At what age did you decide on nursing?

[Wan2BRN]

I am still young, 25, but need some stories of encouragment. I have a 2 yo son and am due with my 2nd little one in December. I am registered for fall classes at my local college and will continue to take my pre-req's until I am done. I always kick myself in the butt though for not getting right in after high school graduation and taking my classes seriously; I was definately a slacker and can't afford to be that anymore. I have always wanted to be a nurse and can't imagine myself anywhere else.

So I am curious to know the stories, as I am sure they will be encouraging, at what age did you decide to start taking classes to become an RN? Did you have children? etc.

Thank you.

[sh1901]

I'll be 33 in a few weeks and will be finishing NS in December. I have a full-time job, husband, 2 kids in middle school and my Mother In Law lives with us. If you want it bad enough, you make it work regardless of what else you have going on.

BTW, I could also kick myself for not going to NS right out of high school...instead I have a very useless BA in education...boy do we make bad decisions when we are young.

[strawberryluv, BSN, RN]

I am currently 18 years old. I am going to enter my first year of college and I am so super excited. With 2 more years, I will be applying for the nursing school upper division program within my university. They only have 50 seats available. This year is their first year of the new nursing program.

[PacoUSA, BSN, RN]

BTW, I could also kick myself for not going to NS right out of high school...instead I have a very useless BA in education...boy do we make bad decisions when we are young.

At first glance, you and I both feel the same way. I could easily sit back and kick myself for having gone to law school but then I think about all the positives that have come my way because of it. I don't think your BA in education was useless, think of how you can use what you learned there later on, perhaps as a nurse educator! Your career may very well be enhanced by it ... that's how I am looking at my law degree.

[hlneumann]

You're not kidding when you say it's harder as we get older. I'm starting my RN courses Monday, and I'll be 55 in October.

[BellsRNBSN]

I'm constantly kicking myself for not going for my BSN right after graduating from high school. I tried the pre-med route and realized when I was 20 and a junior in college that I wanted to be a nurse, and not a doctor. I'm so happy I realized this before taking the MCAT and trying to apply to medical schools. I'm starting an accelerated BSN program on Monday and I couldn't be happier to finally be making my dream come true! I truly feel that nursing is the right field for me

Btw, props to all you moms out there who are going to nursing school and juggling kids and husbands at home! I don't have kids and couldn't imagine having to take care of a family while taking pre-reqs, much less nursing school! Good luck to all of you! :redbeathe

[sh1901]

Hey Paco386 - Thanks for the encouragement. I have indeed thought about how I can use my education degree, I guess that I just get frustrated that I've had that degree for 10+ yrs and its just been sitting in my safe collecting dust while I worked in a non-related field and yearned to go to NS. But...that is the past, this is the present and the future is just waiting for me!!

I'm sure your law degree will come in handy! You can help the rest of us understand all these laws related to medical care!

[juliannaUT]

Go for it. I went through nursing school at an older age...graduated at 39. But I certainly wasn't the oldest one in my class. It's never too late. I say you go for it!