Am I too old to go to nursing school and into a nursing career?

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Thinking about going into the nursing profession with no nursing credentials. Have desgrees in chemistry, been in industry, teaching, retail most recently. what are the facts? realistic for me to do this? cost? i'm 58 yo. anyone else enter nursing field at that time of life?

Specializes in Med-Surg.

I concur with the idea that you have to look at your general health and that you will be 60 when finished. Some 60 year olds can run circles around me, but others are beginning to experience ill health.

As llg mentioned, you will be starting at entry level. at an age many nurses are retiring or slowing down, or taking non-bedside, less stressful positions. This can be quite physically demanding and stressful. Is this really how you want to end your working career?

Also there's the expense and stress of nursing school for 5 to 10 more working years?

Not to discourage you because many mid-lifers become nurses and you can be a great one.

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Specializes in acute care.

I say go for it. Three years from now I will be 30, with or without a nursing degree. I see the degree as a wonderful 30th birthday present to myself!

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Thinking about going into the nursing profession with no nursing credentials. Have desgrees in chemistry, been in industry, teaching, retail most recently. what are the facts? realistic for me to do this? cost? i'm 58 yo. anyone else enter nursing field at that time of life?

How old are your degrees and Chem/Science courses? If there are not within 5 or 10? years you have to take them again. How many credits would you have to take (figure all science courses which include A&P I and II, microbiology,Chemistry, nursing pharmacolgy and then the 2 years of nursing clinicals/courses .... full time you are looking at 3 yrs min (prob more time)...so then you have to start working...are you in great physical shape? Nursing is very stressful (rewarding yes) but stress ful and physically demanding.....If I was going to start nursing school myself NOW, at my age....I don't think I'd do it.....

I plan to work past 60....but I hope to get a less stressful or work less hours...

I know someone who's in her early 50's and she's still trying to finish prereq. just to get into nursing school and I just shake my head because she's failed a few t hings and had to retake them and I don't know how she's going to do it.....

what about another job in healthcare?

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Nope.

I'm 54. Been an LPN for a year, doing the RN on-line.

I work with a woman who is 66 and has been an RN for one year.

As I've said before, you're gonna get old anyway. Might as well be doing something you like. You're too old when you're dead.

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As I've said before, you're gonna get old anyway. Might as well be doing something you like. You're too old when you're dead.
I agree with this; if you have the desire and resources I think you should go for it and not let your age stop you. I understand the practicalities but I also think you should go with your heart. I am older (44) also as a student and I am halfway through a 4 year Bachelor of Nursing program and have read this thread with interest! Thanks to everyone .. I appreciate all the angles shared.

GL with your decision, is58tooold. I look forward to hearing whether or not you have decided to pursue it!

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i really admire people who return to school in middle age. i'm sure it is a difficult decision, and one has to be pretty brave to make that type of decision in middle age. :)

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Thinking about going into the nursing profession with no nursing credentials. Have desgrees in chemistry, been in industry, teaching, retail most recently. what are the facts? realistic for me to do this? cost? i'm 58 yo. anyone else enter nursing field at that time of life?

read 11g's post he or she speaks the truth. I stated at age 46 and now 55 and iam tired at the end of my shift. But it can be done Good Luck

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I am 61 and I will graduate in 2009. I have never been happier and am fulfilling a lifelong dream! You go, girl!!

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There was a woman in my nursing class in her 60's. She acted 20 yrs. younger and she'd say I ain't old!

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Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.

I would say go for it.

While being a staff nurse might be difficult, there may be other areas where you can work. By the time you finish school, you should know what you can and can't do.

Good luck!

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I am the oldest in my LPN class, almost 57 years old. I have knee problems, circulation problems, and know that nursing on a hospital floor will be too much for me, especially 12 hour shifts. I never even considered that would be a problem but believe me, after 8 hours of clinicals, my legs are screaming & I wake up during the night with muscle spasms.

Am I giving up on my dream to be a nurse? Heck, no! I'll just be a different kind of nurse. I plan to find a position in a clinic, preferably for a specialist. I did some job shadowing & noticed that a good part of the job is spent in front of a computer & at east they get a chance to sit for that.

Job shadowing may be a good idea for you to see just what is involved in different nursing jobs. I shadowed on a cardiac floor & knew immediately that hospital nursing is not for me.

Dixie

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If you're doing it for personal fulfillment, go ahead and do it. However, if you're asking if it's a financially smart move, the answer is probably no. You don't have enough of a working career left to recoup the costs/lost wages associated with getting your degree.

So if you're saying "I really want to be a nurse, can I do it?" the answer is yes (assuming you are in reasonably good physical condition.) If you're asking if becoming a nurse is a financially wise career move, then no.

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