Protecting Your Registered Nursing (RN) License!

Registered Nurses can face even harsher scrutiny than Physicians when it comes to be charged and convicted of a crime, even DUI. If you are a nurse, a single charge and/or conviction can result in discipline by the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN).

Nurses have a mandatory duty to report any conviction, or plea of guilty or no contest, within 30 days. A "conviction" includes the set aside or deferred entry of judgment pursuant to Sections 1000 or 1203.4 of the Penal Code, including misdemeanors, felonies, and even some infractions. It is not necessary to report a conviction for an infraction with a fine of less than $1,000.00, unless the infraction involved alcohol, such as DUI, or a controlled substance or substances. 

The Board determines rehabilitation pursuant to Business and Professions Code §§ 480 and 490, and Title 16 California Code of Regulations Section 1444, the Board of Registered Nursing, and Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians, utilize the following general criteria to determine satisfactory rehabilitation: 

• The nature and severity of the act(s) or crime(s) under consideration.
• Evidence of any act(s) committed subsequent to the act(s) or crime(s) under consideration.
• The time that has elapsed since commission of the act(s) or crime(s) under consideration.
• The extent to which the applicant has complied with any terms of parole, probation, restitution, or any other sanctions lawfully imposed.
• Evidence, if any, of rehabilitation.

B&P § 490 a mandates that "In addition to any other action that a board is permitted to take against a licensee, a board may suspend or revoke a license on the ground that the licensee has been convicted of a crime, if the crime is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the business or profession for which the license was issued." Thus making the need for an experienced DUI or criminal defense attorney that much more important.