Joseph,
Thank you for your question! I think there are a lot of people wondering what the best way to handle “old” convictions is and what the impact of the conviction would be on their future license.
Since this is a big investment of time and money for you to become a nurse, I also strongly suggest checking with the Bureau of Registered Nursing to make sure this wouldn’t impact your ability to get a license. Occasionally the rules change and sometimes, we don’t know the full scope of those changes. I will say that from what I understand, since the conviction is from some time ago, it would probably not impact your ability to get a license (assuming the crime did not involve loss of life, violence, etc.).
Securing a position would be the next challenge you run into and the conviction may make things a little more difficult.
This can be a tough area to provide advice within, mainly because different people react to different things in different ways. Some hiring managers think certain drug convictions are simply inexcusable; some will be more open to the circumstances.
Language on employment applications will also vary widely. Some will ask whether or not you have ever been convicted or a felony or misdemeanor some will specify convictions within the past 7 years, and some will only focus on felonies and not misdemeanors.
My general and simplest suggestion is to always be honest and upfront by disclosing everything. Generally this is better received by the employer vs. finding out later on their own. But please understand there may be the risk of someone reviewing your information that will apply a stricter standard than another reviewer at another company or unit/department might.
If you find your openness is causing a problem (i.e. you aren’t getting interviews), then you may want to look carefully at the language of the application and provide the specific information requested about convictions. If the application asks for any convictions regardless of time, I would definitely disclose everything, even down to traffic tickets. If it asks for felony convictions, then disclose only the felony, if it asks for disclose within a certain timeframe, the past 7 years for example, then I would disclose anything within the last 7 years, etc.
I wish you the best in your studies!
Mike

