Career Corner
Background Checks
What nurses should know about this step in the job application process
Once you’ve accepted a verbal job offer, a hospital will typically initiate a background check. Hospitals today conduct very thorough pre-employment screenings to help protect patient safety and avoid liability. Here’s what to expect.
What It Includes
A typical background check includes the following:
- Identity verification: confirming your name, Social Security number, address, and other details
- Reference checks and employment verification
- Education verification
- Criminal history: checking for felonies or misdemeanors in federal, state, and local records, and the national sex offender registry
- License verification: checking your licensing records with the BRN.
Reference Checks and Employment Verification
I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen a negative reference check. Candidates don’t list people who would give them a bad reference. Employers rarely reveal any information about former employees beyond basic details like dates of employment to protect the institution from defamation charges.
I have occasionally had higher-ups reach out “off the record” to a candidate’s former employers to ask if there were any problems with the candidate.
As a recruiter, I always discouraged this. In a few cases, stellar candidates were dropped because of accusations they never even knew about. This was one of my greatest regrets as a recruiter.
There are sometimes cases where an applicant lists a false employment history with jobs they never had. Fortunately, that doesn’t happen very often.
Education Verification
A background check will confirm the degrees and credentials you listed on your application. Here are the two most common problems I’ve run into at this stage:
- Outstanding fees: Often, an institution won’t confirm a nurse’s degree if the nurse still owes them money for tuition or fees. If you think you’re paid up and there’s still a problem, contact the registrar’s office.
- Degree not yet completed: An area where I’ve ended up having to rescind some job offers is where a nurse listed a degree they hadn’t yet completed. If you’re still working on a degree, don’t list it with the ones you already have.
Degree verification is necessary because a few applicants really do try to falsify their credentials. One of my most memorable experiences as a recruiter involved a nurse educator role that required an MSN degree. We offered the job to a candidate whose background check could only confirm her BSN. We hired her anyway, on the condition that we needed to verify her master’s degree within 10 days.
She finally presented us with a copy of a diploma that was the worst forgery I have ever seen. It was so bad that you could see the lines from where she taped the university logo onto it. I called the university myself and found out that she didn’t receive an MSN after all. Needless to say, we had to terminate her for falsifying her application.
Criminal Background Checks
Since 2018, California has had a statewide “Ban the Box” law that limits what employers are allowed to ask about or consider when it comes to an applicant’s criminal history. Some cities, including Los Angeles, now have similar laws, which also apply to jobs in their area.
The rules for criminal background checks are too complicated to explain here, but if you have past arrests or criminal convictions, you should talk to a legal professional about the rights these laws give you, and what an employer is required to do if they think your history is disqualifying.
License Checks
Before hiring you, hospitals will verify your nursing license status with the BRN. Your BRN record will include the following information:
- License status: whether you have a full unrestricted license to practice or if your license is expired, denied, or subject to license actions such as probation or suspension
- Drug screening results
- Federal exclusion list (OIG, GSA, SAM) status, verifying that you are not barred from government healthcare programs.
Since nurses in California are required to report convictions and license discipline, that information is also available in your BRN record. If there are any flags on your RN license, my advice is to be 100 percent honest. Remember that the recruiter can easily see the information in your BRN record. I have had candidates try to tell me very different things than the records I had in front of me.
The license issue might not be disqualifying, but the dishonesty definitely will be.
Timeframe
Clearing a background check can take 7–10 business days. You can help to streamline this process by providing all your licenses, degrees, and certifications when you apply.
Also, while it sounds obvious, double-check all the information on your application and resume. I have sometimes had to delay a candidate’s hire date because of confusion about simple details (like using a shortened name) or typos in their employment or degree dates. If the info you give the employer is correct and complete, the background check will go much more smoothly.
LEVELL ROMEYN has 28 years’ experience as a nurse recruiter at various Southern California hospitals
In this Article: Career Advice, Job Search Advice
