this is my first time on this forum. i have been reading for a while and enjoy all the questions and comments....it has been very helpful in my quest.
my question to you all is "how old is too old?". i am 52 years old and just working on my pre-requisites. yes, you read that right. this means that i will be about 54 when i apply for nursing school. am i crazy? has my ship sailed and i should just hang it up? i have always wanted to be a nurse. i listened to my mother, who completed 8th grade tell me that i would never be able to go to college. i listened to her and 2 days after graduation from h.s. i was married. eight years and 2 babies later i was divorced. then i was a single mom trying to make ends meet. i finally signed up for some college classes, even though my mom was giving me those mom looks and making me feel it was a stupid thing to do. i made a's in my classes and that only encouraged me more. mom was shocked. i met a man who lived 3 hours from me and was raising his two kids. we were married a few months later and my life has been devoted to raising children. finally, i am to a place in my life where i can do something i want to do.
the community college i attend takes a total of 60 nursing students in their program. forty during the day, twenty at night. most 4 year colleges are the same. the community college had 400 applicants last semester. my chances are very slim at best. this will be a total career change for me. i am so excited to finally do this. i am strong and very encouraged. i am so scared at the same time. i don't want to waste anyone's precious time or money. this is an agonizing decision. you all are nurses, some may be my age. do i stand a chance? do i push on?
I am 44 and asked this very question 3 years ago when I was getting ready to start my prereqs. Someone told me then that in three years I would be 44 years old. That wasn't going to change but starting my prereqs would change my life. Sure enough, three years later I am 4 4, but because I DID choose to do my prereqs back then and worked hard, I just got accepted into the ADN Program at my CC. Either way I was going to become 44 but by choosing to do by prereqs back then, I am one step closer to fulfilling my dream of becoming a nurse. Let no one come between you and your dreams!!
I agree with what others have said about time passing either way, with or without a degree. There are people in my class who chose nursing solely for the money; they have very little compassion. I think character and knowledge should matter more than age in this field. Good luck to you and study hard!
I've been a nurse for 25+ years and am 48. Just completed a BSN and an MBA, so my mind works just fine. Physically I run 5 miles every morning and often another 5 in the evening - plus I lift (heavy!) weights and do yoga. Although I choose not to, I could easily work med-surg or a physically challenging unit.
That said, my primary concern for someone starting out in middle age would be finances - if you do decide to do it, don't mortgage yourself into severe debt to get it done, as jobs can be hard to find for new grads and you may not get a good payback on the investment. I paid for both my recent degrees in cash to avoid any student loan issues.
Also consider that new grad nurses are often placed in the jobs where other nurses have already "paid dues" - that may mean night shifts, weekends, holidays, etc. I find as I get older I just can't handle night shifts anymore - I need to be in bed by nine! :) And I do love my weekends..
You may face some age discrimination, depending on where you wish to work.
As a bucket list item, I think it's great (that's why I did an MBA). And no, you aren't 'old'. Just keep all these points in mind.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
I agree with what others have said about time passing either way, with or without a degree. There are people in my class who chose nursing solely for the money; they have very little compassion. I think character and knowledge should matter more than age in this field. Good luck to you and study hard!
How did snark about other people's motives for going into nursing -- and the judgement that they lack compassion -- enter into a discussion of how old is too old?
I too am an "adult" RN. I started LPN school at 37 and am now almost finished with my BSN at age 46. Not quite where you are, but when it comes to being back in school we might as well be twins! Anyway I hate for you to doubt nursing simply based on your age. However I do want to discourage you from becoming a CNA at 52. The back breaking work that a CNA does is honorable and horribly undervalued, and I would NOT recommend it as a precursor to nursing. Yes, CNA's do some very basic patient care but the toll on your body will not be worth the lessons, ESPECIALLY if you are in school. Nurses have a difficult time protecting their backs, as a CNA it is almost impossible to not end up with an overuse injury at some point.
If you really feel a need to work in the medical field before becoming a nurse, consider becoming a medical assistant and working in an office. The CNA route is fine for someone half our ages but really tough for an older person.
Also, please don't discount the "real life" nursing experiences. Caregiving for a child, a parent or even yourself becomes valuable experience that you will lean on once you are a licensed caregiver.
I do not know the word "no". I will probably enter an LVN program next year at the age of 52. I have a Ph. D. In psychology and my husband got a great job offer in another state, so here we are. I am struggling trying to get my license of 20 years transferred here, I had to take a very difficult state test and I didn't do so well. So my interest has wondered and with my husband's new job I do not have to work.
So I have been taking some of the pre reqs for the LPN program just to see how I would do (and I did much better then I did on that state psychology test). So instead of banging my head in the wall trying to re learn statistics and test construction I may go a different route. I look about 10 years younger then I am so I just don't plan on telling anyone my age. GO FOR it, I was also a volunteer paramedic for 12 years and got a two year degree to do that as well.
you are the only one standing in your way, just do it!!!
This is a couple of years old, I hope you went for it. I became an RN at 57. It took me 4 years to do my prerequisites and then did 2 years of nursing school for my ADN. I just got a new RN job at 59 and will be going back to school to get my BSN.
lifestudentrn
24 Posts
DO IT! Had a 60 year old in my class. She was going to retired in like 3 years. Got bored, I guess.