona, someone must have at least three years from the date of termination of probation of a felony to be eligible to reapply or apply for a nursing license.

Nursing Background Check, Criminal Records, and State License

The first things are heinous crimes, and two, high negative publicity events. I know it sounds strange, but boards of nursing are very concerned about the public image of nurses. And if there’s been a past incident with an applicant that sheds negatively upon the nursing profession, that board will be much less likely to issue the license. Most of those end up being criminal in nature, but you need to consider that these are political agencies and the politics of issuing licenses to people that are looked at as either dangerous or incompetent is not something most of the boards are willing to do.

Lastly, if you’ve had another healthcare license and you’ve been placed on the OIG exclusionary list. The office of the inspector general has this list where if you’ve had a license revoked, suspended, voluntary surrender, or a certain number of crimes, they can exclude you from billing under Medicare or Medicaid. The boards, for the most part, don’t care about that at all. However, the employers, or at least some employers, will. If they can’t bill for you, they will not employ you. So, you need to think, alright, what happened to put me on that exclusionary list? And then you also need to consider there are ways of getting off it after a period and, I guess, jumping through certain hoops. You need to investigate doing that as well.

Grounds for Permanent Disqualification From State Nursing Programs

There are very few things that can completely disqualify a nurse from getting a license. Most of the boards just want to see, alright, if something bad happened, have you learned from it? Did you take steps to remediate the behavior in some way? If it was maybe drugs or alcohol, did you go to AA? Did you go to counseling? Did you go to an intensive outpatient treatment program or rehab? Have you made just healthy changes in your lifestyle so that you can deal with stress better? These are the things the boards want to hear. Just because you’ve had one bad thing happen in your past, if you’ve learned from it and incorporated positive things into your life, that’s what the boards want to see. 

People make mistakes. It’s fine. But if the same thing keeps happening and you’re not learning from it, I mean, at some point, you likely have an interview with an investigator from a board if you’ve applied to some criminal history. You just state, I was set up or whatever, making excuses. Those are not the things that they want to hear.

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? I’m not going to focus on a currently licensed nurse who gets a felony. In short, if you have a felony in your past, can it completely bar you from becoming a nurse? The short answer is no. But, it’s going to be state-specific. I’m 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.

Most states won’t completely bar you from licensing if you’ve had a past felony. But they will initiate an investigation and then investigate. What was the reason behind the conviction? That conviction will be a determining factor in whether you can get licensed or not. 

Enrolling in Nursing School with a Felony Record 

You should probably call an attorney who deals with nursing board issues in the state you want to get licensed. They’re not going to give you a “you will get licensed” or “there’s no way” answer. But they can give you some general guidelines of what they’ve done before. The rules they’ve followed as far as felonies go. Also, you can put yourself in the best position to get licensed. That’s the most efficient use of your time. 

You could also go on the board’s website and find out the rules for felonies. Some states call it a “felony bar,” so Google that. But let’s say you do apply. They run a criminal background check, and it pops up. Almost every application states that if you’ve had a felony, you must disclose it. Then you’ll need to provide police records, court documents, or any documentation saying you’ve completed your sentence. 

After you gather all of that, the board usually wants you to write a statement about what happened. At some point, you’ll have an interview with the board investigator. They will inquire about the reasons behind the incident. Some felony crimes will probably completely bar you from ever getting a license. Any kind of child abuse, sexual misconduct, and involving yourself in the distribution of prescription drug felonies are some examples. You’re going to have access to all the narcotics in the world when you’re a nurse. So if you have any convictions before with diverting or selling prescription meds, they’re going to be very concerned about that.

Criminal Records that Pose the Biggest Obstacle to Becoming a Nurse

Super violent crimes, adult abuse, or things that are difficult to rehabilitate from are the biggest problem for past felonies. If you have drugs, alcohol, or domestic violence problems, you can do anger management, Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, or counseling. Things you can rehabilitate from are much easier to get a license after. Meanwhile, abuse, sexual misconduct, convictions involving honesty like fraud, and identity theft, are things some people won’t consider something you can rehab from. 

Just to recap. First, you must figure out what state you want to be licensed in. Second, call an attorney in that state knowledgeable about the nursing board. Ask them what are the laws around past felony convictions there?

There may not be a bunch of specific rules about the past. I know most boards will have specific implementations if you’re currently licensed and then get a felony. But not all the boards will have laws that state what’s going to happen if you’ve had a past felony. But still, talk it over. Where does the board usually look? What did they do with this type of felony in the past? If there are some steps, you can take during nursing school, like either going to AA, rehab, or counseling? Things that will then set you up and put you in a better position when you ultimately apply for your license. Those are important things that you need to think about.

So, take a deep breath. If you do have a felony, it’s not going to completely bar you from being a nurse, most likely. Just do your research, and good luck with your nursing career.

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What Happens When a Nurse is Reported? | Nursing Reports

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Nursing Reports What Happens When a Nurse is Reported banner

What happens when a nurse is reported?  First, I’m not just going to talk about what happens when a nurse is reported to a nursing board. I will talk about all the places a nurse can be reported. And then, there are some things to consider regarding handling those situations. Now, first, this is not going to be state-specific. I’m giving general information that a nurse could use in almost any state, and obviously, rules can vary from state to state, but this will just be kind of a general discussion of what happens when you’re reported.

Places or agencies nurses can be reported to

First, where are the places/agencies a nurse can be reported? Well, let’s talk about that. 

Nurses Can Be Reported To The Employer and The Nursing Board

First, nurses can be reported to the employer. A patient could complain about a nurse’s conduct. They could be reported to the employer and then the employer would do an investigation. Obviously, nurses can be reported to a board if there’s an alleged violation of the nurse’s practice act in the state. A patient, a colleague, an employer, or the police can all report nurses to the board of nursing. Nurses can be reported to the police. And this usually comes from the employer. There are times when there is some alleged criminal conduct on part of a nurse and it may, or at least the employer may feel necessary to contact the police.

Like, let’s just take, for instance, let’s say a nurse is caught diverting fentanyl, something like that, which is serious. They would then contact the police and say, we believe the nurse was diverting fentanyl, and that is a violation of the law. And then they would investigate as well.

Other Branches Nurses Can Be Reported To

Another frequent place nurses could be reported would be the branch of adult protective services, and whatever state you’re in, if there is an allegation of patient abuse and the patient is an adult, then the adult protective services could investigate. The department of child services or child protective services is another place. If your patient was a child and there was alleged abuse, the child protective services in that state could also initiate an investigation.

And just to kind of give an example, I had a nurse who left a heating pad on an infant child, which caused a burn. And then, obviously, she didn’t mean to. There was no intent to hurt the child, but there was a negative outcome, and then child protective services came in and investigated. Those are the main places. So, employer, board, police, adult protective services, and child protective services. Those are the main places where nurses can be reported.

What Can a Nurse Do if a Patient Reports Them Over an Incident?

What can you do if you’ve been reported to any of those? Well, it would depend upon the organization what you should do. If a patient complains and the employer approaches you and asks you what happened, then there are no problems talking to them about what happened. Now, I guess it would depend upon the severity of the nurse’s actions. I’ve had a couple of previous blogs that went through what happens for an employer investigation. 

And there are times when it doesn’t make sense to say anything, but if it’s a minor disagreement, I mean, some patients/family members will never be satisfied with the care provided. And so, in a situation like that, if the nurse didn’t do anything wrong, then certainly feel free to discuss that. If the nurse screwed up somehow, it might make sense to just be quiet about it and not give a statement.

If the police are involved, you must find an attorney first. I understand that some people believe they can talk their way out of things. Don’t do that. If you are contacted by any police department or even the Attorney General’s office in your state, there is a criminal investigation underway, and they’re going to talk to you and pretend like they’re your friend and just say, why don’t you tell me what went on here? And then they’re going to use all those things against you. Do not say anything if you have any contact from the Attorney General’s office, a police department, a detective, or an officer. Call a criminal defense attorney wherever you live and have them represent you.

Hire a Criminal Defense Attorney

Not spending the money on that is extraordinarily done. That’s what you need to do. If you’ve had an adult protective services complaint, a child protective services complaint, or whatever the name of it is in your state, it might make sense to involve an attorney who has done administrative hearings. I find the investigators and many of those specific departments almost always find abuse. So, talking to an attorney who handles those types of things in your state would make sense. 

