For those planning to become a nurse in Ohio, at present, there are altogether eleven offenses which form automatic bars to your obtaining a nursing license. These offenses apply to those people who have entered a pre-licensure nursing education program after June 1, 2003.
Thus, the Ohio Board of Nursing (“Board”) cannot issue a nursing license to individuals that have pleaded guilty to, have been convicted of or has a judicial finding of guilt associated with any one of the offenses listed below:
- Murder, felonious assault, kidnapping, aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, sexual battery, rape, gross sexual imposition, aggravated arson, voluntary manslaughter or any other crime which is rather similar to these crimes in other states.
In addition to all this, there is a chance that the Board will propose to deny any applications which are made, will venture to place restrictions on any license which is granted for any convictions, will deny any judicial findings of guilt, will deny any judicial findings of guilt inthe applicant which had resulted from a plea of no contest, will deny a plea of guilty to and even deny any judicial findings of eligibility because the applicant had intervened in lieu of conviction in any of the following cases:
- Any crime committed involving gross moral turpitude or immorality, any type of felony which may not be an absolute bar, any violation of misdemeanor drug laws and any form of misdemeanor in the course of practice.
With regard to all these types of offenses, the Board finds it difficult to advise or even give any definite answer about the effects the applicant’s criminal history will have on the applicant’s ability and chances of obtaining a nursing license in Ohio State.
Moreover the Board cannot make determinations or adjudications till an application has been filed as they don’t have the authority to do this. In case the applicant does have a criminal history, the first thing that the Board does is to conduct a complete investigation.
While doing so, the Board considers various factors which include, but is not limited to:
- If the applicant has made a restitution, if the applicant has completed probation and has been rehabilitated, the age of the applicant while performing the offense, the total number of offenses the applicant had performed and its patterns and the facts and circumstances which surround the offense.
It should be known that though there is a chance that the Board may grant the applicant a license even though the applicant has a criminal offense history, due to the state laws, the applicant may not be able to, or be permitted to work in certain settings because of her/his criminal history.
This especially applies to those settings which require checking of criminal records before employing the applicant and where there is a chance of the Board imposing absolute or discretionary bars for employment in some patient care settings like in places where there are facilities or settings which involve taking care of older adults, children or disabled adults.
In addition to this, the Board does not have the authority to answer questions about one’s eligibility for attending nursing school or for participating in clinical instruction. As all the nursing programs differ in their enrollment criteria, it is recommended that any and all applicants first contact the nursing program to find out if they are actually eligible to enroll to the program.
Contact Chelle Law regarding questions associated with Ohio Board of Nursing Criminal Convictions.