Prior arrest without conviction, affect hospital credentialing?

[arta22]

Hello all,
I have been lurking for sometime and I created an account in hopes someone can guide me. I'm going to be finishing my residency next June and am in good standing. Unfortunately, late last year I was arrested for assault after a complete misunderstanding (I had no criminal record prior to this and no other issues). The case was dismissed by the DA and my hospital is aware, there was no administrative action as I told my PD everything (she knows my temperament and knew this was a misunderstanding). I didn't have an obligation to tell the the medical board in my state nor did they ever ask. However, I still want to get this arrest record expunged which I can hopefully do in a few months.

I am looking into applying for jobs and moonlighting work as I need the extra income right now. Some of these positions require being credentialed with the hospital and I need to authorize background checks. I am concerned that this may come up and I may be denied privileges on the basis of a previous arrest record even if it did not result in a conviction. If that happens, then when I renew my license that question "have you ever been denied privileges" may come up?

Does this routinely happen? If an arrest did not result in any conviction, could this affect my ability to get credentialed and apply for jobs? My criminal defense attorney did not seem to think so but she does not have much knowledge about hospital credentialing, etc.

I should add that my license is in good standing and not affected by this. This had absolutely nothing to do with my practice of medicine.

Thank you for any input.

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[AdmiralChz]

Hello all,
I have been lurking for sometime and I created an account in hopes someone can guide me. I'm going to be finishing my residency next June and am in good standing. Unfortunately, late last year I was arrested for assault after a complete misunderstanding (I had no criminal record prior to this and no other issues). The case was dismissed by the DA and my hospital is aware, there was no administrative action as I told my PD everything (she knows my temperament and knew this was a misunderstanding). I didn't have an obligation to tell the the medical board in my state nor did they ever ask. However, I still want to get this arrest record expunged which I can hopefully do in a few months.

I am looking into applying for jobs and moonlighting work as I need the extra income right now. Some of these positions require being credentialed with the hospital and I need to authorize background checks. I am concerned that this may come up and I may be denied privileges on the basis of a previous arrest record even if it did not result in a conviction. If that happens, then when I renew my license that question "have you ever been denied privileges" may come up?

Does this routinely happen? If an arrest did not result in any conviction, could this affect my ability to get credentialed and apply for jobs? My criminal defense attorney did not seem to think so but she does not have much knowledge about hospital credentialing, etc.

I should add that my license is in good standing and not affected by this. This had absolutely nothing to do with my practice of medicine.

Thank you for any input.

You should have no trouble with your primary job - they might put you in a tighter probationary status to make sure you don’t go off the cuffs, but otherwise you’ll be good if you’ve got folks to vouch for you (e.g. the group you are joining).

Locums work gets a little dicier. Depends on how desperate the institution is to have you, to be honest. I’d guess over half will credential you but there’s a significant amount that probably wouldn’t. I’m not sure you’d be approved to join our medical staff by our credentialing board but we aren’t hurting for docs.

With such a recent arrest I’d probably advise against locums work for the short term.

 

[Raryn]

You should have no trouble with your primary job - they might put you in a tighter probationary status to make sure you don’t go off the cuffs, but otherwise you’ll be good if you’ve got folks to vouch for you (e.g. the group you are joining).

Locums work gets a little dicier. Depends on how desperate the institution is to have you, to be honest. I’d guess over half will credential you but there’s a significant amount that probably wouldn’t. I’m not sure you’d be approved to join our medical staff by our credentialing board but we aren’t hurting for docs.

With such a recent arrest I’d probably advise against locums work for the short term.

Really? Arrest but no conviction, anyone can be arrested for anything. There's a presumption of innocent until proven guilty in this country.

Honestly I think OP is fine. All he needs to do is write what he wrote here - that he was arrested, it was dropped, and there are no pending legal matters.

 

[arta22]

Really? Arrest but no conviction, anyone can be arrested for anything. There's a presumption of innocent until proven guilty in this country.

Honestly I think OP is fine. All he needs to do is write what he wrote here - that he was arrested, it was dropped, and there are no pending legal matters.

Thanks yes I hope this doesn’t affect me in the long run.

 

[AdmiralChz]

Really? Arrest but no conviction, anyone can be arrested for anything. There's a presumption of innocent until proven guilty in this country.

Honestly I think OP is fine. All he needs to do is write what he wrote here - that he was arrested, it was dropped, and there are no pending legal matters.

I should have read more closely. Arrest but no conviction and dropped you are likely OK - you’ll probably have to write letters explaining to the medical staff and credentialing board.

But arrest no conviction isn’t as strong and implies maybe they just didn’t have enough evidence on you. You’d still probably be OK with enough character letters and an agreement for close monitoring.