Now, as far as the board goes, once again, kind of depends upon the complaint. Sometimes, there are just completely terrible complaints, meaning terrible like there’s no basis and fact for them. The board will likely dismiss them quickly or after a brief investigation, dismiss them. Is an attorney necessary for that? Probably not, but there are certainly instances where an attorney with experience with the board of nursing could assist you. I would contact them before you respond to the board at all. There are plenty of great nursing board attorneys throughout the country. You need to find somebody with experience with your state’s board.

How To Find An Attorney

One way of finding that would be going through old agendas. Almost every state requires open records. And so, any kind of board meeting from a governmental agency must be posted. They do that through the minutes, which summarize what happened during a board meeting. And then the agenda, which is, this is what we’re going to discuss during the meeting. Most of the states will post if someone is represented by counsel and the minutes and then who that is. It’s not a bad idea to look in the old minutes in your state to see the attorneys representing most of the nurses. And then that’s usually a good indication that they at least have experience. I can’t say if they’re good or not, but at least they have experience handling the board.

So, that’s what happens if a nurse is reported to various agencies. You always need to be careful about what you’re saying to anyone. Your words can be used against you. And it makes sense to involve a professional with experience handling matters across all those areas.

two nurses discussing

Other Blogs of Interest

  • Easiest Way For a Nurse to be Suspected of Diverting Narcotics
  • What Does it Mean When a Nurse is Suspended?
  • Which is the Most Frequent Reason for Revocation of a Nurse’s License?
  • How a Nurse Should Handle an Employer Investigation

How Do I Report an Arizona Nurse For Unprofessional Behavior?

If someone would like to report or file a complaint against nurses licensed in Arizona, they must first determine if the alleged conduct is reportable. Here is a link to the Board’s website where an individual can file a complaint: Submit a Complaint.

The following behaviors will not be investigated by the Arizona Board of Nursing:

  • Rudeness to peers
  • Co-worker disputes
  • Personality conflicts
  • Absenteeism
  • Tardiness
  • Labor-management disputes such as work schedules/wages/wrongful termination
  • Resignation without notice whereby a patient assignment has not been accepted.

Below is a list of conduct that can be reported:

  • Information that a nurse or certificate holder may be mentally or physically unable to safely practice nursing or perform nursing-related duties
  • Conducts involving practicing beyond the scope of practice of the license or certificate. Examples include knowingly giving a medication not authorized by a treating provider, obtaining laboratory or other tests not authorized by a treating provider, unauthorized adjusting of dosage.
  • Conduct that leads to the dismissal for unsafe nursing practice or conduct or other unprofessional conduct
  • Conduct that appears to be a contributing factor to high risk/harm to a patient and requires medical intervention
  • Actual or suspected drug diversion
  • Conduct that appears to be a contributing factor to the death of a patient
  • Conduct involving the misuse of alcohol or other chemical substances to the extent that nursing practice may be impaired or may be detrimentally impacted
  • A pattern of failure to account for medications; failing to account for wastage of control drugs
  • Falsification of medical or treatment records
  • A pattern of inappropriate judgment or nursing skill
  • Failing to assess or intervene on behalf of the patient(s)
  • Conduct involving sexual contact with a patient, patient family member, or other dual relationships
  • Conduct involving physical/verbal patient abuse
  • Practicing nursing without a valid nursing license
  • Conduct involving misappropriation, theft, or exploitation of a patient
  • Violation of a disciplinary sanction imposed on the nurse’s license by the board
  • Conduct that deceives, defrauds, or harms the public
nursing group looking at document

What Happens When a Nurse is Reported to the Board?

What happens if a patient reports a nurse’s incident to their state board? First, this will be a general overview of any kind of nursing board investigation. It’s not going to be state-specific. Every board does things differently, but the general process is mostly the same amongst all the boards. I’ll just kind of give a brief overview of how the process generally works and then some things to think about from the nurse’s perspective. As far as the first step, someone will file a complaint. That’s one way of initiating an investigation. It could be a patient, a colleague, or your employer. Many states have criminal reporting requirements over an incident, such as medication administration errors, and patient safety concerns, among others.

In some states, if a nurse is charged with a crime by other health care providers or a patient, they must report it to their board, and in others, if the nurse is convicted of a crime, then it’s reported. Some states, they must report it immediately, and other states only until renewal. So, you need to look and see what the criminal reporting requirements are over an incident. And then, there are also self-reports for substance abuse issues, nurses dealing with alcoholism, drug abuse, and mental health issues as well. And most states have a confidential monitoring program that can assist nurses in getting over whatever issues they have. 

Complaints and Nursing Board Jurisdiction

Let’s just say someone files a complaint over an incident, and the nurse self-reports. Whatever reason the investigation is initiated, the first hurdle is, does the board have jurisdiction over what the complaint is about? There are certain things the board can and cannot investigate. And so, kind of the first analysis from the board is, do we have jurisdiction over this nurse due to an incident?

Most of the time, the answer is yes. Very rarely, it is no. Let’s just say that hurdle is overcome. What will happen is the board will then notice the nurse and let them know a complaint has been filed over an incident. And either they will send a questionnaire that needs to be filled out and sent back in, or they may say, just sit tight, and we’ll contact you when we’re ready to move forward. In the investigation, some boards will kind of investigate every single complaint; others are better at triaging complaints and then getting rid of them before a full investigation occurs. Let’s say a full investigation of an incident will occur here in this scenario. So, in the response, the board will want a written statement from the nurse at some point. This is tricky. 

Beware of Too Much Information When Responding to Complaints

I find most nurses want to overshare and provide full disclosure in an incident report. They want to put down ten pages of explanation and grievances sometimes with the employer or coworkers. I don’t think this is beneficial to nurses at all. For a couple of reasons, one, you don’t want to give anything to a board if they don’t have it, meaning, you don’t want to admit to things that the board has no idea will happen, or some nurses inadvertently admit to doing things that they think are completely fine. When reporting errors to a committee or to the board of nursing over an incident regarding patient safety, I advise nurses to provide just the information needed and not overshare. Nurses must review their lengthy explanations and not include any grievances over coworkers or employers.

When you look closer at the statutes, which are the laws that dictate what the board can and can’t do, and then what the violations are, it may be a violation of the statute, and they didn’t even realize it. I think less is more as far as a written response. And then one kind of problem that we have is that the boards always want a response quickly, but we don’t always have access to the documents, or I guess, we rarely have access to the full documents until after they want the written response.

What Level of Scrutiny Should a Nurse in a Complaint Expect?

Many times, we’ll just say we will supplement with a more substantive statement once we have access to the file at the board. It could be medical records, employment files, disciplinary history, or criminal stuff, which we can usually get ourselves, so we don’t need to wait for the board to do that. Alright, so you’ve sent in the response short and sweet. 

At that point, the board usually sends out subpoenas, which is a request for documents to the employer for your employment file. And then if medical records are involved, those as well. The boards want to see our employment file to see how much, or if you’ve had disciplinary action and corrective action, verbal coaching, counseling, anything like that. Usually, if there’s a complaint, the board wants to see if you’ve had any other incidents or problems with that specific thing.

For instance, if the complaint is that the nurse falsified the record, maybe they forgot to take vitals or something, and then they just put them in. And then it’s shown that they just fudged the numbers, they weren’t in the room, and they took the vitals. They want to see, alright, has this nurse done that in the past? 

So, they will usually subpoena the employment file from not only your current employer but, I guess I should say that in reverse, they’ll subpoena the employment file from wherever this happened, but usually if a complaint is filed, you’ve been fired from that job, they’re also going to want to subpoena your current employment file as well. Just to see if once again, if anything is kind of reoccurred, that’s like what the complaint is about.

When Will The Nurse Be Called For An Interview?

After the board has all the documents back, sometimes subpoenas can take a very long time. I’m talking like six months to a year sometimes. I mean, at some point, the board will usually just abandon going for a subpoena if whoever is just completely unresponsive. And then, usually, at that point, the nurse will come in for an interview with the investigator. An investigator with the board will be assigned to your case, and they’ll be the one that’s kind of the point person, setting the subpoenas, talking to witnesses, talking to the complainant who filed the complaint, and then the nurse as well. 

The interview is the best opportunity for the nurse to provide context. I think, in my opinion, it’s probably beyond the board meeting that is the most important step in the process. And so, having the nurse prepare, anticipate the questions they’re going to ask, and then two know how to answer them is important. So, understanding once again, most people overshare, especially when they’re speaking. They just kind of ramble on. It’s once again better to answer the question directly, stop, and then let the investigator follow up with more questions. Some nurses just found it difficult to stop talking, and they might share too much information. Just talking for 10 minutes straight is not effective in any media. 

