Can You Be a Nurse With a DUI?

Can you be a nurse with a DUI

Nurses are in a caring profession. They would wish to act with the best possible intentions. However, anything can happen in life. Many nurses wish to unwind, visit friends and family, and enjoy drinks or two. So, can you be a nurse with a DUI?

The laws vary from state to state and also the regulations of the board of nurses matter as well.

Firstly, a nurse needs to be disciplined similarly to any other person based on state and local laws.

DUI convictions include fines, jail time, mandatory meetings along various other treatments along with community services.

Getting DUI would result in driver’s license revocation, vehicle impound, heavy court costs, and court hearings.

This lasts months or a lot more. Not to mention, the DUI outcome of death or injury leads to depression, lifelong guilt along with strict prison sentence.

See also: Can You Be a Nurse With a Felony?

Getting convicted or charged with driving under influence (DUI) of drugs and alcohol has a profound impact on life.

See also: Why Alcohol Swab Before Injection?

As the DUI lawyers tell you, the DUI conviction has widespread consequences. We would be able to help!

So, can you be a nurse with a DUI? The answer is: “Yes, you can”.

If you’re a nursing student who has been charged with DUI and is in nursing school and is preparing to apply for it, you would need to have expert DUI lawyers to get you out of trouble.

If you’re more than willing to pursue a successful nursing career, or already are in school, getting a DUI might or might not impact your education.

A lot of schools don’t deny your admission based on misdemeanor DUI conviction.

However, while getting admission to school you would have to look into their criminal conviction policies.

Also, if currently, you’re a student, and you’ve lost your driver’s license, you would be forced for taking a semester or a year off. This depends on whether you’re able to obtain reliable school transportation.

Another issue that DUI creates is scholarship loss. And if you’re relying on private scholarships for paying off living expenses, you must prepare for anything that might happen when you don’t win such private scholarships with DUI on record.

Can you become a nurse with a DUI?

Can you become a nurse with a DUI

If you’re convicted and charged with DUI when you were in nursing school, you would still be able to obtain the license.

However, the challenges don’t get over yet.

Still, you need to apply for jobs along with other applications, you would have to declare the DUI conviction. For various employers and positions, the automatically takes you out of running.

This would be more likely when the facility accepts funding from the government and doesn’t let employees get DUIs on record when the position requires driving.

See also: Is Nursing a Public Service Job?

For various other situations, DUI doesn’t mean that your RN application will get ignored. However, it won’t be on the list of priorities as well.

Even with DUI, people have gone through nursing school to know that it haunts them again at the time of nursing job interviews. Each individual employer has different requirements when you’re concerned about hiring nurses.

At the time of the application process, the applications would likely ask questions that pertain to DUI on the application, and they might have background checks of all prospective employees.

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It would extremely be vital to answering such questions truthfully as sometimes the expunged records remain nothing more compared to background check statements that state DUI gets clear.

Still, the applicant’s DUI from the past would be there.

However, some employers allow prospective employers with DUI to plead their case to the Nursing State Board.

Thus, before applying for a job it would a good measure to check on employment requirements to know what you can expect during the interview.

See also: OR Nurse Interview Questions

How DUI affects NCLEX application that pertains to board disciplinary actions and legal convictions. Even as a first offense 0 the DUI affects one’s ability to sit for the exam.

A lot of states require applicants to offer a notarized summary that explained the offense along with a certified copy of the final documents of the court. The court documents directly come from a court in a sealed envelope.

The State Board of Nursing reviews applications before a decision about taking the NCLEX exam is taken.

Can you be a nurse with a DUI in California?

Can you be a nurse with a DUI in California

Before getting straight to the query you must first know that would you be required to report the convictions on your nursing application?

As no one would want to do the same!

According to the California Board of Registered Nursing, “All the convictions need to be reported, minor traffic violations being the exception.”

The board says that all applicants would have to report the felony and misdemeanor convictions, including the ones for driving under influence (DUI).

The reporting being necessary according to nursing laws in California doesn’t mean that the DUI disqualifies automatically anyone from being an RN.

The board has to strictly review the criminal record history of an applicant including the DUIs, especially drug-related ones. This can certainly impact the job of an RN as nurses have got direct medication access.

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If DUI was isolated and happened long ago, the board is more likely to overlook this. If a recent DUI was there and involved in high BAC, child endangerment, bodily injuries, or an accident, then it becomes more like an issue.

Each DUI conviction gets handled on the basis of the case to case; however, the board doesn’t consider the following:

  • when DUI took place
  • the offense severity
  • if applicant earlier got enrolled in rehab

Generally, California Nursing Board doesn’t render discussion about DUI without examination of case facts and the circumstances totality.

So, can you be a nurse with a DUI? Yes, it would be possible, but we’re not sure about the chances.

A greater obstacle than finishing nursing school or getting in with DUI occurs when it’s time to take the NCLEX exam and then apply for a Registered Nurse license.

Most are not clear on the query of can you become a nurse with a DUI?

When you’re ready for seeking an RN, you should apply with the Nursing Commission of Washington State Department of Health. While having this application, you should submit your fingertips to get a thorough background check.

The background uncovers DUI charges, convictions, or arrests.

The application would specifically ask whether you’ve been entered of guilt or convicted, prosecuted or no contest plea, or been suspended or sentence deferred as a juvenile or an adult in California State or out of the jurisdiction.

With a DUI conviction you would have to answer with “Yes” and offer certified copies with documents produced by the court.

Can you be a travel nurse with a DUI?

Can you be a travel nurse with a DUI

Losing your travel RN license would be quite unlikely with a single DUI conviction, but it would be challenging to report and explain.

See also: Do Travel Nurses Get Health Insurance?

You might go through the Nursing Commission disciplinary process, particularly if you didn’t report the incident yourself and another healthcare professional did.

You will need to show the Nursing Commission that still you can be a good nurse and aren’t putting patients in danger.

You would need to abide by stipulation terms of information discipline or endure formal disciplines, like suspension, revocation, or probation.

As you’ve had DUI on record doesn’t mean that the chances for taking the test get denied. However, it doesn’t mean that Nursing Commission takes close look at the application.

It takes longer when you’ve got Authorization to Test (ATT) than peers. This would require you to submit additional info, and the commission looks at the severity of the crime, how long it was along with various other factors.

When the application gets denied, you shouldn’t give up.

A lot of nursing students get denied applications because of the conviction on the record. You must appeal the decision.

Many nurses are not clear on the fact can you be a nurse with a DUI? Serious issues such as DUI can or cannot prevent students from pursuing a nursing career.

Each State Nursing Board rules differently on the basis of the case to case.

Applicants must be sure that they remain truthful on the application.

See also: Can You Be a Nurse With Hep C?

Conclusion: Can you be a nurse with a DUI?

In short, yes you can be and become a nurse with a DUI. Just make sure that you stay honest with your situation with the Nursing Commission or Board of Nursing.

If you would like to learn more about nursing, check out these articles of ours:

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About Ida Koivisto, BSN, RN, PHN

Ida is both a registered nurse and public health nurse. Her passion is to provide as much valuable information about nursing to the world as possible. In her spare time from work and blogging, Ida loves to work out at the gym and spend time with relatives.