Becoming an RN at 29

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I'm currently in the Ultrasound technologist program I love it an graduate next year :)

The thing is i've always had nursing in the back of my mind since grade school I want to go into it one day but by the time I finish my program i'll be 29 is that too old to go back for my BScN? I already have the pre-reqs so I could apply right away. I'm also thinking of taking RPN since it is only two years because of my age.

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29 is young.

Better question is why do you want to be a nurse? Ultrasound has better hours and staffing ratios than nursing. Staff there are rarely injured and I've never heard of anyone being assaulted there. Every unit I've ever worked on has had staff assaulted by patients.

How is the job market where you are? Nursing jobs are hard to find for new grads. Every ultrasound tech I've met has found work faster than new grad nurses

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Thanks for the reply ! I have always been curious as to what it's like to be a nurse and have always wanted to care for people.

I have heard in my area most new grads get hired in Ultrasound. I really like my program so far :) but I worry i'll get bored. Of course I haven't been out to clinical yet so that may not be the case!

I feel like there is so much opportunity in nursing and it could never be boring because you're so busy. I've just always had a strong interest in it although i've had a strong interest in Ultrasound as well.

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Nurses are the jack of all trades. Housekeeping duties are ours when the cleaners go home. Clerks duties overnight and when the clerk is on break. Physio is ours on weekends because PT only sees emergency or orthodox on weekends. This is in addition to looking after your patient needs.

Time management is critical. Nurses aren't busy, we are at times seriously overworked.

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Specializes in Oncology, critical care.

I started my BScN when I was 29 & even took a year off during that time. I didn't even hesitate or think my age was an issue. Why would it be "too old"?? It's your life, go live it and do all the things you want to do! Never too old! Life is too short to worry about such things. The program goes by SO FAST and that time will pass whether you're in it or not. If this is what you want, I say go for it.

Oh, and I wasn't even the oldest person in my program. There were several other "older" students -- some were on 2nd careers, others switching programs after years in one field, some were going back now that their kids were in school full-time, etc. Made no difference, they all finished (except one, but I don't think she realized what a time commitment the program was). I noticed the older students tended to get higher grades and work much harder than the youngest ones, it was interesting.

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You are never too old to follow what makes you happy. Remember that!

I started the RPN program at 36. I have one year of experience in LTC and now a few months before my 40th birthday I'll be starting the RN bridge and will be doing a masters sometime in the future. There were older people in my RPN classes. We had an HFO at work who graduated 2 years before me and 50 years old and loves what she does now.

A lot of us chose the RPN as a second career and if we really liked it some of us continue on to the RN. The RPN will give you asense of whether this is for you but if you're sure then I'd say go for the RN. The difference is RPN (2.5 years) add the bridge (3 years) as opposed to just 4 years going straight into the RN.

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Thank you very true there are all different ages i've seen in the BScN program :) I think i'm worrying about silliness.

Are you glad you ended up going into nursing?

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You are never too old to follow what makes you happy. Remember that!

I started the RPN program at 36. I have one year of experience in LTC and now a few months before my 40th birthday I'll be starting the RN bridge and will be doing a masters sometime in the future. There were older people in my RPN classes. We had an HFO at work who graduated 2 years before me and 50 years old and loves what she does now.

A lot of us chose the RPN as a second career and if we really liked it some of us continue on to the RN. The RPN will give you asense of whether this is for you but if you're sure then I'd say go for the RN. The difference is RPN (2.5 years) add the bridge (3 years) as opposed to just 4 years going straight into the RN.

Thanks for the reply! I was also thinking about going the RPN route. The RPN program here is only 2 years but I think it must be very condensed. I know alot of people in the program who love it. I was just scared away from nursing because i've heard so many people saying how hard nursing it is and talking about burn out rates.

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Specializes in Oncology, critical care.

Nursing is hard work, no question. As for burn out -- you can burn out in ANY career, not just nursing. The list of reasons are long but boils down to lack of balance and self-care. And when I say balance, I mean both work and home life. If you're working in a high-stress area (not all nursing jobs are crazy stressful, there is a continuum) and you have a high-stress home life, you are more likely to burn out, especially if you have no positive things to counter the stress. Some people might have a stressful job but work with awesome people and have a supportive manager. Other people balance their work stress with a lot of self-care (eating properly, getting enough sleep, learning to say no, having good support in family/friends, being involved in church or community, going for massages regularly, exercise, meditation, etc). It really depends on how you structure your life and what you chose to live with. It also depends on whether you are willing to seek out help for stressful work situations -- if you feel you are starting to burn out, would you seek out a counsellor to speak to? Would you take a vacation to recharge? Would you switch to a less intense area of nursing? Some people wouldn't, they'd rather keep things to themselves and try to tough it out. How you handle life stress plays a big part.

I have absolutely no regrets going into nursing at a later age. Even now, I was away from my job because of a work-related injury (violent patient assaulted me) and in order to go back, I have to do an RN refresher program. It sucks but it's not a big deal. It will go by fast and then I'll be back doing my thing. No regrets whatsoever!

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Of course 29 is not too old. Age has nothing to do with a career change or wanting to get a degree. I don't know where you live, but I did a 2 year after degree program (had a prev degree in business), and completed my BScN. good luck.

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You are definitely not too old. You'll probably live to be 85+ so how do you want to spend your life? Even if you were to retire around 65, thats 30+ years in your chosen career.

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