New Here,Olders Nurses to Be??

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hi! My name is Gwen and I am 38 years old and looking forward to beginning a career in Nursing soon. I have always been interested in Obstetrics so think I might pursue either a Certified Nurse Midwife or a Womens Health Nurse Practitioner. I obtained my GED in 1997 and made alternate status at that time in the LPN program,however I want to pursue an Associates Degree at my local community college. I know that I require Gen Ed Courses in Language, Math and Chemistry before applying to the Nursing Program. Would my age make a difference in whether I would be chosen as a candidate for the program? Am apprehensive about the pre-enterance exam. Is there anywhere I can brush up on my skills for this exam? Thanks!

Gwen

Hi there!!

Your age will have NO effect ( one way or another) on you not getting in...I say by all means GO for it!!!!!!!!!

Congrats and best wishes

Anna

Hello Gwen and welcome to allnurses. A lady in my class is in her late 40s. It is never too late to start someone that you like. Go for it! Good luck to you.

Hi Gwen:

I am 39 and finishing up my pre req.'s. I did a search on-line to get some information on pre-algebra because of the entrance test. I did not think that I had to take it since I had a degree but they make all take it to compare the score to others to pick who gets in. I still need to take it sometime this summer but since I despise algebra and did not retain it in my long-term memory, I found some study sheets when I did a search. Good luck to you!

Welcome! I'm 43 and entering 2nd year of 4. I would definitely say GO FOR IT!

Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

Hi, Gwen! :welcome: to allnurses!

My mom was around 50 when she went to LVN school in California. She worked until she was 68! They had to practically drag her out of the hospital and force her to retire. The fact is that the statistical breakdown by age of the licensed nurses who are currently working shows that your age group and mine are the two largest running. I really have to find some articles online that I can quote you all so you know I'm telling the truth since this subject comes up all the time on this forum.

For theresa1166. . .For lots of online practice problems in math that you can access for free you can use http://www.interactmath.com/ You need to click on the "Enter" button. The next page has a drop down menu that asks you to chose a textbook (there are so many to chose from). My recommendation is that for pre-algebra or elementary algebra that you chose Martin-Gay: Pre-algebra, 4e, ENHANCED or Martin-Gay: Beginning Algebra, 4e, ENHANCED as these are the most recent versions of her textbooks. When you select the book you want, an Installation Wizard window opens. You will need to download two drivers onto your computer (it's free) in order to use the math software. Once these drivers are loaded, you close the installation wizard and you will be into the practice problems. You use the drop down boxes to chose a chapter, section and objective within each section. As you chose these, links to problems come up. Once you are in the problems they will usually keep coming up until you reach the end of a section. The program usually allows you to correct a wrong answer two or three times before finally giving you the correct answer. You can ask the program to show you how to work each problem out step by step and ask for similar problems before moving on. You can go backward, forwards or just about anywhere else you want to go within the section of problems you are working on. This is without a doubt one of the best tutorials and programs of practice problems I have ever worked with and I used it for trig! If you do not like these, there are plenty of other textbooks by other authors to chose from. Just read through the list and try them out. I mention Martin-Gay because when I was re-taking my algebra, geometry and trig my school used her textbooks and videos. You can buy her videos through someplace like Barnes and Nobel or directly from the publisher. She explains and demonstrates things very clearly and much more slowly than any other math lecturer I've heard.

Hey Gwen, welcome! I'm 39 and have 2 years of part-time pre-reqs to go before I can apply for entrance into my community college's ADN program. Like you, I have my sights set on graduate study (anesthesia) so am in for the long haul. In all of my dealings with college admin and professors, both at my community college and those specifically associated with its ADN program, I have felt nothing but support as a mid-life returning student. Best of luck to you :)

Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.

Daytonite:

I read quite a few of your posts and you're definately a great asset on this site, particularly for online resources!!

I have a question for you along this topic of being an older student....I turned 50 in December, am a little overweight (30 lbs.?), but otherwise healthy and have no physical limitations.....

I start nursing school in the Fall ....what are the physical concerns an older nurse might need to be concerned about...one of the reasons I am switching careers and chose nursing is I HATE sitting in a cube all day and need to be much more physical...sitting is not something I do well....but I worry about my back and will I be able to do the lifting (upper body strength has NEVER been my forte!), making beds (I have a hard time with the king here at home sometimes) and whatever else I haven't even thought about!!!

Can you shed some light? I am probably worrying about nothing, but of all the things I worry about in this field, that's probably the biggest for me....I know I don't have what I had at 30 anymore!! :uhoh3:

P.S....we used to practically be neighbors -- I grew up in Rosemead!!

Hi Gwen. I'll be 37 in a couple of months and have been plugging away at my pre-reqs for about 2.5 years now. I too was concerned about going back to a school setting (I HATED High-School). Our local Vocational school offered some basic algebra and English composition classes (pretty much from the GED course) and I went there for about two months before starting college.

I learned a little, but the experience of sitting in a classroom setting again was the best thing. My gpa for high school was a whopping 1.9 (again, I HATED high school and did NOT apply myself...at all) and I had nightmares of doing this all over again.

I am having a BLAST in school! I'm currently at a 3.65 GPA (I want to be a nurse anesthetist when I grow up, so I try hard to keep the grades where they need to be). After the upcoming Fall-quarter I'll have all pre-reqs out of the way--even for the bachelors degree. I'll be starting nursing school Fall of '07 (darn wait lists).

There are folks in class that range from 19 to 58 years old and every one that I've met has been very supportive.

Cheers!

Hi!

Like Kayel, I'm also 43 and will be entering year two of a four year program. Going back to school is the best thing I've ever done! It made absolutely no difference getting into the program, and sometimes I feel that the profs are happy to see a more "mature" student (if only they knew how immature I actually am! :lol2:) Don't let your age stop you--it almost stopped me and I look back and think how stupid it would've been to let a number decide the rest of my life!

Best of luck to you!

Lori

Thank you, Daytonight for the great site for math. I will definately look it up once I finish memorizing the layers of the integument.

LOL>Theresa

Thanks for all the support. Am looking forward to beginning the road to fulfilling my dreams!

Gwen

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