How old is too old to become a new RN?

phurtado · Jul 15, 2016

I became a registered nurse a year ago at 59, I will be 61 next month. I love being a nurse, I love caring for my patients. I have been working at a buzzy med-surg/telemetry unit night shift; always 7 patients, sometimes 8 patients, usually one cna for 28 patients. It is true that at my age this work is too much; the work is physically and mentally demanding behind reason at any age. I am burned out already! I am looking to switch to outpatient surgery or wound care and I am starting the RN to BSN program next month. My point being that there are positions other than med-surg, but you have to start with that. For a healthy 60 y.o., med-surg is an efficient way to go from RN to being a PATIENT fast.

TMORRIS52 · Jul 15, 2016

Age is just a number ! I will be 55 when I graduate next May. I believe that employment will not be an issue either because you will handle difficult situations with ease. Something that a young grad can't quite grasp. Go for it and I wish you the best of luck !! You will do well !!

TishaFyredance · Jul 16, 2016

I am 57 and graduated from nursing school at 54. I love my profession! I also feel it is very flexible/adaptable. Although I have a position that is very hard physical labor, there are also other options out there for RN's as we age, including clinic work, research positions, and office jobs.

I feel it is the smartest thing I ever did for myself and I have no regrets.

SororAKS, ADN, RN · Jul 16, 2016

If you are physically able to do the clinicals and have a desire to do it, go for it!

Lols · Jul 16, 2016

Ok, get ready to be humble, take direction from others with more nuring experience, but wayyyyy less life experience. Grow thick skin, focus on the prize, doing nursing. Yes, its physical, yes, its shift work, yes, it is challenging and difficult. That being said, if it's what you want, dig in your heels and go for it. People will look at you like you're crazy, some will call you crazy. Brush them off. "Eyes on the prize". I graduated in Dec2015 and got hired. Left a good job and had my doubts, but l am doing it. I am 61. Took me about 4 years with prereqs and all.

2nurse2teach · Jul 16, 2016

If this has been your dream, then absolutely go for it! I've had students in my ADN program who have decided to go back in their 50s, and they've done just fine. Nursing school is tough, but you are just as equipped as the next student to conquer it. Good luck to you. I really hope you give it a shot :).

jhholloway · Jul 16, 2016

I am in a predicament it closely related to yours. I am now 61 started going to NURSING school at age 50 I have been a nurse for a few years. I am now going back for my nurse practitioner. I will probably be 65 or 66 before I finish my schooling. I did have to take out loans and I don't regret anything it. My situation allowed me to go back to school where I can go to school at night and work in the day. I do not regret anything. I enjoy being a nurse. I live with my daughter so we help each other with the bills. I am enjoying my career. Before this I was 20 years with AT&T. Again I do not regret it I believe with age comes experience and above all wisdom. I am now a psych nurse. I started out a floor nurse, in Med Surge and learned a lot. I Highly recommend more aged or seasoned people male and female to become nurses. Having a diverse work/nursing unit is imperative. With age comes wisdom with youth energy and charm; and combine that with a nurse with years of experience, then we are able to lean on each other for what is necessary for perfect patient care.

Leesha · Jul 16, 2016

I don't think age should prevent you from pursuing your passion. Only you know what you are capable of handling. Nursing is very mentally and physically taxing but there are a variety of areas available to work in. I personally applaud your desire to go back to school. Best of luck to you!!

scavila10 · Jul 16, 2016

omg!!! it doesn't surprise me that some of these answers are SO NEGATIVE!!!! DO IT! I know DOCTORS IN THEIR 50'S Completing residency!!! And NURSES IN THEIR 60s DO IT!!! ugh the nursing community is so negative!!! Don't listen to all the na-sayers!! ugh these are the same people in the same nursing positions to scared to look for something new and so they become bitter and ugly and then they want to spread it around... They thought good stuff was going to happen to them and when it didn't they started hating good stuff.

