[Julieanne1976]

I have a question. 7 yrs ago I was convicted of a felony it was not drug related, but i was wanting to know I have been going to school and pretty soon will have all my basic done and was wanting to get my nursing degree. i was wanting to know if anyone knows if i would be able to get it I live in texas but will be moving to cali in a year. should i go ahead or just give up and find something else to do. i have tryied researching it but i can't seem to find out anything. when i lived in california in 2001 i was going to maric college for nursing and they did a back ground check at the beginning of the semester and didn't say anythingbut we moved 3 months later so i was unable to finish. if anyone knows anything please let me know. thank you, Julie

[cougarnurse]

Julieanne, only the State where you get your license can answer your question. I would suggest contacting them.

'Cat'

[ladynpink33]

How long do you have to wait to get your license back if they take it away? 1 year, 3 years, 7 years? Does it matter if you got a misdemeanor or a felony?

How long do you have to wait to get your license back if they take it away? 1 year, 3 years, 7 years? Does it matter if you got a misdemeanor or a felony?

[d-ann1]

I am hoping someone will reply because the dates on the threads date a few years back. I am a nurse in Missouri and was convicted of a drug felon more than 16 years ago. In 2005 I made application to the Missouri BON for reinstatement. I had to show all kinds of certificates of completion, as well as write a detailed letter of the events that took place during my addiciton up until my rehabilitation. Once the board met, I was notified that I would be reinstated my license after passing the NCLEX for the second time. Well, I passed and was placed on one year probation with random urine drops (a small price to pay for something I thought I would never get back). Anyway, after all of that I could not find anyone to hire me as a nurse. I even called the state BON, asking them if I had any restrictions, and informing them of what I was going through. Well I did not have any restrictions and the law did not prevent me from working as a nurse, but they told me maybe it was policies of the health facilities I had made application to more preventing them from hiring nurses with certain convictions. I was devastated. I decided to stop filling out applications and submitted an application to the Governor of Missouri for a full pardon. After 2 years of waiting, I was denied clemency.I want to let anyone reading this message know that all that time I was working in a job that made more money than an LPN long before I even approached the BON for reinstatement. Nursing is where my heart is and nursing is what I wanted to do again. During the 2 years while I was waiting on the Governor's denial I began taking pre-req classes for an RN course I have applied for ( I already had my bachelors degree in business).I was praying that one day the state might create some type of language that would allow health facilites to give nurses with felonies a second chance, because after during my research I found out that the social secutiry act of 1996 has a list of reasons why a health facility will be dinied certain benefits, and hiring felonies is one of them. It also states that it is effective as of 1996, but I guess the health facilities had decided it was best to deny all felons no matter when they were convicted. I say this because my crime was committed in 1992. I have not started the RN program yet because the school has postponed the entire class until 2010, but I have finished all of the pre-req courses and passed the entrance test. I am moving forward if they will have me. Recently an agency hired me as a visiting nurse (I do physical assessments and check on assigned caregivers) and they are well aware of my past. I do my visits when I leave my full time job. The owners of the agency told me they admired my honesty. They just don't know, but they gave me hope again that there are people out there that believe in giving others a second chance. I hope this thread will be an inspiration to other nurses with felonies and are seeking nurse jobs.