Crime & Licensure

[maggieo71]

Hi all - I'm a little new here, but here goes. I'm a student in FL, getting ready to graduate in December. I'm faced with the daunting task of applying to the BON with a criminal record. Here's the worst of it: drugs. Now, here are the circumstances.

This is a charge that I plead 'no contest' to 18 years ago, at the age of 18.

Adjudication of guilt was withheld.

The record has since been sealed (NOT expunged) by the courts.

I have about 10 letters of recommendation from faculty, clinical supervisors, and the dean of my CON.

I'm a straight A student, board member of FNSA, etc.

Someone with experience in this matter, please tell me, what are my chances?

Thanks to any / all who reply.

[AmandaWIRN]

It depends on the nature of the charges- misdemeanor vs. felony, violent vs. non-violent crime, whether it was drug-related, etc.....

[Lily78]

Before applying for my first position, I was concerned about my record (I was pretty wild as a teenager! I had a few alcohol-related misdemeanor convictions).

My attorney advised me to send for my record from the Virginia state police, to see how much they had on file. So I did, and my record came back with nothing on it.

On my job application, I had to list previous addresses- I had recent addresses in a couple different counties (Arlington and Fairfax, VA). I also indicated on the application that I had no criminal record (as that was my understanding).

After being offered a position at the pediatric hospital, I later received a call saying the offer had been "recincted", because I had failed to disclose a certain misdemeanor conviction. I explained that I had a copy of my record from the State Police that had no such conviction on it. They explained to me that they had checked with the COUNTIES I HAD PREVIOUSLY LIVED IN, as indicated on my application.

So it turns out that although the state did not keep this on record, Fairfax County did indeed keep this conviction on record.

So I found another job at a great hospital (where I happily worked for 3 years, and met my husband, a doctor). From that point on, I never list a Fairfax County address as a previous residence (they only ask for last 3 years residences, anyway, and I moved out of that county a couple years before applying for these jobs).

To this day, I simply put "no" on those questions about previous convictions. I have had several jobs at agencies and hospitals, and this has never come up again.

I would suggest that you do what I did- request a copy of your record from the state police of wherever this happened. ALSO get copies of your record from the local county courthouses, so you know exactly what is on record and where. Then just don't list any previous addresses in any district where this may be on record (if that is possible).

If you still have concerns, consult with an attorney.

But seriously, I have had no problems, other than that one initial time.

[AmandaWIRN]

Lily, doing what you suggested would be lying on a job application. Not being honest about previous convictions is unprofessional, dishonest, unethical, illegal, and is grounds for termination. Even if you get away with it and get the job, if it is ever found out that you lied on your application, you'll be fired. I would encourage the OP to be HONEST on her application, rather than encouraging her to lie on it.......

[Lily78]

I simply followed the advise of my attorney.

As far as the state police were concerned, I had no convictions. This could have meant that the state police had expunged them.

I'm sure my employers did backround checks on me and found me to have no convictions.

Before going with the "honesty is the best policy" idea, I would suggest SPEAKING WITH AN ATTORNEY.