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.
I'm 42 now and am starting the nursing program in January. I feel the same way...that I've waited too long to start my career. I'm joining as many support groups as I can, in hopes that I won't get discouraged. I know it will be extremely difficult, but this is what I've wanted to do ever since I can remember. Good luck to anyone who are starting on this path later in life...
I did get into a program and finishing up my 1st semester. At age 53. I will be 55 when I finish. There are several of us more mature folks in my class, I am not the oldest. We support each other and have become "class moms" to some of the younger set. It is all doable and maybe one day we can all post an update saying we made it and we are awesome!
Nurse-Nana
6 Posts
I'm 54 & will start the pre-requisites in spring