Healthcare organizations must meet stringent requirements when it comes to hiring nurses and other licensed healthcare professionals. If you're a recruiter or a nurse manager, here's what you need to know: 

• • When hiring nurses, it's important to conduct a thorough criminal background check. The best service providers use several data sources to ensure accuracy, reducing the risk that you'll hire someone who's inexperienced or poses a danger to patients. 
  • Although national criminal searches are helpful, county databases typically have the most current information about criminal convictions. For best results, combine your national search with a state and county search. 
  • PreCheck has more than 25 years of experience partnering with healthcare employers, making it the best nurse background check service available. 
  • It's important to check a nurse's professional references and verify each piece of information in a CV or employment application. This includes current employment, previous employment, education/degrees, and license status. 
  • If you don't conduct thorough background checks, your organization may be subject to fines and other penalties. Therefore, it's important to partner with a service provider that offers healthcare sanction/exclusion checks. 

Registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and nurse practitioners play an important role in the success of any healthcare organization. Unfortunately, a nursing shortage makes it difficult for some facilities to maintain safe staffing ratios. 

One way to address this problem is to partner with a high-quality nursing background check service. These services speed up the hiring process, making it easier to deliver high-quality care. 

Recommended Reading: How You Can Solve the Nursing Shortage 

Table of Contents 

1. What Is a Nurse Background Check? 
2. Considerations for Choosing a Nurse Background Check Service 
3. PreCheck 
4. Checkr 
5. PreHire 
6. iprospectcheck 
7. DISA Global Solutions (Crimcheck)  
8. Nurse Background Check FAQs 

What Is a Nurse Background Check? 

A nursing background check is used to determine if a candidate meets the requirements for a nursing role with your organization. This type of background check is part of the hiring process for registered nurses, certified registered nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, licensed practical nurses, and other nursing professionals. 

The best background checks use multiple sources to determine if a nursing professional has any criminal convictions or license restrictions that would preclude them from providing direct patient care. Many companies also offer employment and education verification, making it easier to identify the most qualified candidates. 

Recommended Reading: Your Must-Have Guide to Healthcare Background Check Compliance 

Considerations for Choosing a Nurse Background Check Service 

Here are three things to consider when searching for the best nursing background check. 

Price 

Before you choose a service provider, make sure you understand their pricing structure. It's common to pay a fee for every background check you order, but some companies charge a monthly fee for unlimited checks. 

If you perform more than 50 background checks per year, you may be able to negotiate a discount, reducing the total cost of filling open nursing positions. 

Customer Support 

Many companies use automated processes to perform nursing background checks, but you should have access to an experienced customer service representative when you need it. Before you commit to a background check company, find out what type of support they offer, along with how long it typically takes to respond to client inquiries. 

Service Options 

Review each option carefully to determine what's included in a standard background check versus what's available for an additional fee. Some companies include license, employment, and education verifications in the cost of a background check, while others offer them as separate services. 

1. PreCheck 

Key Features: 

• More than 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry 
• Includes county, state, and national criminal records searches 
• Employment verification and license verification are available 

PreCheck is the best background check company for nurses due to its extensive experience in the industry. Staff members understand how important it is to use multiple data sources to assess potential employees. 

To help you improve your time-to-fill metric, the company offers fast turnaround times and comprehensive client support. PreCheck does thorough criminal history checks, verifies nursing licenses, and checks for healthcare sanctions and inclusions, making it easier to identify the most qualified candidates for your job openings. 

PreCheck also offers student background checks, making it easier to verify that student nurses are eligible for clinical placement at your facility. Overall, partnering with PreCheck enables you to mitigate risk and better meet your onboarding deadlines. 

Recommended Reading: 5 Ways to Increase Healthcare Student Engagement 

2. Checkr 

Key Features: 

• • Uses artificial intelligence to help recruiters and managers make better hiring decisions 
  • Comes with built-in compliance tools to help you reduce risk 
  • Provides a transparent process that makes applicants more confident in your organization 

Checkr offers a background check designed for nurses, physicians, and other licensed healthcare professionals. The company uses both county and national criminal records to determine if a candidate has any convictions that would prevent them from working as a nurse. 

To help you find the best employees, Checkr also conducts two professional reference checks, searches the global watchlist for sanctions/exclusions, and verifies each nurse's current employment, highest level of education, and professional license. 

