Going to Nursing School at an Older Age

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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I have been planning to go to nursing school (direct entry MSN) & have been progressing in that direction. The other day I was having a conversation with a coworker (a non-practicing nurse!) and she said, now at your age (I am in my 40s) you have 10, maybe 20 years of nursing, but if a younger candidate gets your seat they can practice nursing for like 40 years, so why should you get a seat? It's more beneficial to train a younger nurse. I was rather tacken aback by the question & said something to the effect the more nurses the better and it is illegal to discriminate based on age, and she said the nursing shortage is a myth and age discrimination happens, no matter what! While I always believe education is throughout one's life and one should pursue one's aspirations, it got me thinking. (In some countries where their are no age discrimination laws this does happen). Is it really socially more desirable to prefer younger candidates? And does this factor into admissions decisions?

Specializes in None yet.

Thats alot of bunk, because Im 52 and in my second year of school for my Associates Degree in Nursing. I was told the same thing and that didnt deter me from going. Keep up the good work and good luck in your nursing degree pursuit

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I am in my early 50s and just finished nursing school. I did not notice age discrimination in the admissions process, nor did any of my professors appear to think my age was an issue. In fact, most of them liked my years of life experience and my perspective, and encouraged me. HOWEVER, in the subsequent job hunt, I HAVE noticed age discrimination and it's pretty obvious. Especially in this economy, when new grad nursing jobs are hard to come by, younger candidates will get picked, at least in the area where I live. Which is kind of funny, because I'm the kind of employee who would stay loyal and who doesn't have fantasies of running off to CRNA school the minute I have a year of ICU experience. And I'm past my baby years. ;) I don't want to say more in a public forum. You can PM me if you like.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Geriatrics(LTC), Pediatricts,.

Hi AtomicWoman, if you don't mind working in other jobs, and not cubbie hole yourself into that prime position right off, try going for the less "flashy" positions, such as med/surge floor nurse, and then show them what you've got, then go in for that ICU position after you've shown them you are loyal, dependable, and willing to work the position. I've said in the past, any new nurse should work in a small general hospital for their first couple years as a nurse anyway, you will gain so many more experiences than if you specialize. I say this to any new nurse, no mater how old you are age wise.

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Specializes in Public Health Nurse.

Thank you...I tried to go the site but it says page removed. Do you have another lead?

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Hi AtomicWoman, if you don't mind working in other jobs, and not cubbie hole yourself into that prime position right off, try going for the less "flashy" positions, such as med/surge floor nurse, and then show them what you've got, then go in for that ICU position after you've shown them you are loyal, dependable, and willing to work the position. I've said in the past, any new nurse should work in a small general hospital for their first couple years as a nurse anyway, you will gain so many more experiences than if you specialize. I say this to any new nurse, no mater how old you are age wise.

I only gave that ICU position as one example; didn't mean to imply that that's the only position I am looking for. In fact, ICU is not on the top of my "wish list", but I wouldn't say no to an ICU position if it came along. LOL. I have applied mainly for Med/Surg positions to MANY hospitals, large and small, in a fairly wide geographic area. I would LOVE to work in a small general hospital or any hospital for that matter! And yes, I've applied to nursing homes, too. It's tough around here...

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Geriatrics(LTC), Pediatricts,.

Are you able to move out of your area? If so, there are many other areas that nurses, all levels are in high demand. I have noticed that if you live in a military town, you have a harder time finding a job, as the military personnell and their spouses fill the positions, at a temp p/t basis, one thing that employers sometimes like better than those of us who are permanent f/t. It costs the facility less. University hospitals are usualy harder too, they have "free" staff with students. Sometimes it's a pay off to take a lesser paying job in a more remote or rural area to get your foot in the door.

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I'm almost 33, but there are plenty of other student in my class at NS that are 50+ and I don't think that any of them feel that they are over looked or treated unfairly.

As for the nursing shortage - well, I think that it is difficult to determine if the shortage is a myth when we are still in a financial downfall and most places are limited for financial reasons rather than staffing needs. I just don't see how they could NOT need nurses when we have such an aging population in the US...but I could be wrong. I'm reserving judgment for now...ask me in January when I'm looking for a job...I may be singing a different tune! ;)

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Specializes in geriatrics.

There definitely IS a nursing shortage, and it will get worse. The problem with people having difficulty finding employment right now is due to funding cuts in many organizations. Politicians are very short-sighted and, unfortunately, place too much of a dollar value on the work nurses do. While all of these hiring freezes are in place, everywhere is still understaffed, because of lack of $$$$.

But this will change soon. Probably by the time some of you have finished your studies, jobs won't be an issue. Good luck, and keep moving forward.

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hi i have a question an idk how to do this in my own personal thread but im in school right now to get my associated to become a LP i wont start my actual emt courses untill october right now im just doing my pre-reqs but im not sure in which direction to go i heard that if you work for a firestation as a firefighter medic you get paid more then you would at a hospital or private company....but then i heard from someone else you get paid more working at a hospital, can anyone give me advice on what direction is better to go into??

