returning to nusing school at 30 something

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi, I am having a tough time with my choice to return to nusing school. I am wondering if it is worth pusuing my R.N status when I am almost 40. I have been a L.P.N. in canada for the last 6 years. We are really limited with our skills here. I work in two active medical hosp where all meds are given out by the R.N. I guess I just want to be able to give total nusing care to my patients, and in order to perform all nursing skills here you must be a R.N. I have found acouple of nursing schools on usa soil which offer 2year associate programs but I am not sure how long they will take to complete. I just wondered if any of you nurses out there had upgraded and how you found the work load between family and work obligations. AM I to old to consider this option? I welcome your opinions.

Go for it! One of the honor students in my class is 48 years old. You can do it!

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I say GO FOR IT!!!! I was 28 when I decided to be a nurse...and thought on my first day I would be the oldest fool there...unitl I met a 52 yr old grandma!!!!You are NEVER too old....and by the way..one of the best RN's I have ever worked with...was an LPN for 12 years. Best wishes!!!

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You cannot let age stop you...I personally feel that at 36 I'm more motivated to go to school and really learn. I do envy those who were able to go right to college from high school, but it is not always an option. Also, my life experiences have given me a better foundation to handle some of the courses I know take. How many 18 y/o understand life? Except for a very small percentage, they haven't experienced the day to day living that only experience provides. I think that your being a more mature student will help and it will also help you when you start on the job, because you will have a better picture of what the patient's needs may be, and many of those needs are not as much medical but just a sounding board. What does a 22 y/o new grad know about a patient in a cardiac unit due to stresses related to daily living. They would like to help, but it is not in their experience to have gone through some of those same daily stresses...

Sorry, I rambled, but I just feel that the worst thing you can do is use age as an excuse not to do something. Besides, going to school will make you feel younger...but you'll more likely come away with better grades.

Kris

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Hi there Carmen,

Just want to give you the same advice that my mom gave me 4 yrs ago, which in turn prompted me to go to nursing school(a career change). I think she got it from Ann Landers.

"would you rather be 40 and a nurse, or 40 and not a nurse" Think about it!

Well, I'm in my last year of a degree program and have never regretted it. Follow your heart Carmen, and all the best to you with your decision.

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Carmen, Do it. I graduated with my associate's degree in nursing when I was 21 years old. It took me another 15 years to complete my Bachelor's of Science Degree in Nursing at the age of 36. I then entered law school and graduated from law school at the age of 40. I do not regret any of it. You can do whatever you want. I have never heard of anyone regretting going back to school. I have heard of many people who regretted not going back.

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GO FOR IT! I JUST COMPLETED MY ADN PROGRAM IN DEC. I HAD MY FIRST SON IN MY FIRST SEMESTER OF COLLEGE, AND HAD MY DAUGHTER IN MY LAST SEMESTER. PLUS I WORKED 24 HRS A WEEK. YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO!

IT'S WORTH IT, AND IT FLY'S BY!!

GOOD LUCK!

AND YES YOU CAN BECOME A LACTATION CONSULTANT WITHOUT BEING AN RN...YOU WANT TO CONTACT THE LE LECHE LEAGUE OUT OF VIRGINIA....GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALSO!

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Carmen: I started nursing school when I was 42. The median age in my class was 35. My aunt graduated nursing school when she was 52. I agree that life experience is an asset. If you're looking for an excuse, girlfriend, age is not going to work. Best wishes.

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Carmen, it looks like everyone says go for it. I must say your peers are behind you. I'm in school and I was doing some research right now for a class when I came across your message. I want you to know that I have been at it now for four years, at six credits per semester. Next fall I will need to take nine credits so I can graduate in December. The university that I attend has a very high credit need to get my BSN. The first year I thought I was going to cry/die whatever! You see, I work full time, have my own home and farm with horses etc. and grade school age child. I'm ave. a 3.5 grade. No deans' list. But I'm doing it. I have given up alot. My child hates it!!!!!

I want this BSN because I believe that it will make a big difference in my near future. So before you jump, write down why you want this. Then when you want to give up, you can bring it out and remind yourself why you are doing this to yourself. GOOD LUCK.

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Specializes in ER.

Call me crazy but I think that it makes more sense for someone at 30 or 40 to start a career in nursing than someone in their 20's. You have more "life experience" and frankly nurses need a lot of that to be effective.

I graduated nursing school at 19 and I think my patients and families were shortchanged because I had yet to be humbled by life.

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I just wanted to say how great it was to read all of these postings. I just started school again at the age of 30. After years of working as a CNA, and being convinvced by an abusive now ex husband that I could never make it in college, I am now in my second semester and will apply to the nursing school in the fall of this year. I will be working on a double degree--nursing and psychology, with a minor in anthropology. Sure it is tough, but I am a lot more prepared now than I would have been earlier in my life. I know what a lot of the younger students do not, that this will be really hard work. But I also know that being a nurse is the thing that I have wanted for so long that if I did not follow my dream, I would not be a complete person. So all I can say is, follow your dream. For without our dreams, what do we have to live for??????????

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I WAS IN THE "TRADES" UNTIL I BECAME A NURSE (LVN) @ 32Y/0--NOW I KNOW MORE THAN ALL THE R.N.'S (FACT) BUT I WOULDN'T GO FOR MY R.N. I'M SORRY, BUT RN'S BECOME MORE MGMT. IN ATTITUDE VS PT. ADVOCATE---BESIDES, IF MONEY WAS THE POINT--I WOULDN'T BE HERE AS A MALE,I GET A LOT OF BITCHYNESS UNTIL THEY FIND OUT I KNOW MY STUFF-- & CAN FIX ANYTHING NOW IT'S IS HE ON?? OH, GOOD--THE OLDER=THE EXP YOU CAN GIVE! 17 YRS NOW (I'M 49) AND IT FREAKS NEW HIRES (RN TURNOVER) TO FIND I KNOW MORE,I DON'T RUB IT IN-- THEIR EMBARRASSED,& SEE THAT AGE CAN MEAN ADVANTAGE,I LOVE FOOLING PEOPLE--LOTS OF PTS STILL THINK I'M A DOCTOR SAYING I'M A NURSE, YOU DO WHAT YOU WANT B/CAZ YOUTH IS WASTED ON THE YOUNG(OLD SAYING) GO FOR THE LIMIT OF YOUR AMBITIONS TAKE CARE

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Why don't you check out some distance learning programs

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