What Impact Might a Complaint Have on a Nurse’s License and Practice?

After the interview is completed, the investigator will usually draft a report. Then they’ll go over that report with either peers or the director of whatever state board you’re in. And then they’ll generally recommend some options to the board, or some executive directors will have the power to either dismiss a case or give a non-disciplinary outcome. In most states, it’s called a letter of concern.

If they think disciplinary action is necessary, or if they just want the board to look at it, at some point, the nurse will get placed on the agenda at the board meeting. Most states meet monthly or every two months, and then they just review every complaint. And then, the nurse can have the opportunity to address the board. If they have an attorney, the attorney can address the board. The board can ask questions to the nurse. Then ultimately, they will vote right in front of the nurse. This is what we’re going to do. And then, depending upon what the outcome of the board meeting was, the nurse always has appeal rights.

If they’re unhappy with the outcome, they can always appeal and move forward to a hearing. In most states. it’s in front of what’s called an administrative law judge. It’s a well, supposedly impartial kind of judge outside the board system. So, that’s kind of the process of what happens when a complaint is filed against a nurse practitioner with the state board. Once again, this is just a general kind of outline of what happens and what to expect.

Arizona Nursing Board Questions?

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May 20, 2022/by admin
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Can You be a Nurse with a Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Charge? | Nursing

Blog, Nursing
banner: Can you be a nurse with a misdemeanor domestic violence chage?

Can you become a nurse with a misdemeanor domestic violence charge? First, I use the word “charge” in the title because that’s what people search for, but I think many nurses confuse a charge with a conviction. But what most boards care about are convictions, not charges.

Charged vs. Convicted

A charge is just when you’ve been accused of a crime but haven’t been found guilty. Whereas a conviction generally is when you’ve signed a plea agreement, you’ve been found guilty at trial, or maybe even entered a pretrial diversion program. Most boards consider that a conviction. So, you haven’t just been charged. You’ve been convicted of domestic violence.

I’m just going to give a brief and general overview of what boards look at when reviewing past criminal incidents for a nurse. And then also, specifically, domestic violence because it happens honestly frequently. And this is going to be directed toward applicants. People that are maybe thinking about going to nursing school and determining whether they’ll ultimately be able to get a license with the board or you’ve already finished school, and you’re about to apply for your first board wondering if you’ll get a license.

Short Answer

Just to kind of allay any fears, it would be very uncommon for someone to have a domestic violence conviction in their past and still not be able to get a license with the nursing board. It would have to be a combination of other criminal incidents, or maybe you’ve had a string like ten domestic violence convictions or something like that. If you’ve just had a couple of domestic violence incidents, it is extraordinarily unlikely it would stop you from getting a nursing license. 

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 application’s wording and see what they asked you to disclose. Just because you didn’t or don’t have to disclose a past domestic violence conviction doesn’t mean that they’re not going to investigate it because what they’ll do is they’re going to run a criminal background check. And if that incident pops up, they will likely contact you to discuss it. Some states don’t care about small misdemeanor stuff where there wasn’t a string of incidents, but others will want a detailed statement from you about what happened. And then they’ll likely want the police report and the court documents.

Defining Domestic Violence

When you say domestic violence, it sounds bad, but honestly, it’s almost anything that can happen in your home. It could be between a parent and a child, it could be between a boyfriend and a girlfriend, or it could be between spouses or relatives. And in violence, it’s a broad term, but it doesn’t mean there has to be a hugely aggressive act towards the other. It could just be an argument that led to some screaming, and then a neighbor calls the cops, and then they come in, and then maybe one of them or whoever you’re in the incident with was intoxicated in some way, and maybe you push them.

It could go a bunch of ways, but it doesn’t just mean there was a knockout drag-fist fight that led to a domestic violence charge. I’ve had people who they’ve thrown something at their partner, and they considered that to be domestic violence. As I said before, the board will care about how often this has happened the most. How long ago was it? The longer the time between your last criminal incident and when you apply, the better. If you’ve had three domestic violence incidents in the last year, that will be a huge red flag for the board. Whereas if you had one 20 years ago, it’s extraordinarily unlikely that they’re going to care at all about it.

Articles That the Nursing Board Will Care About the Most

They will care about whether the nurse was or the nurse applicant was under the influence. Most of the time, drugs or alcohol are usually involved in domestic violence incidents. And so, what the board will be concerned about is if that is the case, it will be written in the police report. I can tell you that. And in the report, it’s going to make you sound like the biggest drunk of all time. 

What the nursing boards will likely do is if there is a lot of detail about you being intoxicated during the incident or if you have a string of these incidents. You’re intoxicated in every one of them. The board will be concerned that you have a substance abuse issue. And then that gives into concerns about providing safe patient care. The underlying domestic violence charge or conviction, as long as it’s a relatively low number, is honestly not that big a deal.

Is It Because of a Substance Abuse Issue?

But if all of these were precipitated because of substance abuse, that’s the problem that you’re going to have. You’ll have to explain your current use of drugs and alcohol, your past use of drugs and alcohol, any other incidents you’ve had, and any work-related concerns about impairment. They will ask you very specific questions: how often do you drink? What do you drink? How many do you drink? How does that make you feel? Have you been intoxicated in the last 12 months? And the same for drugs as well. That’s what the nurse needs to prepare for if any of those domestic violence incidents involving drugs or alcohol get into those things because those are concerns that boards care about. And those are things that can stop a nurse from either getting licensed or they may have to go on probation for a period.

If a board is reviewing an applicant, then they have a history of drug and alcohol use, and the board is concerned. They can grant the license but also simultaneously put the nurse on probation, and then they’re monitored, drug testing, AA, nurse recovery groups, and supervised at work, which can last a year to 36 months. It just depends. Overall, having a domestic violence conviction in your past will not bar you from getting a license. Most likely, however, those complicating factors with drugs and alcohol, frequency, how many incidents you had, and then how close it was in time to when you applied are the things that ultimately will matter. So, that’s a kind of a brief description of how a domestic violence commission can affect a nursing applicant.

a happy nurse in the foreground with her colleagues

Other Blogs of Interest

  • Nursing Law: Can you be a Nurse with a Misdemeanor Assault Charge?
  • Nursing Reports: What Happens When a Nurse is Reported?
  • Can you be a Nurse with a DUI?

What Can Disqualify You From Being a Nurse?

What can disqualify you from being a nurse? I’m only going to talk about applicants, not people already licensed by the state. This video will be a general discussion of, alright, maybe I’m thinking of attending nursing school, or perhaps I’ve completed nursing school. Now, I must apply to a board. What things in my past can disqualify me from being a nurse in the future? Lastly, this is not going to be state-specific. It’s just going to be a general discussion. 

The first and probably the most obvious thing is some heinous criminal incidents in your past. Almost none of the boards in any state contain a list of things like, if you’ve done these things, you can’t get a license. No matter what, they’ll have a general guideline. But, any violent crimes, if you were a maybe heavy distributor of drug diversion in some way. For instance, sexual misconduct is brutal to rehabilitate from, or at least in the eyes of the board. And so, having those in your past can be a barrier to getting a license. 

Getting a Nursing License After A Crime

It may not feel like it when I talk to nurses who are always concerned about DUIs, marijuana possessions, theft, domestic violence, disorderly conduct, and an assault charge, but these are relatively low-level crimes. Because you’ve had those in your past, they generally will not disqualify you from getting a license in the future. Now, if you’ve had 20 assault charges, it’s probably not going to happen for you. Still, if it’s a handful of things from 20 years ago, it will not hinder you from getting your nursing license.

And even in this scenario where the board was very concerned about past behavior, they would almost always offer the nurse a probationary license, meaning they would grant the license. Still, they would simultaneously put them on probation for one to three years. And at the end of that probationary period. Then their license is unencumbered. That’s what happens typically. 

I guess the timing of the felony would matter. Some states require a certain period after either the felony. I think the nurse or potential nurse was either convicted of the felony or completed the probationary requirements. I know here in Arizona, someone must have at least three years from the date of termination of probation for a felony to be eligible to reapply or apply for a nursing license.

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 there’s 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. 

