Getting around the 18 y.o requirement

[npaar]

My 14 y.o daughter has 21 college credits and is currently enrolled full time in a community college. She would very much like to be a nurse but does not want to start an Associates degree in nursing at 18. ( All AS nursing degrees require you to be 18 to start clinicals) We know she can complete the handful of non clinical classes before 18 but is there a beneficial avenue in which she can complete a bachelor's degree before 18 and go back for a limited time after 18 to get the nursing done?

What is the best bachelors that will let her transfer to a BSN easily or is there another method to best utilize her time in college before she turns 18?

[lemur00, BSN, RN]

Not every kid out there has fun "being a kid."

It's true. I was a 45 year old bitter divorcee in a child's body. My dad called me "little grandma". One time we were discussing crazy things kids do, and I noted that I never did any of those things. My dad replied "that's because you were never a kid".

[OrganizedChaos, LVN]

It's true. I was a 45 year old bitter divorcee in a child's body. My dad called me "little grandma". One time we were discussing crazy things kids do, and I noted that I never did any of those things. My dad replied "that's because you were never a kid".

Same here. I had 1 best friend since 3rd grade, wasn't into the school dances & stuff & never went out to parties. My brother on the other hand, completely opposite of me.

[pixierose, BSN, RN]

Hmm..this seems new to me. Schools don't tell you that. And there is no requirement to have a bachelors prior to accelerated nursing school. I thought they just accelerate it because they know you're sick of being in school and respect the fact that you want to hurry up and start working which I'm highly against. I don't know what it was like 10 or 20 years ago, but I have a grudge against quantity over quality that runs deep. A job that handles life and death shouldn't be an education rushing you out of your mind. "You'll be working in a fast pace environment anyway"? Shouldn't hospitals start you off during the night time to train you so it doesn't overwhelm the new employee in training?

If nursing schools are about pumping grad students out, then hospitals might as well have the quality of care build quality similar to that of a Soviet-made Yugo.

I just graduated from an accelerated nursing program. It was only for those who graduated with another bachelor degree but in a different field. All prerequisites, like Micro/AP 1 &2/genetics/etc etc had to be completed with A's prior to entering the program. I'd say the mean age of the program was 28-29, with the youngest being 22 and the oldest 56.

So no, in my case (and in most cases), the accelerated degree wasn't for students who were "sick" of school already and "respect the fact that you want to hurry up and start working." Many of us were already working to begin with, at least at some point (i.e. I was a school teacher, other classmates were PT's, OTs, waitresses, photographers ... we even had a chiropractor). Some of us already had a Master's degree in another field as well.

I would have to also say that there was a certain maturity with most of the students; we've BTDT, had already worked professionally, many of us had kids of our own ... no one was taking off to the bars regularly or skipping class for the heck of it, as can be seen in a typical undergrad.

Do I feel prepared as a new graduate nurse? Not at all. But point me to one new nurse, regardless of program, that truly feels 100%, or even 90%, confident in their abilities. It has nothing to do with my program.

[DeeAngel]

I don't know why you're posting this on a public forum when the only person who can give you an accurate answer are the schools your daughter's interested in attending. This is a nursing forum, we don't know how the schools in your area handle this.

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

What we are missing when we send 14 year olds to college is context.

Even if a 14 year old is smart enough, mature enough, etc, the context of college is wrong for a 14 year old.

Yes, it is!

Do you want your 14 year old to participate in life as an 18 to 22 year old? Make her own decisions about every single thing, date 18 to 22 year olds, go to parties with 18 to 22 year olds, etc.

I think you don't.

Context is everything. This is still a 14 year old child. Who is about to spend the next four years (or however many years) of her life as an odd, not fully able to participate, half-citizen of her social world.

It isn't worth any benefit to do this.

[LessValuableNinja]

Forgot to explain that an accelerated BSN program is for students who already have a bachelors--since all the pre-req courses for a bachelors are already done, it focuses more on the nursing courses. However, most accelerated BSN programs still require at least 2 years.

Mine was 11 months (ABSN). It wasn't a lot of fun to do it that fast.

[ComeTogether, LPN]

I don't know about you, but age 14 for me was a confusing and stressful time of my life. I wonder how anyone can think that the teenage years are stress-free.

Carefree isn't the same as stress free.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Mine was 11 months (ABSN). It wasn't a lot of fun to do it that fast.

