I wanted to be a nurse since I was a young teenager. I married at 19 and had 6 children by the time I was 24. At the young age of 52 I decided to go for that dream of being a nurse. Is this realistic or did I wait to long to start a new career.
When I was a teenager I visited a home for special needs children and after seeing the care that these children needed, I knew that I wanted to be a nurse someday. When I was nineteen I was married. By the time I was twenty-four I had six children. I was a stay at home mom until my youngest child started school. Then I attended a CNA class at a local nursing home. I truly enjoyed the work that I did at the nursing home while attending classes. Just before I finished the class we found out that our daughter of 18 months had cancer.
The Decision...
I never went back to finish the CNA classes and it was not until after my mom passed away that I started full time work. I worked in the paint department of a local manufacturing plant for 23 years until quitting this April to continue in the nursing program at Baker College. This was a huge decision that I had to make since working and going to classes would no longer be possible. I had worked full time while taking classes for two years. Once I made it into the nursing program it would take up more time than the company could work with, and therefore they ask me to quit my job.
Why?
I had thought about the reasons I had decided to go forward with a nursing career, such as my five year old granddaughter who has PWS and has been trached since she was 6 months old. She is on a home ventilator when she is sleeping and is fed through a G-tube. She has been my inspiration to go to college and get a nursing degree. I would love to be the nurse who goes to school with her each day. Yes I needed to continue with my degree and therefore consented to quitting my job.
Now....
I have now been in the nursing program for two quarters. I passed the classes in the first quarter just fine. This second quarter was more difficult and although I passed the med/surg class and clinicals, I did not pass the pharmacology class. I needed an 84 to pass and I only had an 80. I will need to retake this class again in the spring when it is offered to continue in the nursing program.
Clinicals...
I often wonder if I waited to long to start a nursing career. By the time I graduate I will be 57 years old. Then I think about clinicals from the previous two quarters and remember the feelings I had when a patient would thank me for just listening to them for a while or when my instructor would tell me how I rocked the clinical part of the class. I want to be that nurse the every patient remembers. I want that feeling at the end of the day that I have made a difference, no matter how big or small, in the life of a patient.
So...
Did I wait to long? Possibly but I like to think that with hard work and dedication that I will make it to the end and have that Bachelor's degree in nursing. By being older I think that I will need to work extra hard to remember all of the information I need. I also have the advantage of life experiences on my side. We lost a daughter to cancer at the tender age of 3. I lost my mother when she was only 54. I cared for both of them at home until they passed away. These are experiences that can help me relate to certain patients. This is a knowledge that really can not be taught but felt from experience.
And When I Graduate...
When I graduate in 2017 and pass the NCLEX to receive my RN license, I will not be too old but I will be an older nurse who has compassion and knowledge on my side to begin my new career.
The true answer to my question is NO I did not wait to long.
43 and just graduated with my BSN. Everyone has different reasons for going back and getting their nursing degrees. This is my second Bachelor's. I had one person at the job I quit cuss me out for leaving a state job with awesome pay, 8 weeks vacation and great insurance. Like I said...we have our reasons. Make sure this will make you happy in the years to come and hold on to your motivation! You can do it!
Life, just as anyone else, has thrown me some massive curves. Some have been great---some have been not so great...but it has come to me that I want to go back to school to become a nurse. I was in the medical field 20 years ago when I was active duty military, got honorably discharged and 'wanted something different' so I earned a degree in Paralegal Studies, worked in that for awhile before becoming an at-home mom (which I know isn't for everyone but I have *loved* going on 8 years now)--but now I am doing some SERIOUS deep and heartfelt soul-searching, and I know I want to be a nurse. I love patient care, showing care when the patient is nervous, scared or even angry--I just heap on more of the kindness because I know it's not personal it's again--FEAR--& I personally think I will be a better student this time around because I know that I know that I KNOW what 'I wanna be when I grow up' lol.
I will be 41 this December and was just asking myself this question yesterday about being 'too old'...reading this thread has been a massive morale boost. Ladies and gentlemen--THANK YOU ALL!!!!
Your dedication to your family is awe inspiring. It's not where you start but where you finish that counts. No your not to old, you just took a few of life's detours to help othrs and meet family needs. So keep moving forward and don't look at where you've been but where your headed. I've told my daughter it's not only about the jouney but also about arriving at the destination which after arriving a new journey begins. Your life's experiences will give you more compassion to be a great caring person and a wonderful nurse. Don't give up on your dream. GO FOR IT !!!!!
You are my Inspiration! I battle with myself daily to get started. I know im going to have to make a decision very soon, its never to late to follow your dreams!
Had to remediate back in to the VN program I was previously accepted into 2 years ago, aced 1st lecture & ripped skills a new one. Had to sell my late mother's house & liquidate all of my personal belongings to do this (at age 52 - turned 53 last month) so I'm assuming a fair amount of risk to try and pull this off. Upside - started clinicals 2 weeks ago, loving it, and for the naysayers re: job availability I've had more interviews since I restarted NS than I had for all of 2014 trying to restart my former IT career.
I tend to agree that it's not always about the age of the applicant, so much as whether they're willing to pay what you're worth - as an IT guy I could theoretically command a much higher salary, but employers really don't want gobs of experience right at this point in the economic recovery. Hence, an LVN or CNA tends to make more economic sense for someone in my boat. And...if bedside nursing turns out to be beyond me, having a dual Bachelor's (Computer Science & BSN) will make me a shoo-in for a Nurse Informaticist gig. Got a ways to go to pull that off (I'm much more interested in an acute care DNP) but at least I'm not likely to be living under a bush anytime soon.
So...never too late to give it a second shot. Kudos to the OP for "feeding the need", and the very best to those who choose to challenge the status quo.
A lot of students retake classes, that doesn't mean anything. Who cares about your age if this is your dream. You passed all your other classes. Your pharm score was close to passing, you should pass next time you take it. Keep going!!!
To everyone who has commented on my post, Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! All of your support and kind words are awesome. If the college I was attended had offered a class for LPN, this is where I would have started but since they did not, I went for the ADN program. Falling short on the last ADN they offered, I choose to stay and go for the BSN. It was not my first choice but I am so close that I just could not see starting over at a different college that may have offered the LPN or the ADN. I struggled with that a lot. I know as an LPN I could still work for the nursing company taking care of my granddaughter. That would mean starting over again and I did not want to do that. I am so happy I found this site and posted on here. You have all shown great support and that is just what I needed. And for those of you how have said that this post has also helped you in making up your minds, I am very happy that it has also helped you and to you I wish nothing but the best of luck when you start your careers as nurses.
My answer to you is the same one my husband gave me when I asked that question. I also waited until my last child started school before going back to nursing school for myself. That time will pass regardless of whether you pursue your dream or not. Better to have obtained a goal at the end of that time than to have wasted it and have nothing to show for it. Also I have found that starting later in life has given me a different perspective than I had when I was 19. I have more life experience and more to offer.
I love 'seeing' all your stories! We can do this!!!
snowfyre
6 Posts
43 and just graduated with my BSN. Everyone has different reasons for going back and getting their nursing degrees. This is my second Bachelor's. I had one person at the job I quit cuss me out for leaving a state job with awesome pay, 8 weeks vacation and great insurance. Like I said...we have our reasons. Make sure this will make you happy in the years to come and hold on to your motivation! You can do it!