When the State Revokes Your Nursing License 

Lastly, if you’ve had another healthcare license and you’ve been placed on the OIG exclusionary list. So the inspector general’s office has this list where if you’ve had a license revoked, suspended, voluntary surrender, or a certain number of crimes. They can exclude you from billing under Medicare or Medicaid. The boards, for the most part, don’t care about that at all. However, the employers, or at least some employers, will. If they can’t bill for you, they will not employ you. So, you need to think, alright, what happened to put me on that exclusionary list? And then you also need to consider ways of getting off it after a period and jumping through certain hoops. It would be best if you investigated doing that disqualify as well. 

Very few things can completely disqualify a nurse from getting a license. Most of the boards want to see if something terrible happened. Have you learned from it? Did you take steps to remediate the behavior in some way? If it was maybe drugs or alcohol, did you go to AA? Did you go to counseling? Did you go to an intensive outpatient treatment program or rehab? Have you made just healthy changes in your lifestyle so that you can deal with stress better? These are the things the boards want to hear. Just because you’ve had one bad thing happen in your past, if you’ve learned from it and incorporated positive things into your life, that’s what the boards want to see.

document showing approved

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? I’m 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, it’s going to be state-specific. I’m 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.

Most states won’t completely bar you from licensing if you’ve had a past felony. But they will initiate an investigation and then investigate. What was the reason behind the conviction? That conviction will be a determining factor in whether you can get licensed or not. 

Call a Criminal Defense Attorney 

You should probably call an attorney who deals with nursing board issues in the state you want to get licensed. They’re not going to give you a “you will get licensed” or “there’s no way” answer. But they can give you some general guidelines of what they’ve done before. The rules they’ve followed as far as felonies go. Also, you can put yourself in the best position to get licensed. That’s the most efficient use of your time. 

You could also go on the board’s website and find out the rules for felonies. Some states call it a “felony bar,” so Google that. But let’s say you do apply. They run a criminal background check, and it pops up. Almost every application states that if you’ve had a felony, you must disclose it. Then you’ll need to provide police records, court documents, or any documentation saying you’ve completed your sentence. 

After you gather all that, the board usually wants you to write a statement about what happened. At some point, you’ll have an interview with the board investigator. They will inquire about the reasons behind the incident. Some felony crimes will probably completely bar you from ever getting a license. Any child abuse, sexual misconduct, and involving yourself in the distribution of prescription drug felonies are some examples. You will have access to all the narcotics in the world when you’re a nurse. So if you have any convictions before with diverting or selling prescription meds, they will be very concerned about that.

Convictions that Pose the Biggest Obstacle to Becoming a Nurse

Super violent crimes, adult abuse, or things that are difficult to rehabilitate from, are the biggest problem for past felonies. If you have drugs, alcohol, or domestic violence problems, you can do anger management, Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, or counseling. Things you can rehabilitate from are much easier to get a license after. Meanwhile, abuse, sexual misconduct, convictions involving honesty like fraud, and identity theft, are things some people won’t consider something you can rehab from. 

To recap. First, you must figure out what state you want to be licensed in. Second, call an attorney in that state knowledgeable about the nursing board. Ask them what the laws are around past felony convictions there.

There may not be a bunch of specific rules about the past. I know most boards will have specific implementations if you’re licensed and then get a felony. But not all the boards will have laws that state what’s going to happen if you’ve had a past felony. But still, talk it over. Where does the board usually look? What did they do with this type of felony in the past? Are there some steps you can take during nursing school, like either going to AA, rehab, or counseling? Things that will then set you up and put you in a better position when you ultimately apply for your license. Those are important things that you need to think about.

So, take a deep breath. If you have a felony, it will not bar you from being a nurse completely. Just do your research and good luck with your nursing career.

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May 18, 2022/by admin
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What Can Disqualify You From Being a Nurse?

Blog, Nursing
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What can disqualify you from being a nurse? I’m only going to talk about applicants, not people already licensed by the state. This video will be a general discussion of, alright, maybe I’m thinking of attending nursing school, or perhaps I’ve completed nursing school. Now, I must apply to a board. What things in my past can disqualify me from being a nurse in the future? Lastly, this is not going to be state-specific. It’s just going to be a general discussion. 

The first and probably the most obvious thing is some heinous criminal incidents in your past. Almost none of the boards in any state contain a list of things like, if you’ve done these things, you can’t get a license. No matter what, they’ll have a general guideline. But, any violent crimes, if you were a maybe heavy distributor of drug diversion in some way. For instance, sexual misconduct is brutal to rehabilitate from, or at least in the eyes of the board. And so, having those in your past can be a barrier to getting a license. 

Getting a Nursing License After A Crime

It may not feel like it when I talk to nurses who are always concerned about DUIs, marijuana possessions, theft, domestic violence, disorderly conduct, and an assault charge, but these are relatively low-level crimes. Because you’ve had those in your past, they generally will not disqualify you from getting a license in the future. Now, if you’ve had 20 assault charges, it’s probably not going to happen for you. Still, if it’s a handful of things from 20 years ago, it will not hinder you from getting your nursing license.

And even in this scenario where the board was very concerned about past behavior, they would almost always offer the nurse a probationary license, meaning they would grant the license. Still, they would simultaneously put them on probation for one to three years. And at the end of that probationary period. Then their license is unencumbered. That’s what happens typically. 

I guess the timing of the felony would matter. Some states require a certain period after either the felony. I think the nurse or potential nurse was either convicted of the felony or completed the probationary requirements. I know here in Arizona, someone must have at least three years from the date of termination of probation for a felony to be eligible to reapply or apply for a nursing license.

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 there’s 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. 

When the State Revokes Your Nursing License 

Lastly, if you’ve had another healthcare license and you’ve been placed on the OIG exclusionary list. So the inspector general’s office has this list where if you’ve had a license revoked, suspended, voluntary surrender, or a certain number of crimes. They can exclude you from billing under Medicare or Medicaid. The boards, for the most part, don’t care about that at all. However, the employers, or at least some employers, will. If they can’t bill for you, they will not employ you. So, you need to think, alright, what happened to put me on that exclusionary list? And then you also need to consider ways of getting off it after a period and jumping through certain hoops. It would be best if you investigated doing that disqualify as well. 

Very few things can completely disqualify a nurse from getting a license. Most of the boards want to see if something terrible happened. Have you learned from it? Did you take steps to remediate the behavior in some way? If it was maybe drugs or alcohol, did you go to AA? Did you go to counseling? Did you go to an intensive outpatient treatment program or rehab? Have you made just healthy changes in your lifestyle so that you can deal with stress better? These are the things the boards want to hear. Just because you’ve had one bad thing happen in your past, if you’ve learned from it and incorporated positive things into your life, that’s what the boards want to see.

a stressed out nurse

Other Blogs Interest

  • Nursing Law: Can a Felon Become a Nurse?
  • Can you be a Nurse with Misdemeanor Theft?

Most Common Reasons for Board of Nursing Discipline | Nurses Disciplinary Boards

What is the most common reason a nurse gets disciplined by a board of nursing? In my mind, all discipline stems from clinical and behavioral categories. Let’s kind of break down each one. Regarding getting in trouble for a clinical incident, any deviation from the standard of care, practicing outside of scope, missed medication, documentation errors, and patient abuse. Those are probably the five most common ways to get in trouble clinically. One thing to remember when a complaint is filed, and in the case of a clinical complaint, it will be from the patient, the patient’s family, a coworker, or the employer. They’ll come from one of those four sources. 

What Will Happen If the Board Gets Their Complaint?

And in that case, what will happen is the board will get their complaint, and then they’ll send notice to the nurse. And then, they’ll likely simultaneously subpoena the employment file from the nurse’s employer along with subpoenaing any patient records that would be a part of the investigation. One thing to keep in mind, and this is general. It goes for the process for almost all the states. It can vary from state to state, but this is the general process. The board will likely send a subpoena to your employer. Many times, if a nurse is dismissed from a position due to a clinical incident, they get a new job. When they put that new job down on the questionnaire the board wants from the nurse, they’re likely to send a subpoena to your new employer. 

  • So, that’s something to consider when addressing the employer’s complaint. 
  • In the case of a clinical issue, once they get all the records, 
  • They get the employment file, 
  • They’re going to look to see if the nurse ever any previous problems with discipline at work had, 
  • Any corrective action, 
  • Verbal coaching counseling, 
  • Any similar incidents 

 Maybe it’s a missed medication. Have they done that in the past? And then ultimately, when they have all that information gathered, they’ll likely interview the nurse. And then, at some point, it’ll either be disposed of or forwarded to the board for a review.

