How old is too old to become a new RN?

Nurses General Nursing

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I am 56, and have been a dental assistant for the last 21 years. At my age, am I too old to pursue earning an ADN? I am concerned about employment opportunities at the age of 58 when I graduate. I would appreciate any honest feedback from experienced nurses. Thanks😃

Specializes in Occupational Health; Adult ICU.

Are you still even watching this thread Cathy H?

OMG! What are you thinking girl? 56 now…you'll be 58 before you start. And 66 before you hit ten years of experience.

As emmy 27 wrote: I wonder if all these 55+ year old students and new grads will be working as nurses and as enthusiastic about it in ten years. Perhaps some of them will- it is certainly true that anything is possible.” And as someone (can't remember the poster) wrote: a few folks were pissed because they felt this was wasting a slot in a competitive program on someone who will never actually practice…”

Gee golly gosh, you need a dose of reality.

Oh wait, I just realized (as the years pile on one's memory does get odd) I started in my 50's. And somehow I managed to survive med-surg and adult ICU. And now I'm 66, and gosh darn I make a goodly salary, which is fine by me because I do work about 48 hours/week. I'm an Occupational Health Nurse Manager at a Fortune 500 company. I love my job.

Next year I hope to be accepted into the Adult Nurse Practitioner program at U of Alabama, Birmingham which will make me an APN when I'm almost 70. I'll be able to write scripts instead of sending my worker's out to a clinic (I'm an Occupational Health RN). But I do hope I'll know a lot more and hope to be more useful to the 750 employees I care for now.

As far as retirement, I thought that was when they placed you in a vertical position six feet down.

And for those who say: Age is just a number…” Well, I agree, sort of…

Create the sum of some of the following: Number of knee joints replaced? Number of hip joints replaced? Number of corneal transplant? (and so on) Add ‘em up… there's just a number.”

But what is fascinating is that even with such procedures” if a person wants to, they may be able to keep working. I sure intend to do so.

Should anyone doubt the realities or the validities of the above see my profile then search for me on Linkedin.

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I just started nursing school at the age of 53 & will be almost 55 when I graduate with my ADN.

There are other jobs out there besides working in a hospital setting. Start networking with people who are in the field you'd like to go into.

That will at least get your foot in the door.

Follow your dreams! You don't want to look back on your life regretting what you didn't do.

Get moving now!

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I graduated from nursing school last year with a 3.9 I might add and am 51. One of my best friends is 60 and graduated last year as well. We both have jobs and got them fresh out of school. Now, granted you may want to check for open positions and who will hire new grads, but if this is your passion and not afraid to work hard do not let age stop you. Older people have a lot to bring to the table as in life experience and wisdom that only comes with growing older.

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Please don't generalize. I keep up with the best of them and I'm 51. Yes I may ache afterwords but nothing a hot bath and ibuprofen can't fix

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A lady in my nursing class began the Associate RN program at our community college at age 52. She was about 54 when we graduated. She Worked in Med Surg and is now working in Home Health Care as an RN. She had no previous nursing experience before the program.

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I'm not the OP, but thanks for all the encouraging words for this "just turned 50, just about to start my RN program in a month" reader ! Just loved all the 20 somethings suggesting volunteer work, cuz yeah, everyone over 50 must just be rolling in cash, lol !

To finish my pre-reqs and be competitive for admission for this fall, I took Micro with Lab, A&P with lab and algebra with lab in one semester and had a 97.7 average overall ( a 4.0) and found it all fascinating and not too difficult if you put in the time. The 20 somethings were constantly asking ME for advice and if I would study with them etc. You either have a good memory or you don't. I was blessed in that area and got a 100 in the lab practical where being able to name all 206 bones in the body was needed, though she only asked for 80 or so, we didn't know which ones, so you needed to know them ALL.

I've been a dancer and gymnast my whole life so when talking about articulation of the joints connecting your femur, I put both feet behind my head. None of the 20 somethings could do THAT ;) Yeah, I guess I'm bragging a bit, but it's to make a point that the 20 somethings who's "spot" I might be taking are in no way more qualified mentally or physically and we haven't even touched on emotional maturity and a life time of experience dealing with people from all walks of life.

If you haven't taken your pre-reqs yet, that will be the best way to see if you can handle the academic portion.

The only concession I made to my age was deciding on going to the Community college I took my re-reqs at, as the other two programs cost 24k and 40k respectively for their 2 yr programs. I should have no debt when I graduate.

My dad is 80 and still works his small construction biz every day, laying concrete, jack hammering, everything he did in his 20's. Then he goes and plays tennis. My beloved husband of 5 yrs just turned 26 ;).The numbers on my drivers license and birth certificate are just that, numbers. If you are healthy and can get good enough grades to get into a program, damn the torpedo's, full speed ahead kiddo !!!

