So I have failed an accelerated nursing program (crying), I am very upset and feeling down. Feels like my dream of being an nurse has fallen apart. My school has offered me to switch to a traditional program which is 2 years long! Same program but slower pace. I can not decide what to do! I really planned to finish just in 12 months and now my whole plan is destroyed. My concern is that's this program is two years long. I am 38 years old and I don't know if this is the right time to do it(I'll braduate at 40!). I do have all the support from the family so this is pretty much all up to me to decide. I do want to be a nurse but if I failed the school, is nursing for me?
The problem that I had in school was the pace and how quickly everything went. We had exams every other week or sometimes even every week and on the top of that clinical. I definitely knew what I signed up for but maybe it's just too fast for me? I need an advice here if I should do two years or not? An encouragement and motivation. Thanks!!!!
You're talking as if turning 40 is the end. If you're not planning on dying at 45 then you have plenty of time left to forge your career. I will graduate as an NP at 52, and I plan on working until at least 70 and beyond. Life is not over at 40, and in many cases you'll find it's only just begun. Do the 2 year.
Also, don't take everyone's anecdotal experience as a universal absolute, that's only going to cause more stress of either pass this time or your future career is over. Every single school is different. They all have their own rules for getting accepted to the programs. One might refuse anyone who's ever failed a nursing class, while another is willing to give a second chance after someone takes a few classes at the school. There's also other routes to the same end: The traditional BSN program you were offered a spot in, an ADN program then bridge to BSN, or even an LPN/LVN then bridge to RN then BSN. Look around the internet, call schools. They know more about their policies than a bunch of us who don't even know what area of the country you're in.
There's options. And remember faster = harder. You have to fit more into a shorter amount of time. ABSN is going to be harder than ADN first because of the lack of working experience. Same thing with going straight to RN being harder than LPN first because of lacking that experience. Typically, a traditional BSN program is the best paced programs you can use. And a lot of community colleges will tend to still be an option for their ADN/ASN programs, or even a vocational program. But you're still going to be in a very rapid environment.
A nurse is a nurse. Regardless of how you get started, you're not likely going to be using that difference between that ADN and BSN until a few years in anyway. Nothing is stopping you from getting licensed, then finishing degrees online while you're working.
Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
Yes I understand and it's true. I'm just still so upset but trying to make the right decision.
Um get over it.
You have the opportunity to carry on at a slower pace. You take an extra year. Graduating at 40 you will still have 25 years or more to work in your career
I failed my year 2 nursing care plan. This meant that my three year program took four years. Yip it was pretty soul destroying when I realised it was going to take me and extra year, and I would be graduating after the rest of my classmates.
You know what, I decided at that stage I had already put in two years and I was dammed if I was going to walk away from it with nothing. I did the extra year and I've been out now for six years
I was 43 when I got my ASN, and will be working on my BSN/MSN in the near future. I was in my late 30s when I got my LPN. This was a second career. Do the longer program, pass, and continue with your life.
Do it. You will be doing something in two years anyways. Focus on balance and time for yourself as well. Most of us have been right where you are as nursing students, nurses or in some other capacity in health care and that is what makes nurses so great. There is a great quote by Maya Angelou that I have posted in my office and it has been up since I encountered my own struggle so I will pass it on to you, "You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, and how you can still come out of it." Nursing is one of the most trusted professions because we don't give up on our patients and as a patient, that is exactly the kind of person you want on your side fighting for your health and your life.
OP keep going and take that opportunity. It reminds me of when I was 21 and signed up for a brick and mortar BSN program (I was an LPN at the time). Running through my head was 'OMG I'll be TWENTY FIVE when I graduate' - so I ended up dropping out and taking an ASN instead, RN at 22.
I FINALLY got my BSN.. at 45. If I had just stuck with the program I woulda had that BSN 20 years earlier but I got hung up on being 'too old' (LOL).
FWIW, I just turned 51. MSN at 49. I'm still ticking and you will be too :)
Your age isn't relevant, really--lots and lots of students in nursing programs are older than you, and we don't feel like we're wasting our time! Also, for what it's worth, I have an acquaintance who works in hospital human resources and she said that she finds a lot of the one-year ABSN student graduates are less prepared than those who went through the two year ADN program, even though the BSN degree is more prestigious and is supposed to connote greater expertise. The fact is, two years in school is twice as much experience as one year. It makes a difference. (Look around at NCLEX passing rates, too--high quality ADN programs often have rates that are as high or higher than Accelerated BSN programs.)
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Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP
1,367 Posts
You're talking as if turning 40 is the end. If you're not planning on dying at 45 then you have plenty of time left to forge your career. I will graduate as an NP at 52, and I plan on working until at least 70 and beyond. Life is not over at 40, and in many cases you'll find it's only just begun. Do the 2 year.