Once Checkr completes a background check, you can view the results in an easy-to-read format, speeding up the decision-making process. In addition to its prehire services, Checkr offers drug testing, TB testing, and immunizations. 

3. PreHire 

Key Features: 

• • Integrates with several payroll systems and HRIS 
  • Offers background checks, drug testing, and identity verification 
  • Discounts available based on volume 

PreHire offers several investigative products designed to help you screen out candidates with criminal histories, healthcare sanctions, and other issues. 

The national criminal search has three components: a standard records search, a national sex offender search, and an Office of Foreign Asset Control Patriot Act search. 

In many cases, results are instant, but it may take up to 30 minutes if there are any hits on any of the searches. County checks take 24 to 48 hours, but they're more comprehensive than national checks, as county courts handle many misdemeanor and felony cases. 

PreHire also offers several products designed to help you determine if a candidate's personal history would preclude them from working as a nurse. For example, you may want to order a bankruptcy check or a credit check. 

4. iprospectcheck 

Key Features: 

• • Integrates with 12 HRIS for your convenience 
  • Conducts criminal history checks and several employment verifications 
  • Offers drug testing and employee health screening throughout the United States 

iprospectcheck provides comprehensive criminal background checks for employers in a variety of industries. The company uses county, state, and national records to ensure that you don't hire nurses who have criminal convictions related to theft, drug use, or violence. 

When you order a background check, iprospectcheck gives you the option of searching the OIG database for healthcare exclusions. This gives you an extra layer of protection as you work to find the most qualified nurses for your organization. 

iprospectcheck also offers several verifications to help you confirm the information provided by each candidate. For example, you can verify a nurse's professional license and past employment records to ensure they meet the minimum licensure and experience requirements for your job opening. 

5. DISA Global Solutions (Crimcheck) 

Key Features: 

• • Offers criminal background checks, employment verifications, and civil background searches 
  • More than 27 years in the industry 
  • Checks for misdemeanors, felonies, and federal offenses 

DISA Global Solutions, which previously operated as Crimcheck, offers custom criminal background checks to employers in the healthcare system, financial services, trucking, and other industries. 

To save you time, DISA allows you to create custom links for each candidate. Instead of spending time on data entry, you can send a link to each person and ask them to fill in the required fields. 

DISA also gives you the option to have candidates pay for their background checks. If management has tasked you with slashing hiring costs, choosing this option can help you reduce your prehire screening expenses. 

Additionally, the company does professional reference checks and verifies the license and employment information provided by each candidate. You can even request a civil records search to determine if a nursing professional has a concerning personal history. 

The Bottom Line 

A thorough background check is one of the best tools for identifying qualified nurses and verifying their employment eligibility. Before you choose a service provider, be sure to compare several options based on their pricing, service options, and customer support. 

Use PreCheck to Complete Comprehensive Nursing Background Checks 

PreCheck is the top choice for comprehensive background checks due to its extensive experience helping healthcare organizations find qualified employees. The company also offers drug testing, occupational health services, and other resources to streamline your hiring process.  

When compared to other companies, PreCheck offers the most comprehensive service, giving you extra peace of mind as you navigate the complexities of hiring nursing professionals. Speak to an expert to learn more about PreCheck and book a demo. 

Nurse Background Check FAQs 

Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about nursing background checks. 

Q: What Disqualifies Someone From Being a Nurse? 

A: Each state has unique licensing requirements, but criminal convictions related to theft, sexual assault, elder abuse, child abuse, and drug offenses typically preclude someone from obtaining employment as a nurse. 

A thorough background check can help you uncover these convictions, reducing the risk of harm to your patients and your organization's reputation. 

Q: Why Are Nursing Background Checks So Important? 

A: Background checks protect patients from coming into contact with employees who have serious criminal convictions. Therefore, they enhance safety and help patients and their family members feel more confident in your services. 

The right background check partner can also help you comply with state and federal regulations related to the employment of nursing professionals. Complying with these regulations reduces the risk that your organization will fail an audit or have to pay fines. 

Q: How Far Back Do Background Checks Go? 

A: It depends on what type of background check you perform. Standard checks typically go back 7 years, but you can do a more extensive background check if you're hiring licensed healthcare professionals.