Survey: How old were you when you entered the nursing profession?

Nurses General Nursing

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I was 21 when I graduated from LPN school in 1994. I lost my beloved Grandpa just 2 mo. later, he wanted to live long enough to see me graduate, even though he was bedridden and couldn't attend.

I got my first nursing job just 2 weeks after my grandpa died from cancer, it was a horrible death....and my job was for Hospice. I wasn't sure I could do it, but it had always been my dream job so I swallowed hard and did it! It was the best job ever and am going to be going back to work for the same agency soon. I'm so excited! So much has changed since those first years in nursing, but I think I'll be even better at it now.

Specializes in ER, PACU, OR.

at age 33...........and now 5 years later.....still going strong.....although considering options and plans.........when the kids are in school. ANYBODY.........can go back to school to head elsewhere!!!!!! :)

I graduated from high school at 17. Went to a 3 year program and graduated with a diploma in nursing and an associate degree in science at age 20. Worked in an SICU,CCU,ICU and now for past 19yrs ER. I am now one of the old fart nurses, will be 47 next month.:p

Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

I picked 18-25 but actually I was 17. I finished when I was 29....long story etc etc.

There was a girl in my class who had finished high school out of the country while her father was on assignment with a large petroleum company.

I think she would have been 19 or so when she graduated from college. At the time you had to be 21 to take state boards so she actually had to wait after graduation. She's now one of the chief nursing officers of a huge hospital.

P

:eek: I was 19 my first job was working weekends in a nursing home as an enrolled nurse whilst I studied for my RN. I feel so young and very proud that 16 years later I am still working in the profession.

I'm told I'm NUTS, INSANE, afflicted with early dementia, but I think I win this little question. I started the BSN nursing program, after I finished all the prerequisites, when I was 49 and will graduate in December (if I don't die from old age first!) at 52. I don't feel that old and am told I don't look or act like it. I'm in my 3rd career...airline flight attendant and exec assistant at a famous computer company. I'm excited and am dying to prove the naysayers wrong. I'm not nuts, but will be learning for a long time. Glad to see there are others starting out later than most!

i graduated with my BSN at 26 and didn't go into nursing until 8 months after i graduated---so glad i took time off

Graduated with my ASN at age 20.

I can't really think of anything to say.....just got off work....had a code tonight......wore out....Good night. :)

Started out as a CNA at 16 in a long term care facility.Went on to hospital work at 17 as a CNA/Ward clerk.I was lucky enough to work with nurses and doctors who encouraged me to go on to nursing school. They helped me study and mentored me throughout the whole process.Became an LVN at 19 and started to work in a rural hospital.I went through a lot of "Are you sure you're old enough to be doing this?" from pt's and colleagues.I've never regretted it.I'm 29 now and looking forward to starting RN school.Doesn't really seem that long ago.Still love nursing but hate what coorporations are doing to what was once a respected career choice.:rolleyes:

I was 19 when I first entered a health care setting. I was a nursing assistant in a well baby nursery.

It was at the point when many hospitals thought they could do without NA's and I was laid off. I then entered LPN school, graduated in 1985. Worked a few years as an LPN. Reentered into RN school. Graduated in 1989 with an ADN.

Seems like a long time ago, but I have had and continue to have great experiences. I am now Charge Nurse in a Labor and Delivery Unit.

:cool:

I started working as a NA at 16 in an LTC facility. (This was before they required certification for nurse aides.) At 19, I was a private sitter for a ventilator dependant patient. At 21, I became an LVN. I went directly to work in a rural ER where I learned how much I still had to learn. At 23, I went back to LTC. At 26, I practiced Home Health (very briefly) and ended up working at a Level 6 (super-maximum) Men's Prison. At 28, I left the Prison to work for an agency that provides supplemental staffing in areas where there are nursing shortages. Now, at 29, I am AWOL from the profession as I await the arrival of my second child.

:cool: iwas 28 when I first started nursing.
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