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Please don't let "Debbie Downer" discourage you! I started nursing school at 55! I'm a working nurse now who just graduated with my RN ASN degree in May of this year! I was one of the first in my class to be hired (and by far the oldest) I was offered a job the week before I graduated at the hospital where I wanted to work on the floor that I wanted to be on! I passed my NCLEX on my first try in 75 questions and I'm Loving every day on the job!! I just started volunteering as "Camp Nurse" at Camp Twin Lakes for children with disabilities this past weekend after working three 12 hour shifts in a row Mon, Tues and Wed, then packed and headed right off to camp MDA Walk n' Roll on Thurs staying in the med lodge 24/7 where the kids were amazing!! You can do all this and then some at any age if you take care of yourself and refuse to let a number define you! I plan to have a nice long career! LIVING MY DREAMS!! #liveunlimited

It's nice that everything worked out so well for you (seriously it does make me happy) but being realistic and asking pertinent questions is not actually being a "Debbie Downer". Especially when the questions come from nurses in the same age group who have long-term experience. There are very serious questions that the OP needs to answer for herself. She doesn't know what she doesn't know...we do. It would be extremely unfair for those of us who are her contemporaries to blow fairy-dust and rainbows up her skirt just as it would be unfair to tell her that it can't be done. There isn't a "one-size-fits-all" answer to this question. Shelling out the money for nursing school when nearing retirement age is no small thing and must be done with due diligence. We know very little about the OP and her current financial,physical,emotional status. Certainly not enough to give her a blanket "go for it girl". So we approach with cautious optimism and guiding questions to allow her to make the best decision for her.

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Cathy H there's always Licensed Practical Nursing and the course is usually 1 year if you go full time. I'm currently enrolled in the LPN program and start August 1st. I have 4 children at home and currently my husband is working 3 jobs to keep us afloat. I decided that I would pursue this career because financially it will help out with the bills and it will give my husband a chance to be normal again. I was a CNA, then studied to be a Medical Assistant; however when the school closed I wasn't able to graduate. After all this occurred I waited a bit out of fear and then one day asked my husband if I should go back to school to do nursing. At first he said no, then I explained to him that I would go part time that way I could attend at night while he was home. He was happy about it, agreed to it and now I'm in! So never give up on your dream of doing something exciting no matter how old you are. I mean my husbands grandmother is almost 100 years old and she's still going on vacations with her buddies on the cruise ships. Do what you want and speak with the higher power trust me nothing is impossible! Good luck!

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I went back to school after I raised my children and then graduated from ASU School of Nursing at 56. I will be 67 this year and still working full time at the hospital. I started in ICU, then trained in CVICU, then joined the "float pool" working at multiple different areas at two different hospitals. One of the areas I trained in was House Supervisor. For the last 3 years I switched to House Supervisor full time. This last year, I was asked to be part of the transfer center and am responsible for getting patients into the 2 different hospitals from MD offices, free standing ER's, and outlaying facilities. The center verifies insurance, has conference calls with accepting/sending doctors, consult specialties for patient needs, book cath lab cases and take report. I am 67 and have no plans of retiring. If you have good health, you can work at nursing for as long as you want. I know a CNA who drives 1.5 hours to get to work. She is 74 years old and plans to retire at 80!!! She loves her work and inspires many. I say go for it!

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I am 56 and I just passed my nclex in April. By May I had two job offers and I've had another since. Yes, I am a new graduate and I work per diem! While I work on my BSN-Masters degree, my loans are being partially offset by HRSA. Completing an accelerated nursing program was challenging but I had so many advantages over my student peers. I have discipline and focus, I understand my weaknesses, I'm not wed to drama and hey I have a house and a car! Being an older nurse I have a different perspective towards patients, pain and death and it shows in my clinical interactions. You will note that most of the naysayers are younger nurses. This is related to their own rigidity, a function of their youth and immaturity. By all means, if you are up for the challenge, I would encourage you to go for it. I've never been happier!

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I didn't mean any offense by my previous post, and if you (Cathy) took any offense by it I'm truly sorry. I tend to give an opinion in a "what would I do if I were in your shoes" kind of way, so this is exactly that- my opinion & what I would think & do if I were you.. And lately I have been all about "Dave Ramsey" & budgeting so you can see how my post would relate & be about saving money lol. It's definitely nothing more than that, I don't know what you must be feeling & going through but I do wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide.

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I just turned 56 and have been an LPN for 30 years. I'm in school finishing up my ADN now.

Though maybe a bit different with me having experience, I think it's a wonderful thing for you to do.

Don't listen to anyone who tells you you're too old. I've only read a few of the comments here and notice people are saying it's too physically demanding. It is not. I run circles around many younger, newer nurses...female and male. Also, no one says you have to work in a hospital where you would possibly be on your feet more (I do, but it doesn't bother me). There are a multitude of opportunities for you as a nurse. I can't imagine you would regret it!!

Best of everything to you!

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