Arrest with pending litigation you’re out of luck.

The bottom 2 you’re probably not a great locums candidate at most hospitals.

 

[FalseVanilla]

I agree if it was dropped you should be fine based on the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. That said, there should be something legally admissible in writing somewhere in the notes or summary of the case for why it was dropped. I'd hold on to that and have multiple copies for future reference. Background checks can vary and you never know what's truly expunged and what's found; better to be prepared.

 

[Vandalia]

Having done credentialing a long time, an arrest without a conviction is generally not an issue. The only time it would be a concern is if it reflects a pattern of behavior, or there are collateral consequences; e.g., you might beat the legal case that you sexually abused a patient, but if you were fired, then that becomes the issue.

 

[arta22]

I agree if it was dropped you should be fine based on the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. That said, there should be something legally admissible in writing somewhere in the notes or summary of the case for why it was dropped. I'd hold on to that and have multiple copies for future reference. Background checks can vary and you never know what's truly expunged and what's found; better to be prepared.

All I have is a letter from my attorney that the case was dismissed but I don’t have any documentation that indicates the specifics or why it was dismissed. I would only be able to explain to them the circumstances which was a complete misunderstanding

 

[FalseVanilla]

All I have is a letter from my attorney that the case was dismissed but I don’t have any documentation that indicates the specifics or why it was dismissed. I would only be able to explain to them the circumstances which was a complete misunderstanding

That should be fine. Seems like Vandalia knows the process.

 

[Merely]

There’s nothing to explain there’s no question here..last year I was arrested for murder but then the charges were dropped..no one cares..anyone can be arrested for anything at anytime

 

[AdmiralChz]

There’s nothing to explain there’s no question here..last year I was arrested for murder but then the charges were dropped..no one cares..anyone can be arrested for anything at anytime

Well, OJ, I'm sorry to say you'd probably have trouble getting credentialed at my local community hospital. Maybe the academic center, though.

 

[Merely]

Well, OJ, I'm sorry to say you'd probably have trouble getting credentialed at my local community hospital. Maybe the academic center, though.

Have trouble for what?

 

[arta22]

Having done credentialing a long time, an arrest without a conviction is generally not an issue. The only time it would be a concern is if it reflects a pattern of behavior, or there are collateral consequences; e.g., you might beat the legal case that you sexually abused a patient, but if you were fired, then that becomes the issue.

No this was not patient related at all.

 

[FalseVanilla]

There’s nothing to explain there’s no question here..last year I was arrested for murder but then the charges were dropped..no one cares..anyone can be arrested for anything at anytime

Were the charges for murder dropped because the actual murderer turned themselves in and confessed or were they dropped because there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute or perhaps a mistrial? Circumstances and situation matter, especially when the word assault is involved.

I had a friend that applied for a license in Louisiana and thought he had a clean record. He was flagged and had to defend himself in front of the board for what he thought were just civil citations for "fishing without a license." For him, it was easy to explain and a funny story to tell. For someone that has to defend an arrest for assault is something more serious and employers have a right to know the details if it's discovered.

 

[arta22]

Hi all,
So I am looking into some opportunities for employment and some of the better fits are with the Correctional system. The only problem is that I am not sure with this arrest (not-sealed yet) whether or not this can be a hindrance to me successfully going through the background check process. Some of the places I want to work at for Per-Diem require a me to do a Livescan. I likely won't have this sealed until January so I am left in limbo regarding what to do. My concern is that if this does become an issue (my state is an at-will employment state, meaning they can refuse to employ me or terminate my employment for any cause), this could potentially lead to me being denied privileges. My concern is that if my application is denied, then it may leave more doors open for questions if I were to renew my license (i.e. has your application for hospital privileges ever been denied)? I feel like I should really consult with a licensing attorney as well as my criminal defense lawyer seems to think as my case was dismissed I have nothing to worry about. Any advice appreciated.

 

[seroquelmaxalt]

Hi all,
So I am looking into some opportunities for employment and some of the better fits are with the Correctional system. The only problem is that I am not sure with this arrest (not-sealed yet) whether or not this can be a hindrance to me successfully going through the background check process. Some of the places I want to work at for Per-Diem require a me to do a Livescan. I likely won't have this sealed until January so I am left in limbo regarding what to do. My concern is that if this does become an issue (my state is an at-will employment state, meaning they can refuse to employ me or terminate my employment for any cause), this could potentially lead to me being denied privileges. My concern is that if my application is denied, then it may leave more doors open for questions if I were to renew my license (i.e. has your application for hospital privileges ever been denied)? I feel like I should really consult with a licensing attorney as well as my criminal defense lawyer seems to think as my case was dismissed I have nothing to worry about. Any advice appreciated.

can we talk about what eventually happened>?