California takes steps to probe nurses' criminal backgrounds

California regulators have announced emergency measures to investigate the criminal backgrounds of all registered nurses in the state. Effective immediately, the state nursing board will ask all nurses renewing their licenses whether they have been convicted of any crimes in recent years, said Carrie Lopez, director of the California Department of Consumer Affairs. The Board of Registered Nursing must also develop emergency regulations to obtain fingerprints from all nurses licensed before 1990.