I am strongly considering a career change into nursing. I have been a firefighter/paramedic for 15 years and am ready to move on. There is a bridge program at a school near me for medic to RN.
My question is about age, I just turned 44 so would be probably almost 46 before I finish. Does there seem to be newer older nurses? I do have emergency experience but don't wanna be fishing for a job after all that schooling. I know theres truly no way to tell, just looking for opinions. Thanks in advance.
32 here... just graduated in may 2014... wasted time in another field with a bachelor... people in their 50's and even 60's in my class... one was even about to retire. wanted to work 4 years as a nurse... i have no idea... DO IT~!
If your heart tells you to do it and it feels right, then do it! I am in the same shoes, 47, highly educated in business etc, and pursuing my RN then off to MSN. Life is too short to second guess your aspirations to want to help people.
So nice to see so many of us doing this. I was an airline pilot in my previous career. I switched into nursing a few years ago, and now I'm going to be starting a MSN in Family Nurse Practitioner program in January. I'll be 48 when I start the MSN-FNP program.
I'm 61 and god willing and the creek don't rise I'll be sitting for my NCLEX next spring. I'll be 62. I'm planning on tacking an RN onto some chem dep tx background and working into a psychiatric nursing gig. I'v got a job offered me at a hospital based tx center (where my age and experience will make me a preferred candidate) after I graduate, assuming nursing school doesn't kill me first. I think there's a nursing job of some description out there for anybody with the guts to tough it through nursing school. It may not be right in your backyard, but there's one out there for you. Just make sure to exercise your brain and be nice to your liver and kidneys while you're getting there.
And yes, I expect to have to know, and be able to do, what every other sweet faced newbie diving into this maelstrom has to know to be able to deliver the quality of acute care that's expected of us when we leave school.
I'm going to be 39 when I graduate from my BSN program. I spent my 20's as a musician and a chef, and what I learned from those experiences is that no one is going to hand you a job, and that I shouldn't expect any consideration for any reason whatsoever. I mean, I CAN, but will it help me? Probably only lead to disappointment. So, even with all my life experience, I'm doing things at the beginning of my BSN program to increase the likelihood for getting hired once I graduate, like: working as a CNA, and volunteering at the local hospital where I'd like to someday work. Don't rely or hope (too much) that your existing knowledge base and experience entitle you to a job in an industry or facility with its own culture and protocol and politics. Be open to starting at the bottom and working your way up regardless of your age.
Life-long learners like you seem to excel in nursing, & there are a fair amount of them in school & the work place, in my experience. It is so refreshing to be around a nurse who has a lot of non-nursing/life experience, but is fresh out of school & open to learning. Good luck!
Age update--- being provided an iPad with e books by my program is the coolest thing in the world--- everything is so much easier... So if any of you guys are looking to enroll in an awesome entry level MSN program that focuses on taking care of their people--Elmhurst College is the place for you!
seriouslyserious, LPN
175 Posts
32 here... just graduated in may 2014... wasted time in another field with a bachelor... people in their 50's and even 60's in my class... one was even about to retire. wanted to work 4 years as a nurse... i have no idea... DO IT~!