Would a DUI impact licensure?

[psychRA]

If you get a DUI conviction before you apply for licensure, how will that impact your application? Or, if you're already licensed and are then get a DUI conviction, will you jeopardize your license?

One of my good friends has a boyfriend who likes to drink. No judgement here. All three of us are on internship or postdoc, so we haven't dealt with licensing yet. Problem is, he's also in the habit of drinking a decent amount and then deciding to drive them home. Now, I don't have a personal breathalyzer and can't say with certainty that he's over the legal limit on these occasions, but in my opinion, he is visibly impaired. When I'm there to witness this happening, I intervene and convince my friend to drive them home instead, or I give them a ride if she's been drinking as well. However, given that he's totally comfortable with the idea of driving, I assume that there are occasions when no one else steps up to intervene, and he ends up getting behind the wheel. In his view, he doesn't feel that his driving is impaired, and so he doesn't think that he's putting anyone in danger. And since he doesn't have to drive very far to get home, neither of them think that he's at risk of getting pulled over in that short distance, so they aren't worried about the legal risk either.

Obviously I can't do anything about this if I'm not there when it happens. Personally, I am extremely conservative when it comes to drinking and driving, and the thought of potentially harming someone else is enough to keep me from rolling the dice, but I know that not everyone has the same views. However, I wonder whether he's putting his license at risk; if so, maybe he'd be more likely to consider changing his behavior, since he's convinced himself that he's not going to cause an accident? Ultimately, my friend can't necessary change his behavior either, but she and her boyfriend have been talking marriage, so anything that he does to threaten his own career has the potential to affect both of them.

I know that the answer will vary by state. I'm not looking for an exact, detailed answer - just wondering if anyone thinks this is a potential concern for licensure. Of course, if you happen to know the answer in your state, please feel free to add that info.

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[WisNeuro]

I don't believe that it is an issue until it rises to the level of a felony. Although it speaks to his judgment that this is a recurrent thing. We do see DUIs on applications now and then. If they happened in the early 20's (college age) and it's just once, we can look past it. If it happens more than once, or it's well past the age where you know better, your application gets shuffled to the bottom.

I think the more pressing concern is about killing those in the car with him, or passengers in another vehicle. Who cares about licensure at that point? Maybe DUI would do him good and teach him a lesson before he actually hurts/kills someone.

 

[G Costanza]

Not every state considers a DUI/DWI a criminal offense. For those states that do not, they would never know unless the licensing board requested you driving history.

 

[WisNeuro]

I don't think the state that I applied for licensure in did a background check. But, most academic medical centers run one when you apply for a job, and any government job (i.e., the VA, largest employers of psychologists) will. That's where the DUI hurts you.