Much Older People Going Into Nursing

Nursing Students General Students

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iread the forums and see alot of really older people who are like 45, 50, nearly 60 talking about taking pre reqs to be a nurse. If you are that old, you only have about what 10 years left to work or less for those who are older. Why chose such a physically demanding profession when you are in your twilight years? nursing needs people who are young and still in their prime. Thats just how i feel. When I"m 50, I want to be retired, planting flowers, and relaxing looking after my grandkids. Not on the floor looking after sick people with crazy demands.

Specializes in Pediatrics, Geriatrics, LTC.

Wow...spoken like someone who has no clue. Being 50 is not old at all. Since you've never been 50 how do you know what its like or what you will want to be doing! Such an opinionated post and no reason for it. MYOB

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I am both a nursing student AND a grandmother. I love being a g'mom but I don't consider it a "profession" or a signal that I don't have many, many years of health and vitality in which to enjoy using my talents and skills to help others. I've always lived in America and cannot speak to the culture of others, but I am very happy to live in a time when I can be a wife, a student, a friend, a mother, a grandmother...and just about anything else I darn well please.

Life is good!

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I figured this would be a flame fest closed down by now. LOL

Actually, for some people whom are over 50 and considering a career in nursing I ask them a few questions. #1 how is your health? - do you have a good strong back, good knees, and a healthy weight? #2 - how long do you intend on working and is the thousands of dollars investment really worth it. #3 - how bad do you want it? - cause it's probably going to be one of the most difficult things you've done.

I don't want to discourage older students, but one can't go into lightly thinking "I've always wanted to be a nurse, it's my calling" because the harsh reality of a 12-hour stressful shift on a 50something year old body that's not in good health can be brutal. Not all 50 year olds are marathon ready - too many have lead sedentary lives and need to get into shape.

I've seen posts from people "I'm 50 years old and I want to be a nurse, but I have a bad back, hypertension, am diabetic and weigh 400 lbs and can't do floor nursing. Can I be a nurse? " and people have the nerve to say "go for it!!!". Not that there aren't those types in nursing, there are.

On the other hand, our "twighlight years" can be one of extremely good health, vitality and productivity and the timing might be right to start a 2nd career. Everyone is different.

You've hit the nail on the head.

You can do anything you want (if you have the intelligence and money). But does it really mean that you should?

I shudder when I hear of people 60+ starting school. They'll be nearly 65 by the time they graduate. How many years do they really have ahead of them in the workforce? How many employers want to hire a nurse of that age? Are they willing to shelve their ego and start out as the "new" kid?

I'm 50 and figure I have maybe five years left in me as a bedside nurse. The patients are getting bigger and more demanding. My knees hurt, my back hurts, I'm tired. I only can think of ten nurses older than me on my service and I work in a huge hospital.

I don't have grandkids yet, my oldest would get a smack on the head if he made me a grandma. But retire now? No, I'd get bored. But I know my limits. Three shifts a week max.

The OP is young but she does have a few valid points. Nursing schools should be looking at the big picture, pupils ages not just their academics.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
You wouldn't, by any chance, be related to, or best buddies with that "cutiepie nurse" who wants to go into nursing to marry a doctor?? Seems like the same similar "off the wall" point of view! But, yes, you are surely entitled to your point of view!

Yes, it does have a high ratio of provocative phrases per paragraph length, so I held off my eyebrow-scorching reply :angryfire just for a bit, but I may reconsider. :D

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Specializes in ICU.

Considering that the OP comes from a different culture where it is quite likely that 50 there is equivilant to 70 or 80 here, her comments don't seem quite as insulting as they first did.

I will say I have taken away some good from this thread! It makes me want to take care of my body now, so that at 50, I feel like I can handle a lot more than watering my flowers and watching my grandkids run around. I hope I am running right along with them and that my hobbies include something a little more physically demanding like skiing or jogging :pumpiron:

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When I"m 50, I want to be retired, planting flowers, and relaxing looking after my grandkids. Not on the floor looking after sick people with crazy demands.

Go ahead and plant your flowers. I am 42, just finished the first semester of an ADN RN program and I am running circles around my younger peers.

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I am 43 and just finished my 2nd semester of nursing school. I went to school for chemistry when I was in my 20s. Earned a PhD in polymer science. I had a corp job in 1995. From the day I started there, the place was downsizing. I worked there about 3 yrs. Corp was not for me. I knew my days anywhere were numbered due to the trend toward downsizing. I got a teaching credential in my 30s. Nobody wants to pay a teacher w a PhD. I worked for 4 yrs and did not get tenure at the 2 schools where I worked. The discipline and behavior problems were not my cup of tea. I am presently an ice skating coach which is a great job, but essentially part-time and really hard to earn a living in a down econo.

