I would like to know if you think I should still persue my career nursing even though I have two misdomenors?

Question

I have one in theft and one in failing to appear in court. What do you think? And how long is this going to be on my record? And can I get it expunged because I really want to work in the nursing field.

Answer 1

The Nursing Board in your state can tell you the exact answer to your question. Here is some information that may help you:
Most individual crimes won't keep you out of any field. If you committed a crime that bears heavily in one field, you may be prevented from entering or returning to that field. For example, you mentioned a theft. If you wanted to work in a bank, you might have a harder time finding a job in that field. But the time that has passed since the crime occurred, and your age at the time the crime was committed make a difference.
In most states, only juvenile offenses are sealed. All adult crimes remain public record. You can also ask officials where your crime was committed if this is true for your area. They will be glad to answer this for you.
Next, you mentioned your crime was a misdemeanor, most of those are easily forgiven. Just don't lie about it on a job application, that is grounds to be fired, even if they would have given you the job anyway.
Finally, in nursing people need to be sympathetic to others. Your experience can actually help you to understand the feelings of your patients. If your offenses come up in your job interview you can even mention that. Letting a future employer know you understand you made a mistake, and have corrected your judgement can work in you favor. That builds strength in people. We all have something in our lives we weren't proud of, and we have grown from it. I think you'll be fine, probably better.