Behavioral Issues

The other type of, I guess, why a nurse would get in trouble is behavioral, and there’s a bunch of things under behavioral. One could be a criminal charge or conviction. It could be substance abuse issues. It could be mental health problems. Or it could be just the inability to get along with people at work and boundary issues involving a sexual relationship with a patient. I’m also going to lump in diverting narcotics into this. I guess you could put that in either category, but it’s probably a lot more than anyone expects. Many nurses diverge narcotics, and I find that’s almost ninety-five times out of a hundred due to personal substance abuse issues. Very rarely would it be them diverting for either resale or for maybe a family member? I’ve had a couple where they were doing it for their significant other. 

What Does the Nurse Have to Do in Case the Nurse Is Reported to the Board?

As far as behavior goes, this varies state by state, but some states require a nurse to report a charge. Other states require a nurse to report a criminal conviction immediately. Then others wait to report the criminal conviction until whenever their renewal is. So, based upon the criminal outcome and what it was, that can easily lead to discipline. The most common for nurses are domestic violence/assault, shoplifting, and DUIs. That makes up most of the criminal incidents among nurses. Some states have a rule that states if the nurse is convicted of a felony, it’s an automatic revocation of a license. Something considered many times is when we have a nurse convicted of a felony. The main goal is for their criminal defense attorney to get that knocked down to whatever they can that would not be considered a felony.

So, criminal stuff, behavioral issues, it could be, as I said before, mental health or the inability to get along with coworkers or substance abuse. I guess all the states have confidential monitoring programs, which would involve random drug tests, supervision at work, AA/NA participation, and counseling. This is a good option for nurses who want to keep their records clean and don’t want permanent discipline on their records. And it also provides them with the structure to hopefully get over whatever their issues are. Many alternative discipline programs can be for substance abuse, mental health, and physical issues. That broad category of behavioral concerns can lead to board discipline.

Words of Advice on How to Handle an Investigation

Here are some words of advice on how to handle an investigation. Maybe a nurse who comes to me after submitting a response or an interview tends to overshare, especially in the written response. It’s better to keep it short and sweet. There are some serious considerations about what to disclose if there’s a pending criminal action. Because simultaneously, the board will investigate the criminal and track what is happening. And what you don’t want is to disclose a bunch of things on the nursing board and then maybe share with the police. And then that would lead the police to act against you. If you had to choose between going to jail and losing a license, it’s an obvious choice. So, those are how a nurse can be disciplined, or at least the most common ways.

a nurse checking a patient record

Can You be a Nurse with a Misdemeanor Drug Charge?

Can you be a nurse with a misdemeanor drug charge? This question is not going to be state-specific. I’m just going to give you general tips and things to consider if you apply for your nursing license. I know that many people that read these blogs may also think of going into nursing school and are thinking, alright, well, maybe I can get into medical school. Still, I couldn’t get a license and wasted time and money. So, I will talk more about applicants or even people considering attending nursing school. It is not going to be directed towards currently licensed nurses.

Alright, so you have a past misdemeanor drug charge which could be a possession of a bunch of different drugs, potentially distribution. There are some misdemeanor distribution charges as well. If you’ve been convicted, you’ve gone to trial and lost. Or most likely reached a plea with the prosecutor. Then you had to do community service, fines, drug counseling, treatment, whatever. The board cares about convictions for the most part and not just charges.

It doesn’t mean you’ve ultimately been found guilty if you’re just charged with a crime. Most boards find that the nurse, in their minds, would be convicted. So, if you’ve had one misdemeanor possession of marijuana from 20 years ago, that will not keep you from getting your nursing license, let’s say.

What Do the Nursing Boards Usually Look For in Drug Charges?

When a board looks at the criminal pass of a nurse, they’re going to run two things. They will ask in the application, which changes from state to state. Still, usually, they’ll ask: do you have any felony convictions? And then two, potentially, do you have any misdemeanor charges involving substance abuse? It does vary from state to state. You need to look at the specific language in the application of the condition that you’re looking to apply to and then see what you have to disclose. And then, the board is also going to write a criminal background check. Then anything that pops up in that criminal background check will likely reach out to you. And ask you to summarize what happened and maybe even potentially provide them with the police records or court documents, so keep that in mind. 

What Do Disciplinary Boards Care More About Nurses?

Now, in a board’s mind, what they care about is that they’re going to license safe nurses that don’t have drug problems. And the board’s stated mission is to protect the public. They’re not there to protect the nurse, so they will see how many different misdemeanor drug charges or convictions they have? If you’ve 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 wouldn’t get your license. It’s 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 doesn’t mean you won’t 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 you’ve 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 there’s 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.

When Charges Are Frequent and More Than Just a Misdemeanor

Let’s say it’s a recent number of drug charges, and they think this nurse hasn’t done what they need to do. It’s possible they could issue the license and put the nurse on simultaneous probation for drug issues. Most states would include random drug testing, supervision at work, continuing education, a nurse recovery group, counseling, rehab, whatever. I mean, there’s a variety of things they could do. But even if you’ve had a bunch of recent items, but you’re willing to do what it takes to get your license, the board can, as I said before, issue the license but put you on probation. It could be anywhere from 12 to 36 months, sometimes more. And if you were to get through that period, your license would no longer be burdened. 

One Caveat About Being Placed on Probationary Practice

Now, one bad thing about being placed on probation is if an alternative to a discipline program is not available for you, in an alternative discipline program in most states. There’s a confidential monitoring program where you can do everything I just listed, but it wouldn’t be public. And it wouldn’t be considered formal discipline. If the board only offers you proper discipline, that will stay in your record, at least in most states.

So, you need to think about, alright, even if I do get a license, if I have this blemish on it forever, is that going to dampen the chances of me possibly getting the job I want to get? I would say no, but it is more difficult to find a job if you have a disciplinary history. 

Before Attending a Nursing School, Get an Attorney to Review Your Drug Charges or Drug Conviction

In Summary

So, in summary, you’re probably fine if you have one or two misdemeanor drug convictions. The closer to the date you apply, the more scrutiny you will get from the board. But overall, every situation is a little bit different. What I would suggest, I’m in Arizona, so I only help nurses with the Arizona board.

Before you even apply to a nursing school, it might make sense to reach out to someone in the state you’re considering using, someone with experience with nursing board issues. And say, hey, have you had a similar scenario in the past? And then what is the likelihood of me getting a license once I apply? No one is going to be able to give you a 100% accurate guess. Still, if someone’s been doing the nursing board for a long time, they can usually give you a precise, decently, I guess, estimation of whether they think you would get licensed or not. And then maybe if there was disciplinary action attached to that or not

Does a DUI Affect your Nursing License?

Can a DUI affect your nursing license? As in all my other blogs, this is a general discussion. This is not state specific. Every state has its own rules and regulations as far as when and how to report. So, this will be a general discussion of the things you need to consider that may affect your nursing license if you get a DUI. 

Charge vs. Conviction

First, you need to identify whether your board in nursing has a reporting requirement. For instance, here in Arizona, our nurses have to report it when they’re charged, not even when they’re convicted. A charge is when you get a DUI and a ticket with an arraignment date; that’s considered a charge. Sometimes, they’ll wait to charge you if they’re waiting for a blood test. But when you are charged, it just means when they decided to move forward with whatever the violations were. 

A conviction is when you’re guilty, or you sign a plea agreement, or a pretrial diversion program, or at least most boards consider a pretrial diversion program a conviction. Like an end to whatever the criminal conduct was, that isn’t a complete dismissal. For the most part, those need to be reported. Now, when they need to be reported varies from state to state. Some require it upon renewal, and some require it upon conviction; then, as I said before, it’s when they are charged, regardless of whether they’re ultimately convicted. That’s the first thing you need to identify.

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; I’ll supplement in the future with more information. Or I was convicted of this on this date, which is what I’ve done. And leave it at that. You don’t 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 doesn’t mean you must give every detail about what happened. 

Is It Substance Abuse or a Deeper Issue?

Some broad thoughts on substance abuse and DUI: the biggest concern of any board of nursing is that if you get a DUI, you have a substance abuse issue. The stated purpose of nearly every board of nursing is not to protect the nurses. It’s to protect the public. And so, they don’t want a nurse with substance abuse issues providing patient care. Now, just because you have one DUI doesn’t mean that you have substance abuse issues, but it could be that you do. Let me say this delicately. I always speak to people with what I would consider chronic drinking problems. And they think it’s terrific. For example, if you have a six-pack or a bottle of wine every night, the board of nursing will consider that a substance abuse problem.

