Expired biology courses - must re-take

[shelby901]

I'm currently 48 yrs old, former nursing student.....did not complete RN program in 2008 (had to withdraw for personal reasons). Considering returning to get this done......Nursing programs are telling me that my biology courses have expired and I will have to re-take. So by the time I retake the bio courses/labs and get through the program if accepted I will be approximately 52 yrs old. My concern is that I may have trouble getting hired at that age as a new RN grad.....opinions/advice appreciated. :-)

[caliotter3]

Yes, you can expect problems getting hired. But you might have encountered the same age discrimination seven or eight years ago. Do you need the RN license to obtain any kind of self sufficiency? Is the RN license a must have for your personal satisfaction? Can you get by with having a hard time starting the new career? Only you can answer those questions for yourself.

[shelby901]

Thanks for the reply and I will consider those questions. I love nursing though and the challenges, fast pace, etc. However, I know there is much to consider at my age along with student loan debt.

[203bravo, MSN, APRN]

Can I infer by your user name Shelby901 that you are in the Memphis area? If that is the case then you really should have no problems finding employment at any age.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

It's pretty standard in most health career programs (not just nursing) - for science classes to expire after 5 years. This is because the rapid pace of discovery & new developments... textbooks & courses are constantly being updated. This will never end, so you'll have to engage in continuing education throughout your nursing career.

[SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP]

I had to re-take several pre-req courses because my original credits were older than 5 years. I was 45 when I graduated and had a job offer lined up before I had graduated. There was another woman in my cohort who was 51 years old. She also had no issue finding work.

I will say this: it is HARD on your body to do this job. There are days I come home aching & sore. I've always been pretty physically fit and in good health, but even so, it can be taxing when you have a 300+ pound patient or a busy night where you're just running around ragged. I'm now in the ICU, so I do codes quite often. Doing CPR is physically exhausting, especially with a long code. We rotate every cycle, but sometimes, you have to stay on the chest doing compressions because there are other things going on in the room.

Long story short, only *you* truly know if you are both mentally & physically capable of being an RN. I embarked on this career later in life because I never had the chance to pursue it when I was younger, hence, all the "expired" pre-reqs.

Good luck with your decision