The Student Room Group

Police Caution and Becomming a Nurse

Hi there,

I have a question which I hope can be answered with a degree of accuracy here. It is regarding a police caution which I accepted 2 years ago while at University (studying English): I was caught with a personal amount of class C substance and arrested, and subsequently offered a caution for Posession of an ilicit substance, which I accepted (unaware of what the implications would be). Now, in my current situation this is a worry, because after much hard thought and voluntary work experience, I have been advised to train to become a mental health Nurse, which I see as a perfect career move for me for an unlistable amount of reasons.. However, no-one I have spoke to knows about this police caution because I quite frankly see it as an irrelevant and silly mistake which would only end to people judging me unfairly - let's be honest - a lot of people at university have experimented with illegal drugs, but unfortunately I got caught. Now I have no other experience with falling short of the law and have never been accused of anything immoral or untoward in my life - people would describe my character as loving, altruistic, empathetic and dedicated. I have never been violent or abusive and you could say I am a big softy who is fascinated with the everything about the mind (hence my experimentation with drugs - it was supposed to be a positive experimentation!)... Anyway, sorry I am rambling on a bit. What I would like to get advice on is how will this affect my chances of getting accepted on to a Nursing (Mental Health Specialised) degree program?

I have lots of voluntary experience in a whole host of care situations, and generally a positive CV and resume. Please, I hope the responses are positive (but realisitc of course).

Many thanks x

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Reply 1
As long as youre honest about it, it shouldn't be an issue. It will come up on your CRB, so pointless not mentioning it and to do so will screw u up. Lots of people I know have had previous convictions but have explained them and got on the courses. It will b something you'll need to explain throughout your career as it will always come up unless it was an unofficial one, you'll find out when CRB'ed :smile: good luck


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Reply 2
Original post by Apzzz79
As long as youre honest about it, it shouldn't be an issue. It will come up on your CRB, so pointless not mentioning it and to do so will screw u up. Lots of people I know have had previous convictions but have explained them and got on the courses. It will b something you'll need to explain throughout your career as it will always come up unless it was an unofficial one, you'll find out when CRB'ed :smile: good luck


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Thanks for the informed reply! I appreciate it. I fully intend to be completely honest and accepting of my situation with regard to the Universities. Do you think the NHS will be a harder institution to convince of my proper nature in working in hospitals?
Reply 3
Again, it's just honesty. It is one conviction with a bit of weed. How old are? That to, will be a consideration. I really wouldn't worry. If you are worrying ring the universities and ask. I have a friend who was convicted for drug related crimes and it was more a class A addiction issue. That person is a nurse now but she did have to fight for her place but only cos they considered her high risk. She did struggle to get a job but she done it. Your procession was quite miner in comparison.


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Reply 4
Thanks for the reply. I was 21 and the substance I was caught with was Ketamine (class C). Oh well, I guess all I can do is be positive and honest, like you say. :smile:
Reply 5
Original post by MarsVolta
Thanks for the reply. I was 21 and the substance I was caught with was Ketamine (class C). Oh well, I guess all I can do is be positive and honest, like you say. :smile:


Ketamine? Do you have a horse? If so, you can claim it was for a legitimate purpose.
Reply 6
Original post by Fires
Ketamine? Do you have a horse? If so, you can claim it was for a legitimate purpose.


hehe... i like your thinking. I knew someone while at uni who took ketamine and mounted a horse for a few seconds, before falling off and breaking his rib. strange, strange chemical.
Reply 7
Original post by MarsVolta
hehe... i like your thinking. I knew someone while at uni who took ketamine and mounted a horse for a few seconds, before falling off and breaking his rib. strange, strange chemical.


Lulyez, that's so funny! HAhahahahah! Anyway, call me old fashioned, but personally I wouldn't want to be nursed by someone who shoots up horse medicine to get high. Just a personal preference.
Reply 8
Original post by Fires
Lulyez, that's so funny! HAhahahahah! Anyway, call me old fashioned, but personally I wouldn't want to be nursed by someone who shoots up horse medicine to get high. Just a personal preference.


Are you doing ok? You seem like you're letting off quite a bit of steam there... Anyway, I think your personal preferance would be shared by quite a few - good health is generally a demanded quality in a health professional :smile: - Also, why do you bring up "injecting"?
Reply 9
Tbh i think it will really harm your application. They have plenty of candidates to choose one and possession of a class c drug isnt going to go down well.

Sorry bud.
Reply 10
Original post by james1211
Tbh i think it will really harm your application. They have plenty of candidates to choose one and possession of a class c drug isnt going to go down well.

Sorry bud.


Thanks for your opinion, I had considered what you brought up. There is actually a high demand for nurses, and it is not nearly as competitive as you might think - people tend to go in to the higher paid branches of medicine when deciding on a career in health care. I'm going to go for it I think, and there may be some setbacks of course, but that's understandable as it is a job of high responsibility. The poster above mentioned she knew people with more severe drug convictions who have ended up in Nursing, so that's what I needed to hear really. Btw, no need to be sorry, you haven't done anything wrong have you?
I got a warning when I was like 15 for underage alcohol and it was off my record after 24 months.

As long as you haven't been convicted doesn't it come off your record?
Reply 12
Original post by Jackasaurus Rex
I got a warning when I was like 15 for underage alcohol and it was off my record after 24 months.

As long as you haven't been convicted doesn't it come off your record?


