Health Sciences Criminal Background Checks

The hospitals and other clinical sites Wake Tech contracts with to provide clinical training or Work-Based Learning experience, under the direction of their accrediting bodies, require that all students and faculty who are assigned to their site provide a criminal background check to the college and that the college notify the clinical site of any individuals who have criminal records. 

The clinical and Work-Based Learning sites have the discretionary right to refuse to permit a student having a criminal record from receiving training in their facility and this determination is made by each of the sites individually, without input from the college.  Additionally, most clinical sites will not review or make a determination on pending cases that have not been resolved.

The term "criminal record" is understood broadly to include the conviction of any felony, misdemeanor crime or impaired driving and/or the dismissed charge of any felony, misdemeanor crime impaired driving, excluding minor traffic violations. The background check includes all counties of residence in the past 10 years from an applicant's residency history.

Students admitted to programs that require a clinical or Work-Based Learning component will be required to provide the college with an official criminal background check to meet the requirements of the clinical site. The criminal background check will be required when the applicant is conditionally admitted to the clinical portion of a Health Sciences curriculum. The college will direct this process by identifying the agency performing the check and maintain control of the information through the Health Sciences clinical compliance administrator. The cost of the background check process is subject to change. 

Once a student is conditionally accepted into the clinical portion of their program, he or she will be given written instructions to order and pay for the criminal background check and, if for Nursing students, fingerprinting. If the background check or fingerprinting process is not completed by the assigned deadline date, the student will be removed from his or her Health Sciences program.  

Nursing students: In addition to the criminal background check, students who have lived in North Carolina for less than five consecutive years will be required to be fingerprinted for a State Bureau of Investigation criminal check. There are additional fees associated with the fingerprinting process. Fees pertaining to the background check and fingerprinting are subject to change.

Convictions and/or charges for certain crimes and/or evidence of drug use may disqualify students from participating in clinical or Work-Based Learning experiences. Although an applicant's criminal background will not prohibit admission to a Health Sciences curriculum, the inability to participate in clinical or Work-Based Learning experiences would prohibit the student from progressing and completing the program. The following misdemeanor and/or felony charges, convictions or pending/deferred adjudication histories may disqualify an individual from course progression in a Health Sciences program because the student would not be eligible for clinical or Work-Based Learning placement:

• Registered sex offenders
• Crimes against persons (physical or sexual abuse, neglect, assault, murder, etc.)
• Moral turpitude (prostitution, public lewdness/exposure, etc.)
• Sale, possession, distribution or transfer of narcotics or controlled substances
• Observed or proven theft (larceny)
• Misapplication of fiduciary property or property of a financial institution
• Fraud/securing execution of a document by deception
• Impaired driving

If you have questions pertaining to the criminal background check or fingerprinting process, contact Clinical Compliance Administrator Barbara Smith at 919-747-0105 or [email protected].