Suppose you just went out, went to dinner, had a few drinks with friends, you occasionally drink socially a couple of times a month. In that case, you don’t drink too much intoxication; that’s just regular alcohol consumption. That’s not a substance abuse problem, but the board will think that no matter what, they will start at this person as an alcoholic and then work their way down. So, suppose it’s just your first-time regular DUI. In that case, you have a relatively low BAC, and most boards of nursing aren’t going to formally discipline a nurse for something like that. If it’s a third DUI and you had a super extreme BAC level here in Arizona, that’s above 0.2. 

What Will Happen if a Nurse Commits Third DUI?

The board is going to be concerned. And what the board would do here is have the nurse undergo a substance abuse evaluation with the psychologist. Then that psychologist would write recommendations to the board. And then, the board would incorporate those recommendations into probation if they thought they had substance abuse issues. It’s implausible that a nurse with a low-level DUI will lose their nursing license. I mean, it’s infrequent. 

There must be more underlying things to end up with that result. But, if you have chronic problems, a criminal problem with alcohol or drugs, that could lead to a board decision. We don’t want this person to provide care anymore. Now, they’re almost always going to give the nurse at least the option of going on probation or entering a confidential monitoring program. Most states call it an alternative to discipline or something like that. In a worst-case scenario, at least at the beginning, you’d have the option of doing that.

Confidential Monitoring Program

Where most nurses get in trouble with persistent problems with alcohol, they’re in the confidential monitoring medical programs, have a positive drug screen for alcohol, and get kicked out of that program. They get put on formal disciplinary probation. The same thing happens, then they get their nursing license suspended. And then, if you continue to violate the terms of the probation, it could end up in revocation. If you’ve had one DUI as a nurse, it will not end your career. It’s most likely not going to prohibit you from getting jobs in the future. 

You must be aware of this. You cannot let it happen again, but if you screwed up, I find the best defense for people who have screwed up, and it’s a lower-level thing, is to admit, you know what? I just made the wrong decision. I don’t have a drinking problem if it’s just one night, and I’ve learned from it. These are the things I’ve learned from it. These are the things I’ll do now to prevent it. And then, this is what I will do in the future. And that’s what most boards of nursing want to hear. Is that if there is an identifiable problem, you have learned from it and then incorporated that into your practice and move forward in the future.

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May 16, 2022/by admin
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Can you be a Nurse with Misdemeanor Theft?

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Can You Be a Nurse With a Misdemeanor Theft? A couple of things first, this is not a state-specific discussion. I’m talking about a general analysis of what you need to think about if you have some past criminal incidents involving theft or shoplifting. Each board has different laws or ways to handle things. So, I will comprehensively analyze what you need to consider. 

First, for any board, when you have criminal convictions in your past. I’m just going to talk about nurses applying. I’m not going to talk about what happens if you already have a license. So this will discuss my past theft convictions, and I’m applying to become a nurse for the first time. What are the things I need to consider? 

Could You Say It Happened More Than Five Years Ago?

The first thing is, how long ago did they happen? If these things happened 20 years ago, maybe when you were a kid or early twenties, nothing has happened since then. There is almost no chance you wouldn’t be able to get your nursing license. People make mistakes. People change over time. And people do stupid things when they’re young. And so, if you had a few shoplifting incidents as a kid, it’s honestly not that big of a deal. Most boards find, I think, five years is like a reasonable amount of time if you’ve stayed out of trouble. If it’s been 20 years in this scenario, it will not become a hindrance to you getting your nursing license, most likely. 

Only One Misdemeanor Theft?

Two, how many there were? Now, if you’ve had seven misdemeanor theft convictions, that’s different from one. If you’ve had seven, that probably means you have a chronic compulsion to steal. Let me put it this way: it’s hard for people to wrap their minds around this, but they have substance abuse issues. They’re addicted to drugs, or they’re addicted to alcohol. Some people have an addiction to theft and shoplifting, and it’s not like it’s a diamond heist. It’s like they stole a box of chocolates and a shirt from Costco. It doesn’t make much sense to the average person, but it is a simple compulsion. It is an addiction that some people must handle. 

I even have clients like shoplifters anonymous, or they must work through these issues. They go to counseling; it is a problem in their life. There is a big difference between stealing some headphones when you’re 19 versus having habitual criminal issues involving shoplifting. Suppose it was just one or maybe two times from a long time ago. The more recent the theft conviction is, the more concerned the board will be. So, if you were convicted six months before you applied, the board will investigate that and most likely say, alright, well, what happened? They’ll probably interview you. They’ll want to know the outcome as far as the court case goes; did you do a diversion program? That type of thing.

Diversion Program

Most of these cases result in the nurse going into a diversion program where they must do education and maybe leave some community service, pay a fine, and that’s that. But, in the scenario where you continue to have criminal problems involving theft or shoplifting, the board will get into, alright, well, does this person need a psychological evaluation? And then what the person was stealing is essential as well. Let’s say you were maybe not a nurse but worked in a healthcare setting, and then you got caught stealing supplies, or if you’re stealing medications, that’s a huge problem. But in that scenario, the board will take a closer look and say, is this someone we need to monitor? Or is this someone we need to make sure has been given the treatment needed to move forward with her life and not have this be. 

I guess, a constant problem?  Any board that will issue a license to a nurse wants to ensure that they can provide safe patient care. And they don’t have behavioral concerns that could result in an unsafe patient environment. So, the worst-case scenario in a board’s mind is that someone has a whole bunch of theft convictions in their past. They give them the license, and then they steal medications or supplies from a patient, which leads to negative outcomes because the patient no longer has those things. You think the board always goes down like in the worst-case scenario. That may be convoluted and unlikely to happen, but that’s how the nursing board thinks. So, those are the things they will most likely go over.

Common Effect of Misdemeanor Conviction on Licensing

Overall, it will not be a big deal if you have a few misdemeanor theft convictions. Most likely. Very unlikely you wouldn’t get your license. If you have a handful of theft incidents involving something more valuable, more importantly, or tied to patient care, that could be a problem. The board will probably make you jump through some hoops and potentially put you on probation. So, that’s the little analysis of whether you could become a nurse if you’ve had a misdemeanor theft conviction. I think this is good information for everybody looking to become a nurse.

a smiling nurse in blue uniform

Other Blogs of Interest

  • What Can Disqualify You From Being a Nurse?
  • Can You be a Nurse with a Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Charge?
  • Nursing Law: Can you be a Nurse with a Misdemeanor Assault Charge?

Can You be a Nurse with a Misdemeanor Drug Charge?

Can you be a nurse with a misdemeanor drug charge? This question is not going to be state-specific. I’m just going to give you general tips and things to consider if you apply for your nursing license. I know that many people that read these blogs may also think of going into nursing school and are thinking, alright, well, maybe I can get into nursing school. Still, I couldn’t get a license and wasted time and money. So, I will talk more about applicants or even people considering attending nursing school. It is not going to be directed towards currently licensed nurses.

Alright, so you have a past misdemeanor drug charge which could be a possession of a bunch of different drugs, potentially distribution. There are some misdemeanor distribution charges as well. If you’ve been convicted, you’ve gone to trial and lost. Or most likely reached a plea with the prosecutor. Then you had to do community service, fines, drug counseling, treatment, whatever. The board cares about convictions for the most part and not just charges.

It doesn’t mean you’ve ultimately been found guilty if you’re just charged with a crime. Most boards find that the nurse, in their minds, would be convicted. So, if you’ve had one misdemeanor possession of marijuana from 20 years ago, that will not keep you from getting your nursing license, let’s say.

What Does the Nursing Board Usually Look For in Drug Charges?

When a board looks at the criminal pass of a nurse, they’re going to run two things. They will ask in the application, which changes from state to state. Still, usually, they’ll ask: do you have any felony convictions? And then two, potentially, do you have any misdemeanor charges involving substance abuse? It does vary from state to state. You need to look at the specific language in the application of the condition that you’re looking to apply to and then see what you have to disclose. And then, the board is also going to write a criminal background check. Then anything that pops up in that criminal background check will likely reach out to you. And ask you to summarize what happened and maybe even potentially provide them with the police records or court documents, so keep that in mind. 