That was mostly a guess on my part. I went the BA/ADN/BSN route myself. Took a LOT longer than 11 months

[LessValuableNinja]

That was mostly a guess on my part. I went the BA/ADN/BSN route myself. Took a LOT longer than 11 months

I didn't take the shortest path either. Went the Army schools / BS / MS / ABSN route. Been in college in some fashion or another since 17. I still claim to be 25, but am fairly certain people have figured out I am lying by now. About to start an MS, again, but this time in nursing.

To the OP: Keep in mind that many, many nursing schools require prerequisites before even applying to the nursing program. For example, one of the large and well-regarded public universities in my area requires pre-requisites that take most full-time students 2.5-3 years to complete before applying. The going length of time before applying in most cases seems to be about 2 years (assuming you are a diligent student, and get/take successfully the courses you need at 15 credits per semester, if not studying through the summer). Unless your daughter is taking 15 credits of college-level coursework a semester, it could very well take her until 17 (or later) to have the necessary prerequisites to apply, and she could be 18 (or 17 - I agree with what others have said: Talk to the schools in your area about your/her desires) when she starts, and done at 20. Also understand that while it is possible to finish a BSN in 4 years of full-time study, 4 years is not the mean or median time to do so. If you do a survey of even traditional students with the question: How long did it take you to finish your BSN?, you'll find that many nurses, even in school full-time in a traditional program, took 5+ years to complete a BSN. Of course, you'll find those that did it in 3, but most of them were trying VERY, VERY hard to do so and were either lucky to be in a situation where the stars aligned (available classes/agreeable program/resources/time/brains/etc), or also worked very hard to make the stars align (researched schools heavily, made resources happen, planned scheduling very early on, lobbied hard to make classes happen at the right time, etc).

Best wishes, good luck, and like others have suggested: Talk to schools in your area about options. Someone who is able to start the nursing program at exactly 18 or younger and graduate at 18-20 as a BSN, RN, is a great news story / free advertising for the school / feelgood oped for all. Some schools may recognize your daughter as an opportunity not only to help / gain a gifted student / future nurse leader / future innovator / future distinguished graduate / future faculty, but also to help create a narrative that shows the school in a positive light. If they do, they may be especially helpful in helping her realize her dreams. While it may or may not be at 18 like you're hoping, a school that wants to foster her as a future graduate from their nursing program will likely go out of their way to help you look at options.

Bedpan-6 out.

[saskrn]

I am guessing maybe she is home schooled? She can start by getting some actual hospital experience by volunteering as a candy striper, make sure she likes being in a hospital. Part of the reason there is an age requirement, apart from liability, is because intellectually, one needs to be able to make critical decisions, think abstractly and outside of the box, many times in an instant. Developmentally, these skills don't usually manifest until AT LEAST 18, and usually more like 21. I would encourage her to continue to pursue college level science courses, throw in a statistics course for good measure, volunteer in a hospital or LTC facility, and be patient. Once she is 18, she can hopefully apply all her college level courses to get the cores out of the way, do some electives she finds interesting, and start her clinicals.

Great response!

[NotYourMamasRN]

Hi OP,

Congrats on having a bright and gifted young lady, that is very impressive. I definitely think that doing a BS in the sciences is the best option, let her volunteer and get some real world experience, and then make a decision whether or not the profession is actually for her. When I was 14 I wanted to be a Navy Seal, when I was 19 I wanted to be a pilot, when I was in my mid 20's I got the idea I liked nursing, and now in my mid 30's I want to weave baskets in Costa Rica. My point being, this is not a profession one should jump into until they know it is truly what they want to do and it takes some degree of maturity to make such a big decision. Too many people get pigeon holed in nursing and there is no crappier a feeling than being stuck, burnout, and up to your ears in student loans with a degree you would rather flush down the toilet.

[BiaRN2OT]

What we are missing when we send 14 year olds to college is context.

Even if a 14 year old is smart enough, mature enough, etc, the context of college is wrong for a 14 year old.

Yes, it is!

Do you want your 14 year old to participate in life as an 18 to 22 year old? Make her own decisions about every single thing, date 18 to 22 year olds, go to parties with 18 to 22 year olds, etc.

I think you don't.

Context is everything. This is still a 14 year old child. Who is about to spend the next four years (or however many years) of her life as an odd, not fully able to participate, half-citizen of her social world.

It isn't worth any benefit to do this.

I thought I was the only one thinking in this context. I've heard of children who attend college early. I've seen a Doogie Howser episode. Just thinking of the world we live in, I might give my right cheek to go back and have those 4 years of 'freedom' before having adult responsibilities. Dealing with violent patients, having someone's life in your hands, the vulgar things that patients can do/say to hospital staff. This may just be me...but I don't want my 14, 15, 16-year old daughter doing perineum care on strange grown men. I don't care how mature she is.