• DUI convictions cannot legally affect an LVN's license.dont mix image by FocalPoint from Fotolia.com
  
  Licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) in California help take patients' blood pressure and heart rate, and assist doctors. If an LVN is convicted of a DUI, this should not affect the nursing license. However, a conviction carries certain consequences for LVNs. Knowing these can help a person assess his options when looking for employment.
  
  

Specific Laws

• No specific laws address whether an LVN can still work and retain the license after receiving a DUI conviction. Certain laws govern the degree of the DUI, either felony or misdemeanor, a person receives, and this is what can affect his driver's license. Felonies carry higher penalties than misdemeanors. A person is usually only charged with a felony when he drives while inebriated and kills someone as a result.
  
  

Misdemeanor or Felony

• LVN applicants must consent to a background check. Though the DUI will appear in this check, what really matters is whether the DUI was a misdemeanor or a felony. The higher the degree of offense, the more this works against the chance of getting hired.
  
  

Legal Repercussions

• As a part of a punishment, the court may order a person to give up her driver's license and she may have to do jail time. This can affect her job because she is unable to go to work. This decision is made by her employer, not the law, but she must legally adhere to everything the judge mandates her to do.
  
  

Addictions

• If a person were under the influence of narcotics, he could lose his job and possibly both his driver's license and vocational nurse license depending on the degree of the crime (i.e., felony or misdemeanor). If he attends support groups and checks in with the courts regularly, he may still be able to retain his vocational nurse license, but this is not guaranteed.