It's a caution, which is not the same as a conviction, because the issue never went to courtt - instead I admitted guilt of the offence and was given a caution. It will be spent in 2 years which means on a standard CRB check it won't show up, but on an enhanced CRB check it will always come up. That's not the issue as I'm planning on telling my employers, I just wanted to know whether minor criminal records are a big issue when training to be a nurse, and it seems they are not particularly, but are going to need explaining.
Hi just wanted to reassure you MarsVolta...i got caught 4 years ago with cannabis (also class C) and applied to study a nursing degree at uni this autumn. I got accepted onto the course and i got summoned to a panel meeting last week to discuss my CRB. They grilled me on where and how I got caught, if I am still smoking it etc etc and I have been allowed to start the course provided that I produced 2 'satisfactory' references. I, like you have worked voluntarily and paid in healthcare jobs which deffo helped support my case. They told me it will always come up when applying for nursing jobs but you will usually always get to explain yourself. Basically do not worry, if becoming a nurse is your dream and they can see that you will be absolutely fine just remember to declare it. Oh and a caution is actually a conviction. Sounds silly I know but trust me it is, I found out the hard way when applying for a healthcare job. Hope this helps.
Reply 14
Original post by kittyjones23
Hi just wanted to reassure you MarsVolta...i got caught 4 years ago with cannabis (also class C) and applied to study a nursing degree at uni this autumn. I got accepted onto the course and i got summoned to a panel meeting last week to discuss my CRB. They grilled me on where and how I got caught, if I am still smoking it etc etc and I have been allowed to start the course provided that I produced 2 'satisfactory' references. I, like you have worked voluntarily and paid in healthcare jobs which deffo helped support my case. They told me it will always come up when applying for nursing jobs but you will usually always get to explain yourself. Basically do not worry, if becoming a nurse is your dream and they can see that you will be absolutely fine just remember to declare it. Oh and a caution is actually a conviction. Sounds silly I know but trust me it is, I found out the hard way when applying for a healthcare job. Hope this helps.


However, there's a bit of a difference between cannabis and ketamine. It is relatively easy to obtain ketamine in comparison to cannabis in certain clinical areas, which may influence people's attitudes when asking about this caution. Also, even though it's class C, there's more of an acceptable view of having the odd toke of cannabis than there is of using ketamine.

Original post by MarsVolta
x


OP, I get what you are saying about your character and how you feel you may be judged due to this caution, it's possible they might do, you will just have to sell yourself and show that you are the person for the job. People get places on courses with records for all sorts if they can show they are the right person for the job and not malicious, but it may be a bumpy ride for you.
(edited 11 years ago)
OP, I had something on my police record. The important thing is to be completely open and honest about what happened and being able to prove you've learned your lesson. Maybe offer to do a drugs test to prove you don't take anything anymore?

Good luck though, it's horrible waiting to hear if a stupid mistake is going to ruin everything.
Hi just wanted to reassure you MarsVolta...i got caught 4 years ago with cannabis (also class C) and applied to study a nursing degree at uni this autumn. I got accepted onto the course and i got summoned to a panel meeting last week to discuss my CRB. They grilled me on where and how I got caught, if I am still smoking it etc etc and I have been allowed to start the course provided that I produced 2 'satisfactory' references. I, like you have worked voluntarily and paid in healthcare jobs which deffo helped support my case. They told me it will always come up when applying for nursing jobs but you will usually always get to explain yourself. Basically do not worry, if becoming a nurse is your dream and they can see that you will be absolutely fine just remember to declare it. Oh and a caution is actually a conviction. Sounds silly I know but trust me it is, I found out the hard way when applying for a healthcare job. Hope this helps.
Reply 17
Original post by moonkatt
However, there's a bit of a difference between cannabis and ketamine. It is relatively easy to obtain ketamine in comparison to cannabis in certain clinical areas, which may influence people's attitudes when asking about this caution. Also, even though it's class C, there's more of an acceptable view of having the odd toke of cannabis than there is of using ketamine.



OP, I get what you are saying about your character and how you feel you may be judged due to this caution, it's possible they might do, you will just have to sell yourself and show that you are the person for the job. People get places on courses with records for all sorts if they can show they are the right person for the job and not malicious, but it may be a bumpy ride for you.


Thanks, this is good advice! I reckon you're right about the difference between ketamine and cannabis as well - they might acknowledge it is easier to obtain tranquilizer type drugs in hospital settings, but if they are convinced I am no longer experimenting with illegal drugs hopefully it won't be an issue. Here's hoping :smile:
Sorry didn't mean to post that again!
Reply 19
Original post by kittyjones23
Hi just wanted to reassure you MarsVolta...i got caught 4 years ago with cannabis (also class C) and applied to study a nursing degree at uni this autumn. I got accepted onto the course and i got summoned to a panel meeting last week to discuss my CRB. They grilled me on where and how I got caught, if I am still smoking it etc etc and I have been allowed to start the course provided that I produced 2 'satisfactory' references. I, like you have worked voluntarily and paid in healthcare jobs which deffo helped support my case. They told me it will always come up when applying for nursing jobs but you will usually always get to explain yourself. Basically do not worry, if becoming a nurse is your dream and they can see that you will be absolutely fine just remember to declare it. Oh and a caution is actually a conviction. Sounds silly I know but trust me it is, I found out the hard way when applying for a healthcare job. Hope this helps.
Thankyou for your informed response, I really appreciate it! I just wanted to ask, are you sure a caution is the same as a conviction? I have searched around online and can only find sources which suggest it is not the same as a conviction. In no way am I trying to act down the offence here, but I think there has to be a fair distinction made between prosecution by a court and accepting a warning from a police seargant.

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