What Do They Care More?

Now, in a board’s mind, what they care about is that they’re going to license safe nurses that don’t have drug problems. And the board’s stated mission is to protect the public. They’re not there to protect the nurse, so they will see how many different misdemeanor drug charges or convictions they have? If you’ve 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 wouldn’t get your license. It’s 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 doesn’t mean you won’t 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 you’ve 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 there’s 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.

When Charges Are Frequent and More Than Just a Misdemeanor

Let’s say it’s a recent number of drug charges, and they think this nurse hasn’t done what they need to do. It’s possible they could issue the license and put the nurse on simultaneous probation for drug issues. Most states would include random drug testing, supervision at work, continuing education, a nurse recovery group, counseling, rehab, whatever. I mean, there’s a variety of things they could do. But even if you’ve had a bunch of recent items, but you’re willing to do what it takes to get your license, the board can, as I said before, issue the license but put you on probation. It could be anywhere from 12 to 36 months, sometimes more. And if you were to get through that period, your license would no longer be burdened. 

Get A Criminal Defense Attorney

Now, one bad thing about being placed on probation is if an alternative to a discipline program is not available for you, in an alternative discipline program in most states. There’s a confidential monitoring program where you can do everything I just listed, but it wouldn’t be public. And it wouldn’t be considered formal discipline. If the board only offers you proper discipline, that will stay in your record, at least in most states.

So, you need to think about, alright, even if I do get a license, if I have this blemish on it forever, is that going to dampen the chances of me possibly getting the job I want to get? I would say no, but it is more difficult to find a job if you have a disciplinary history. 

Before Attending a Nursing School, Get an Attorney to Review Your Drug Charges or Drug Conviction

In Summary

So, in summary, you’re probably fine if you have one or two misdemeanor drug convictions. The closer to the date you apply, the more scrutiny you will get from the board. But overall, every situation is a little bit different. What I would suggest, I’m in Arizona, so I only help nurses with the Arizona board.

Before you even apply to a nursing school, it might make sense to reach out to someone in the state you’re considering using, someone with experience with nursing board issues. And say, hey, have you had a similar scenario in the past? And then what is the likelihood of me getting a license once I apply? No one is going to be able to give you a 100% accurate guess. Still, if someone’s been doing the nursing board for a long time, they can usually give you a precise, decently, I guess, estimation of whether they think you would get licensed or not. And then maybe if there was disciplinary action attached to that or not.

When the State Revokes Your Nursing License 

Lastly, if you’ve had another healthcare license and you’ve been placed on the OIG exclusionary list. So the inspector general’s office has this list where if you’ve had a license revoked, suspended, voluntary surrender, or a certain number of crimes. They can exclude you from billing under Medicare or Medicaid. The boards, for the most part, don’t care about that at all. However, the employers, or at least some employers, will. If they can’t bill for you, they will not employ you. So, you need to think, alright, what happened to put me on that exclusionary list? And then you also need to consider ways of getting off it after a period and jumping through certain hoops. It would be best if you investigated doing that disqualify as well. 

Very few things can completely disqualify a nurse from getting a license. Most of the boards want to see if something terrible happened. Have you learned from it? Did you take steps to remediate the behavior in some way? If it was maybe drugs or alcohol, did you go to AA? Did you go to counseling? Did you go to an intensive outpatient treatment program or rehab? Have you made just healthy changes in your lifestyle so that you can deal with stress better? These are the things the boards want to hear. Just because you’ve had one bad thing happen in your past, if you’ve learned from it and incorporated positive things into your life, that’s what the boards want to see.

a smiling nurse in white uniform

Nursing License: Do You Have to Report a DUI to a Nursing Board?

Does a nurse need to report a DUI to a board of nursing? First, this is not state-specific. I’m not going to talk about any state’s specific laws regarding criminal reporting for a DUI. This topic is more of what a nurse needs to analyze and determine whether they must report something or not. Then the consequences of not saying something. First, you must decide if the board requires you to write a charge or a conviction. Some states require a nurse to report a criminal charge. Then others only care if the nurse is ultimately convicted. Therefore, they wouldn’t have to report anything dismissed and go to trial.

Arrested or Not, is it a DUI Charge?

So, what is a criminal charge? Let’s say you’re out Saturday night, have a few drinks, get a DUI, the officer hands you a ticket, and there’s an arraignment date. In this case, you’ve been charged with DUI in your initial appearance to enter a plea. In that scenario, if the board required you to report a charge, you’d need to submit written notice to the board that you had been charged with the DUI. 

Now, there are scenarios where a nurse can be pulled over and given a DUI but not explicitly charged. In those scenarios, maybe the nurse refused to do a breathalyzer, took the nurse’s blood, and waited on the blood test results to determine whether to charge the nurse. Maybe it didn’t involve alcohol. It was a drug DUI. They once again got a blood test and were, I guess, testing it to determine whether the nurse was impaired or not or had a level of impairment in some way.

There are scenarios where you could have been pulled over and even potentially arrested but not charged explicitly at that point. At some point, when the blood test results come back, they deem they want to charge the nurse if they’re at the level. The nurse will get a notice from the court that they have been charged. And then, at that point, that’s when they can report it wherever they are on board.

Convictions and the Nursing Board

As far as a conviction goes, I know many states will require the nurse to report a conviction immediately. And then I’ll talk about that in a second, or sometimes they’ll say you’ll need to report any conviction on renewal. So, that’s another thing you need to figure out. If it is a conviction, do you have to notify it immediately? It’s usually a 10-day window. Or do you have to report it upon renewal? For most states, that’s two years. As far as a conviction goes, most boards consider a conviction any plea agreement, obviously any result from a trial that’s a guilty verdict. Most will feel the pretrial diversion program is guilty in some respects. For instance, if you’re a nurse who got a DUI and then you sign a pretrial diversion, most boards would consider that reportable. 

Consequences of Crimes: Could Cause You Your Nursing License

What are the consequences of not reporting a DUI? When you initially apply for your license for any board, they will do a criminal background check. Then, if they required a nurse to report any misdemeanors involving substance abuse, many of them do, you didn’t report it. Then they do a criminal background check, and it pops up. Well, they’re going to think that being deceitful and trying to hide your criminal past. Then that could be grounds to deny the application or give the nurse formal discipline.

That one thing to think about is you must read the specific wording of the application if you’re going to apply for a license anywhere. Then determine, alright, does this fit whatever happened to me? Some states will have a period. So, they’ll say, no, we’ll only go back ten years. In contrast, it’s entirely open-ended for others, and you could theoretically have to report something from 30 years ago.

If you are currently licensed and decide not to report something when you should have. Either immediately or upon renewal, that certainly could be grounds for formal disciplinary action if the board finds out about it soon. Every renewal would be considered another lying to the board. Let’s say you got a DUI, but you didn’t report it. The committee found out ten years later. You’ve had five renewals since then. They could say, well, you violated it every two years. So, you had multiple violations beyond just not reporting it. Then that doesn’t even get into the investigation that will likely follow to determine if that nurse has substance abuse issues or chronic problems with drugs or alcohol.

In Your Defense, DUIs need to be Reported.

So, for the most part, you will need to report a DUI. It’s going to depend on if you were charged or convicted. Now, are you going to lose your license over a DUI? For the most part, it’s doubtful that a nurse would lose their license just for a single DUI. Now, if a nurse has had three DUIs, they are on probation. If they get another DUI, they violate whatever consent agreement they’re on, which could lead to the revocation of a license.

But suppose it’s a first-time kind of regular DUI, not a crazy BAC. In that case, it’s implausible that you would lose your nursing license. DUIs, honestly, are probably the most common criminal issue that we handle. Domestic violence, theft, shoplifting, and DUIs are the three most common criminal cases that we deal with for nurses. Kind of lower-level stuff, but there are still things that could concern any board of nursing.

Arizona Nursing Board Questions?

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May 11, 2022/by admin
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Can you be a Nurse with a Misdemeanor?

Blog, Nursing
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Can you be a nurse with a misdemeanor in your past? So, two things: one, this is not state specific. This is just general information about what most boards will consider. And then two, this is only going to be directed towards applicants. I’m not going to talk about what happens if you’re currently a licensed nurse and get a misdemeanor. I’ll talk about people that have a misdemeanor in their past. Then they will apply for their first LPN, RN, CNA, that type of thing with the board. Let’s just talk about the application process. Normally, almost any nursing board application states, have you ever had any felonies, and you’ll have to disclose those.

