If you are a Waco nurse facing a charge of driving while intoxicated (DWI), you face different challenges than someone who may work in construction or as a retail store clerk.
The problem that you face is that a conviction can impede your ability to earn a living in your chosen field because your nursing license is likely to be on the line after being arrested for DWI.
Health care professionals held to stringent standards
In many professions, what you do and how you comport yourself when not on the clock is largely up to you. Unless your behavior or actions are especially egregious or cause you to be featured in a YouTube video that goes viral, many employers take no interest in their employees’ off-work activities.
Such is definitely not the case for nurses in Texas who get apprehended for allegedly drinking while driving.
What repercussions could you face if convicted for a DWI?
In most if not all cases, the state Board of Nursing will convene to review your case and determine the fate of your nursing license. In some circumstances, you might face limited censure that requires you to be monitored at all times while carrying out your duties. You could be forced to enter and complete an inpatient rehab and have to attend AA or NA meetings in order to continue working.
In other cases, however, your nursing license could be in permanent jeopardy. This is why it is vital to launch a robust defense to the charges you face.
Your employer could also impose penalties
Even when there is no official censure from the state, your employer’s internal policies may dictate strict consequences that could see you lose your job.
Don’t try to hide your arrest or conviction
With these serious penalties hanging over your head, you may be tempted to try to hide the arrest from your employer and/or the Board of Nursing.
This is a universally bad idea. While in the distant past it may have been possible to keep such information under wraps, we live in an age where information about everyone is only a mouse-click away. There is little chance that you would succeed in this endeavor. Simply trying to hide a DWI arrest could indicate duplicitous behavior that renders you unfit to care for patients.
It is far better to be transparent and forthcoming about your arrest while simultaneously working with your criminal defense attorney to acquit you of the charges you face.