Glycerine82, LPN · Jul 16, 2016

Dead is too old. That's about it. ;-)

Cda/Usa · Jul 16, 2016

Go for it! I became a nurse at the age of 56, with no background in healthcare. As I see it, I have at least another 10yrs to work. It may take you more time to study (or maybe it wont.) There are lots of websites that can help you with essay writing or studying. And don't forget you have life experience so you are ahead of the rest. good luck and follow your dreams.

Ellie.D · Jul 16, 2016

Please do not let any of these negative comments get you down. I am appalled at the age discrimination comments. With a few more years and jobs behind you, you are a better candidate for management than new young grads. Clinical is not all hard labor. In fact, most facilities have procedures for teaming or use of lifts for heavy patient lifting. I am just so appalled at the number of people who want to discourage you on so many levels!

Community colleges is where most nursing school is done. They are not always free but are much less than special nursing schools or universities. In my area, they run about 1500 per semester and the ADN programs are 4 to 7 semesters. That is not a "mountain of debt."

The programs are rigorous, stupidly so in my opinion. The material is much more volume and much more difficulty crammed into the same timeframe as 30-40 years ago, and those programs need serious overhaul to make this kind of education available to everyone, not just the very rich or very poor...but also to those who need to work.

I suggest you check into the prereqs you will need for admissions. Science credits will usually expire after 7-10 years and may need repeated. Programs vary in requirements. For instance, some require chemistry and math, some do not. All will require anatomy and physiology, probably microbiology, usually psychology and usually nutrition. But psych will carry over, it doesn't age off...mine was 20 years old and it transferred. You probably had that for your dental program.

Don't let ANY of that intimidate you. However, I suggest you compare a 4 year BSN program to a year or so of prereqs and an ADN program. Many of my classmates wished they had gone the BSN route and it wasn't so compressed as ADN programs.

You might consider getting a job at a hospital that has tuition assistance. Then you can try on the employer - they often require you work there for 3-5 years or pay them back. Could be job security.

Most of all, if you feel up to it, do not let age be a factor. There is no magic retirement age. I plan to work until my 70's. There are unfit people at any age, more today than ever before, who probably couldn't handle it, so don't let their weakness and shortcomings and self doubt define you.

I was in my 50's during nursing school and did not find any if it, including clinical, to be physically demanding. Mentally, yes. Sleep deprivation, yes. I also worked fulltime.

Nursing homes and hospitals have more physical demands, but doctors offices do not. Walk in clinics do not. You don't have to tie yourself to bedside in this career.

You will deal with young "know it alls" and that will include many of your instructors. I don't know what it is about this profession but it brings out some of the worst, meanest, back-stabbingest people I have witnessed in my life.

It is true, piss off one instructor, and five more will be mean for no reason. At least I hear of this often, and witnessed it firsthand. Every one of my classmate friends could tell a similar story. Although I believe there are better schools than mine. Mine prided themselves so much in nclex pass rate they stopped teaching as much as they just threw barriers in your way so if you could self teach yourself and pass their hurdles you were likely to pass the nclex.

Thats another very misleading thing. Don't pick a school purely on their nclex pass rate. Those with very high pass rates just fail a lot more students. Who cares if a pass rate is 93 or 97 or 100. Anything in the 90s is excellent. Unless you have always been in the bottom 10 percent of your class, those numbers should not intimidate you. This number has a different meaning if the testing class was 30 people or 300 people. Compare their enrollment number or max class size to graduating class size. How many people are they failing to keep their nclex pass rate high? 100 percent pass rate probably means 50 percent of applicants don't pass the program. Nothing to be proud of, and you can't call that education. It's simply filtering, culling.

Nursing school is nothing like the real deal. It's a whole different animal, you will learn more on the job. School is full of protocol and idealism. Each facility has its own standards that won't likely match anything classroom. Nursing school is how you get your license. It isn't necessarily how you will do the job.

A friend of mine said her mother in law went back nursing school at 58. That was 10 years ago. She loves her job as an LPN in a nursing home. She had no schooling prior to that.

Let me know if you want to talk by phone. Don't let people discourage you. Best wishes!