I have thought about RN since my husband had a triple bypass in 2003. So I finally took the plunge and am becoming a nurse in my 40s. I love nursing. When I was younger, I may not have been able to handle the rigors of RN school. IMO, it is more rigorous than getting a PhD. I will also have better job opportunities and can live anywhere. I will also earn about what I earned as a corp scientist w a doctorate.

There are many ppl my age and older in my class. We are good students. We work hard and appreciate what we are doing and the oppy to do it. I'm not saying younger RN students don't. However, many younger students are not passing and have lower grades than the older ppl.

Last spring, I had to take the semester off to care for my dad who had terminal cancer. I was able to care for him competently. This exp reinforced how much I am committed to RN. My goal is to become a visiting and/or hospice nurse. I feel that my life exp brings a lot to my potential as a RN. It is never too late to do what you want to do w yourlife regardless of what you have done in the past. My resume reads like the script for a variety show, but I have chosen to look at that as a good thing. I can hardly wait to start my career as a RN at the age of 44. I may even decide to teach nursing in the future since I have teaching exp. If RN school takes 2-4 yrs, you are going to be 2-4 yrs older anyway if you do not follow your dream. I'd rather be 44 and nursing than 44 and not nursing.

Kay

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Specializes in Chiropractic assistant, CNA in LTC, RN.

I'm almost 46 and have a 91 year old mother to care for an almost 8 year old and an almost 12 year old. I just passed my boards this month and am anxious to begin a new career, one that I truly will enjoy. I hardly think I am in my "twilight years". There are also very few 50 year olds out there that are doing nothing all day but planting flowers. I happen to think life experience and maturity goes a long way in making a good nurse as well.

I don't think your patients would like being referred to "sick people with crazy demands."

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Our options as nurses aren't limited to bedside nursing. It's possible to do bedside nursing for a few years (or however long one wishes) and then do something else. We need nursing educators!! One of my classmates is in school for the purpose of getting into nursing education. "Old" age isn't a reason to prevent one from getting into nursing.

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LOL, I've curled 200 lbs and ran marathons, and the only reason I can't do it now is no time to train. I'm working on my 5th degree, and have 2 - #1 rated in the world engineering school degrees.

Young people have the biggest advantage with GPA's. Older people, with multiple degrees or even just experience and wisdom, have advantages that will embellish their careers. High turnover vs. tenacity. What the thread owner suggests is a sure way to die. You don't use it, you lose it. Since engineering school, I have never stopped learning in or out of school.

The way I see it is why would young people that have never experienced what life has to offer want to settle down into a career if they don't have other disciplines to draw from and compete with (school, careers, experience, wisdom)? Its competitive baby (like Tele Savalis says), and I maintain around 3rd best average per class. Do you want me to move over for people with lower grades and don't have complementary engineering expertise to accelerate this industry? RN's are top of the heap from my experience. I got top 1% in Nation in NET (Nursing Entry Test). Do you want me to roll over for someone who took it 3 or 4 times just to pass, only because they are younger? Let me think about it and I'll get back to you.

Learn from my wisdom. Party your brains out, live, and learn what life is all about. If not, you will never have your immortal God-like years again. Then as you build up disciplines and learn how to take care of yourself, see how much more rewarding Nursing will be. Otherwise, you may pick up a nosocomial disease from not paying attention (100% of the time), and waste your precious career and/or life. Nursing is helping others above and beyond yourself. Thinking otherwise will get you and others hurt. The schooling never quits, every patient interface could be your last in this career: the Lord invented a terrible thing when he (or she) invented stress.

The 50% plus of the classes who fail are not the older students (which are NOT a minority either or you would not have posted this minutia), its almost exclusively the younger students failing. AND by you already having the GPA advantage, AND WANTING your (best) competition to quit, you may be a borderline student. Who do you want to trust your life with? You will likely party your brains out regardless: its in the human genome. But once you are blacklisted in the medical industry, there is not more retakes. You are out for good. Think about it :coollook:

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.

I just have to say, the generalizations against younger people are no better then the generalizations against the older people. (I can say that since I am middle aged and all LOL) just wanted to point that out, both are wrong.

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Sedentary? It's been my understanding that the younger generation fits the overweight/underactive label. Heck, you guys spent your childhood/teen lives indoors with digital entertainment, osteoporosis hello. I am 46, and pretty confident in my a.. kicking abilities. Also age/experience brings confidence. You itty-bittys are just gonna have to work all the harder to catch up.

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