It Varies From State to State

And then two, this is going to be the important language. It may ask if you’ve ever been convicted of a misdemeanor. Some will say, have you ever been convicted of a misdemeanor involving drugs or alcohol? Each state is a little bit different. You need to look at the specific language and determine if the misdemeanor needs to get disclosed. Now, every board is going to run a criminal background check. From state to state, the sensitivity of that check varies wildly. So, in one state, something could pop up whereas, in another, it doesn’t pop up at all. One consideration for many nurses is that I failed to disclose this thing 25 years ago. I should have disclosed it. It popped up on the background check, and then the board initiated an investigation and asked me to explain what happened and why I failed to disclose it.

You might want to find an attorney in your state that handles nursing board cases. And then, if you don’t know if you need to disclose something or not, talk to them and see if it meets the threshold. What you don’t want to do is fail to disclose something you should have. And then that could open you up to discipline. The board could say, yes, we’ll grant you the license. Still, we’ll formally discipline you for failing to disclose a past criminal incident that you should have disclosed. So, that’s the first thing you need to think about. Alright, what does the application say? And then do I need to disclose it or not? Now, the next analysis is, what’s the likelihood of you not getting licensed because of a past misdemeanor? 

Depending on the Conviction, You Can Still Get Your License 

As I said, almost every board will make a nurse disclose felonies. And depending upon what the felony is, it could mean that a nurse absolutely will not get their license. Now, just because you’ve had a felony in your past doesn’t mean you won’t get your nursing license. That’s not a guarantee. It would depend upon the nature of the felony, how long ago it was, that type of thing. As far as a misdemeanor goes, it’s very unlikely that any misdemeanor in your past would completely bar you from getting a nursing license. What could prevent that would be if there are a bunch of misdemeanors. 

If you’ve had dozens of convictions for various things in your past, then obviously, yes. That could affect whether you get your nursing license or not. If you’ve had one, it was 20 years ago when you were 19. It’s extraordinarily unlikely that that will stop you from getting a nursing license.

There are scenarios where you have had several misdemeanors in your past. Let’s say someone has had three DUIs. So, they had three DUIs maybe 10 years ago. In that period, the board will ask a whole bunch of questions about your use of drugs and alcohol. So, how much do you certainly drink? When was the last time you were intoxicated? Did you ever go into AA? Did you ever do any rehab or IOP? Things like that. They want to see if you did have a short burst of problems. This happens often if someone has substance abuse issues or something is happening in their life that’s leading to the substance abuse. Maybe an abusive relationship or mental health issue. The board will want to see, alright, have you dealt with the problems that happened in the past?

Demands of Nursing Board to Applicants With Criminal Past

And then, do we think you’re a threat to patient safety moving forward? The shorter the time between a criminal incident and the license application, the worse it is for the nurse. So, suppose you had three DUIs within the last year, well. In that case, the board will be enormously concerned that the nurse has an alcohol-related problem. They may deny flat out, or the other scenario, that the board would offer probation and then simultaneously grant the license. If you did have substance abuse-related crimes in your past, the board could say, look, we’re willing to give you a license. However, you are under monitoring for a period of time, which could be six months up to three years or more.

And then they’ll state, you’ll have to do drug testing, there’ll be supervision at work, and you may have to do AA or a nurse recovery group. You can’t pass narcs. There may be restrictions on the license, but they’ll likely grant it. Rarely someone’s criminal past would completely prevent them from getting a nursing license. If the nurse is willing to go on probation in some situations, then it shouldn’t matter. And if they’ve made some proactive steps to stop what the issues were, the board will look favorably upon that as well. So, will a misdemeanor hurt your chances of getting a license? Yes, it’ll make it harder, but it is unlikely to be a complete bar to getting licensed.

Ask for Legal Opinions Before Becoming a Nursing Student

Once again, our location is in Arizona, so this can’t help you in any other state. Still, this is good general information for any nurse regarding what to think about if you have a criminal past. I would suggest if you’re concerned, especially sometimes, they’ll get calls from people who are interested in going into nursing school. And saying, alright, well, I don’t want to go into nursing school if I’m going to be, or it’s unlikely that the board will even give me a license. In that scenario, reach out to an attorney that does nursing board work in your state and say, hey, what’s your experience with someone with this type of crime? Do you think it’s worth it? Is it okay if I go to nursing school? What’s the likelihood that I’ll be able to get my license?

That’s valuable information. I mean, to go to nursing school and then spend all that money and time. Then applying and having no chance of getting a license due to past criminal incidents would be a terrible scenario. And I hate for that to happen to anybody.

a person in a blue scrub suit with her back against the wall

Other Blogs of Interest

  • Can a Felon Become a Nurse?
  • Can you be a Nurse with Misdemeanor Theft?
  • Can you be a Nurse with a DUI?

What Can Disqualify You From Being a Nurse?

What can disqualify you from becoming a nurse? I’m only going to talk about applicants, not people the state has already licensed. This will be a general discussion of maybe I’m thinking of going to nursing school, or maybe I’m still a nursing student or graduate nursing education. Now, I must apply to a board. What are some of the things in my past that can disqualify me from being a future nurse? Lastly, this is not going to be state-specific. It’s just going to be a general discussion. 

The first and probably the most obvious thing is some heinous criminal incidents in your past. Almost none of the boards in any state contain a list of things like, if you’ve done these things, you can’t get a license as a nurse. No matter what the case, they’ll have a general guideline. But, any violent crimes, if you were a maybe heavy distributor of drugs in some way, sexual misconduct. Those are things that are hard to rehabilitate from, or at least in the eyes of the board. And so, having those in your past could be a barrier to getting a nursing license. 

Getting a License After A Crime

When talking to nurses who are always concerned about DUI, marijuana possessions, theft, domestic violence, disorderly conduct, and an assault charge. It may not feel like it, but these are relatively low-level crimes. Just because you’ve had some of those in your past generally will not disqualify you from getting a nursing license. Now, if you’ve had 20 assault charges, it’s probably not going to happen for you. Still, if it’s a handful of things from 20 years ago, it will not hinder you from getting your nursing license.

And even in this scenario where the board was very concerned about past behavior, they would almost always offer the nurse a probationary license, meaning they would grant the license. Still, they would simultaneously put them on probation for one to three years. And at the end of that probationary period, their license was unencumbered. That’s what normally the case is. 

a person in a scrub suit with a stethoscope around the neck.

The Board Is Concerned About Public Image

I guess the timing of the felony would matter. Some states require a certain period after either the felony. I guess the nurse or potential nurse was either convicted of the felony or completed the probationary requirements. In Arizona, someone must have at least three years from the date of termination of probation. That is for a felony case to be eligible to reapply or apply for a nursing license.

The first things are heinous crimes, and two, high negative publicity events. Boards of nursing are very concerned about the public image of nurses. And suppose there’s 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. The politics of issuing licenses to people considered dangerous or incompetent is not something most boards are willing to do since they are also after the public’s health. 

When the State Revokes Your License 

Lastly, if you’ve had another healthcare license and you’ve been placed on the OIG exclusionary list. The inspector general’s office has this list where if you’ve had a license revoked, suspended, voluntary surrender, or a certain number of crimes. They can exclude you from billing under Medicare or Medicaid. The nursing boards, for the most part, don’t care about that at all. However, the employers, or at least some employers, will. If they can’t bill for you, they’ll not employ you. So, you need to think, alright, what happened to put me on that exclusionary list? And then you also need to consider ways of getting off it after a period and jumping through certain hoops. You need to investigate doing that disqualify as well. 

Very few things can completely disqualify a nurse from getting a license. Most nursing boards want to see if something bad happened and whether you learned from it. Did you take steps to remediate the behavior in some way? If it was maybe drugs or alcohol like DUI, did you go to AA? Did you go to counseling? Did you go to an intensive outpatient treatment program or rehab? Have you made healthy changes in your lifestyle to deal with stress better? These are the things the boards want to hear. Just because you’ve had one bad thing happen in your past, if you’ve learned from it and incorporated positive things into your life, that’s what the nursing boards want to see.

People make mistakes. It’s fine. But if the same thing keeps happening and you’re not learning from it. At some point, you’ll have an interview with an investigator from a nursing board if you’ve applied for some criminal history. You state I was framed, making excuses. They don’t want to hear those things.

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