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Has anyone else starting nursing school at the age of 45 or so? My youngest will be a senior in high school next year and my other two in college. I have waited a long time to go back to school. I wanted to know if others have gone back in mid life.
Has anyone else starting nursing school at the age of 45 or so? My youngest will be a senior in high school next year and my other two in college. I have waited a long time to go back to school. I wanted to know if others have gone back in mid life.
sure why not ? I could never forget a humanitarian section article from a newspaper of a lady who lost her lawyer husband, who was also a partner of a big law firm company------------you know what the widow did? she went to law school and graduated at 73 years old, and took over her husbands partnership of the law firm !!!!
My point is if it is your passion, there are no walls or limits. Wishing you the best!! Go girl!!
Hello all,
My favorite cousin has had a very positive experience of earning his associate degree in nursing at age 50 and working as an R.N. for 13 years now. He made a bold career change from being a policeman for many years to becoming a professional nurse. Then he combined his skills and worked as an R.N. in a prison hospital for several years. Now, at age 63 he works as an R.N. earning high pay per hour doing PRN work(as needed work shifts) at a general hospital to supplement his Social Security Pension and his police work pension.
Though I sincerely welcome you to join the world of nursing, it seems wise to share some challenging factors for you to consider in your decision. One factor to consider at "mid-life" age is the physical demands of much nursing work---for example,being on your feet for all of 12 hour shifts,lifting and pulling patients as needed,working some night shift hours. Another factor to consider at "mid-life" is that the ability to do fast multi-tasking is a must in many nursing jobs. If you have never done any medical type work, a general but grass roots question to ask yourself before applying for nursing school is "am I ok with switching to work which involves handling patients' body fluids even with gloves on such as blood, drainage from wounds,urine,stool,sputum,vomit?" (Years ago I taught nursing in an associate degree program and saw many students drop out of nursing when they learned that they could not cope with real blood situations for their student assignment patients.) Best wishes in your decision!
Hello all,My favorite cousin has had a very positive experience of earning his associate degree in nursing at age 50 and working as an R.N. for 13 years now. He made a bold career change from being a policeman for many years to becoming a professional nurse. Then he combined his skills and worked as an R.N. in a prison hospital for several years. Now, at age 63 he works as an R.N. earning high pay per hour doing PRN work(as needed work shifts) at a general hospital to supplement his Social Security Pension and his police work pension.
Though I sincerely welcome you to join the world of nursing, it seems wise to share some challenging factors for you to consider in your decision. One factor to consider at "mid-life" age is the physical demands of much nursing work---for example,being on your feet for all of 12 hour shifts,lifting and pulling patients as needed,working some night shift hours. Another factor to consider at "mid-life" is that the ability to do fast multi-tasking is a must in many nursing jobs. If you have never done any medical type work, a general but grass roots question to ask yourself before applying for nursing school is "am I ok with switching to work which involves handling patients' body fluids even with gloves on such as blood, drainage from wounds,urine,stool,sputum,vomit?" (Years ago I taught nursing in an associate degree program and saw many students drop out of nursing when they learned that they could not cope with real blood situations for their student assignment patients.) Best wishes in your decision!
:) Wow, well said, straight on! A very good advice. You have to be realistic and see if you are willing to do this. Nice to know before you start and this lady pretty much said it all. It is good to know what you are getting into...and if it is still your passion ,inspite of , go for it, just be aware of the above...she was very precise w/ the nursing duties.
Hi there :-)
I am a nursing student (male, 55 y.o.) and have just about finished all of my prerecs and corecs - will be applying for nursing school itself this month or next - then the wait :-/ It's been interesting - being one of the very few guys in mostly female classes, and mostly younger people - there is a sprinkling of older students, but not many. It's sort of set me apart from the rest of my fellow classmates, but I've managed OK, and hopefully I will be in nursing school sometime in 2009. I'm a believer in the concept of life-long learning, and that you are never too old to do anything. To me, 45 yo is not "old". Sometimes I wish I were 45 again lol I sometimes tell myself "I should have done something like this ten or fifteen years ago" but better late than never I guess :-) Anyway, good luck to you and God Bless - you will do fine
"My favorite cousin has had a very positive experience of earning his associate degree in nursing at age 50 and working as an R.N. for 13 years now. He made a bold career change from being a policeman for many years to becoming a professional nurse. Then he combined his skills and worked as an R.N. in a prison hospital for several years. Now, at age 63 he works as an R.N. earning high pay per hour doing PRN work(as needed work shifts) at a general hospital to supplement his Social Security Pension and his police work pension."
Thank you so much for relating this - I am in the same situation. After spending many years in the graphic arts industry, and then in security & in particular hospital/healthcare security, I am in the process of changing careers to becoming a nurse. Working on getting my ADN and then nursing school and becoming an R.N., all at age 55. Have considered all of the demands (multitasking, physically demanding, dealing with blood, disease, physical trauma, surgery, etc) and in my capacity as a hospital security person have seen all of this already anyway, so I have a fair idea of what I'm in for already. Glad to hear that I'm not the only one out here doing this at my age - sometimes seems that way.....
Hi there :-)I am a nursing student (male, 55 y.o.) and have just about finished all of my prerecs and corecs - will be applying for nursing school itself this month or next - then the wait :-/ It's been interesting - being one of the very few guys in mostly female classes, and mostly younger people - there is a sprinkling of older students, but not many. It's sort of set me apart from the rest of my fellow classmates, but I've managed OK, and hopefully I will be in nursing school sometime in 2009. I'm a believer in the concept of life-long learning, and that you are never too old to do anything. To me, 45 yo is not "old". Sometimes I wish I were 45 again lol I sometimes tell myself "I should have done something like this ten or fifteen years ago" but better late than never I guess :-) Anyway, good luck to you and God Bless - you will do fine
:yeah:So encouraging to hear all this. I am (62) an RN from LVN, and now getting ready to get my masters in Gerontology !!! Not to mention of getting skills and certification in a couple of things that I am interested in. Yup !!!! learning is never too late---in fact continous learning to mature and older age develops more brain muscle !! 55 is young !!! Besides these are only numbers----your real age shows from your heart and attitude!!
Don't let anyone discourage you. You're open to learning yet rich with wisdom. After being a nurse for 35 years, I went back to school - seminary at age 52. Next May, I'll finish my doctorate - at age 60. You're not finished when you complete your nursing education. You're just beginning and looking good!!! God bless you~
While I am only 24 right now, I do know a little on this subject. I started my LPN when I was 20. My mother, who had turned 40 had always dreamed of being a nurse, but getting married, and having 9 kids, had put a stop on her plans. At 40 she decided to go back to school, and both of us took the LPN program together. We were able to study together, compare notes, and compare practicums too. It was a great experience, and she has never been sorry for doing it. I will be starting an RN bridging program in January, and she is interested in doing the same! You won't be sorry you did it, best of luck to you in your studies!! Rach
wjackson
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Indiana
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