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Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.
hi i have a question an idk how to do this in my own personal thread but im in school right now to get my associated to become a LP i wont start my actual emt courses untill october right now im just doing my pre-reqs but im not sure in which direction to go i heard that if you work for a firestation as a firefighter medic you get paid more then you would at a hospital or private company....but then i heard from someone else you get paid more working at a hospital, can anyone give me advice on what direction is better to go into??

Boricua!!! :D ... OK back to the post ...

What's an LP? Usually people don't get an associates degree to become an LPN (I think that is what you meant), an LPN gets a vocational certificate as does an EMT. RNs get associates or bachelors as an entry to the profession. Anyway, I am not familiar with the difference in pay in working through a firestation vs. a hospital or private company. However, my advice on this (if I were in your shoes) is to ask people in the industry, they will know. Don't be shy about going to a fire station or a hospital and chatting up someone who is doing what you want to do. If they know you want to be one of them, they will be more than happy to tell you what you want to know (assuming of course you don't approach them in the middle of a call, LOL). At the same time, you will start knowing people (called networking) a who knows later on down the road those contacts will lead you to your first job in the field. Remember, in these tough economic times, who you know is often the key to getting a job!

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Geriatrics(LTC), Pediatricts,.

I have experience in both proffessions, as an LPN, and in school for my RN, and as an EMT for a paid interfacility transport agency as a Basic EMT. What it all boils down to is where you work. Some Ambulance agencies pay more than others. While the nursing field pays more.

This is my specific experience:

When I was working in a Skilled Nursing Home, in another town from where I live now, the pay for LPN's sucked. To put it bluntly, and honestly. I worked for the facility for ten years, and their emphasis was on CNA care, rather than licensed care, so CNA's at entry level, buy their sixth months probationary review, were making just $1/hr less than me at ten years with the facility. By the time the CNA got their first year increment raise, they were making $1/hr more than I was. And if the CNA took the training and passed to do B/P's, they got an extra $1/hr, making their wage $2/hr more than I was making as a licensed nurse.

Then I went to work as a full time EMT with the Ambulance agency, and the pay scale at this particular agency was "tiered" meaning you got paid different pay grade for different jobs, for example, if you were "on call" you got $2/hr to waite for a call to run a transport. If you got a call to run a transport, then as a basic EMT the pay was same as a driver of $10/hr provider rate for Basics, plus a $2/hr trip bonus for the time it took, beg to end for transport. Then if you were on "Intown" meaning, stay at the station, and run emergency calls, you got paid minimum wage unless you were on a call, then on the call you got your provider rate but no trip bonus, the trip bonus was only for interfacility transports. So, essentialy for an 80 week, you could theoreticaly make only about $100, or you could make $1000. Depends on how many emergency calls, and transports you got.

Last year, after spending a month of on call for the agency, and putting in 80+ hours a week, and only bringing home a $100 pay check for the week, with $500 a week expenses, I called it quits, and got a job with a homehealth agency as LPN.

Now, in the new town, the homehealth agency pays more than when I was at the Skilled Nursing Home in my hometown. Now I bring home on average $150 over my household/living expenses for the week. I know to some that doesn't sound like much, but from less than enough to make expenses to this, it's quite a bit. And when I finish my RN, I will double my pay grade with this agency. If I decide to move on and go into a hospital or someplace else, the pay grade will be different.

So, the key is, check around, ask questions to the places you are checking out to work. Some hospitals pay more for ER Nurses, weather you are LPN or RN if you are an EMT as well. Remember, there are some things you can do as an EMT that you can't as a nurse, and vise verse. So, you always have to remember what hat you are wearing. The plus to working as a nurse/EMT in a ER, you are wearing both hats, and are covered all around.

So, in this forum, you will get as many responses as there are nurses experiences. Best thing to do, as said, ask at the facilities where you are applying and compare. Also, compare benefits, some Rescue squads may not pay as much but you'll get a better health insurance and 401K plan than a nursing facility.

Hope this helps. Like I said though, you are going to get as many responses as there are nurses who have duo experiences, and watch out for different states, and even countries, this forum has members from other countries than just the US. Check your local protocals, rules and regulations regarding all of this if you decide to do double duty. Right now, I'm not working as paid EMT, I find that more rewarding to do on volunteer basis with a small local Firedepartment. I like doing firefighting for my volunteer work too. Yes, where I live, women are firefighters. I've been for 11 years now, and love it! Where I live, the communities are so small, most of us do double duty, work in nursing in some capcity, and volunteer as EMT/FF in our local FD's.

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Si yo soy Boricua!! ;) lol but yea i heard that i can just get certification to become an emt but id rather just get my associates to become a licensed paramedic go in with better knowledge of what im doing, :) but yea thats good advice to there is a fire department not that far from my house so ill deff check that out :) thank you

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