How old is too old?

guest769224 · Feb 11, 2018

My partner graduated CRNA school at 43, and my coworker graduated anesthesia school at 55. If it's your dream pursue it.

loveanesthesia · Feb 11, 2018

No, you are not too old. Be prepared to work harder than some of your younger classmates. It also seems that older students can feel the weight of the responsibility of what we do and it worries them more than younger students. But you may have other advantages due to life experience.

NYNurse89 · Feb 17, 2018

Honestly yes and I feel bad saying it. I would love to be able to say you're never too old but I'm just trying to be realistic. Older students have a higher drop out rate and a lower board pass rate. If you have other things in your life (ex. a family) I would think it would be difficult to accomplish.

Hobberdog · Feb 18, 2018

Are you dead? Then no! You are not too old. I graduated at 45. If anything it helps in clinical because people assume you have been doing this a while and are put at ease quickly.

rhinoroc · Feb 22, 2018

I know a few nurses over 70 in a clinical setting and they bring a lot to the table. I say keep a sharp mind and go for it! 15-20+ years of doing something you love and enjoy, if that's what you want, do it!

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Feb 22, 2018

You are certainly not too old- but do you have the resources to repay the massive student loan debt you will incur?

RicRock, MSN, CRNA · Feb 22, 2018

I graduated at 50.

Do it

Shanimal · Feb 23, 2018

Too old? Technically, no, but don't overlook the fact that your age will have an impact on your financial future if you pursue this route--you'll be closer to retirement age than those who got started in their 20s or 30s. Tuition and fees for nurse anesthesia programs range from $50k to $200k, plus you'll need to have living expenses covered for 3 years since the demands of the program preclude you from earning an income during that time, so factor that into your career change equation. Only you can decide if the risk/reward ratio is favorable to your situation.

Steph41 · Mar 1, 2018

I am about to finish my GRE requirement - I will be 41ish when all is said and done. On one hand those millennials are sharp and quick thats good. But life experience and critical thinking skills often are easier for older people going back to school. With out a doubt do it! Not only is it not too late, it will pay for itself.

ProgressiveThinking, MSN, CRNA · Mar 9, 2018

I'm merely in the didactic portion of a front loaded program, and have yet to start clinical. There are some people in their 40's in my class. Everyone seems to be doing just fine. If anything, we have some really intelligent older students. I'd say that the average age is about 30+/- though. I think the difficult thing about being in such a strenuous program at a later age is that usually people are more settled into their lives, and have more responsibilities. CRNA school is time-consuming to say the least. Academically, I'd say that I'm fairly strong. I worked full-time in RN school and excelled, but in CRNA school I'm barely able to work PRN once a month which I only do to keep health insurance through my employer. So, be financially prepared if you attend because once you start, working goes out the window. This is especially true once you get to clinical and are required to put in 60 hours a week on average. ALSO, keep in mind that a lot of the CRNAs in the OR who will be precepting and pimping you may be younger than you are. You have to be comfortable with this, and you have to just put your head down and get through it.

Every once in awhile you may have enough time go out and do stuff, but for the most part, your life will be consumed by CRNA school. Want to go out on a Saturday night??? You can! BUTTT you can't have toooooo much fun because you're gonna have a test on Monday morning over 8 lectures that have been dictated and all together amount to 100,000 words. Oh yeah, you have one of these tests at least once a week. Wanna go to happy hour with friends? Or maybe your daughter's recital, or a family event?

Sure you can do these things, but you're going to feel guilty for not studying because there's a ton of info yet to be learned that you have to know inside and out in order to pass a test (not to mention that you have to know it in clinical as well), and if you put it on the back burner you're going to be hating yourself later. Life keeps on going on, and while all this stuff is happening, you're stuck sitting at home or in a coffee shop studying. If you choose to partake in events, you always have deadlines along with the guilt of not studying looming in the back of your mind. Also, be prepared to be stuck around a bunch of competitive Type A personality OCD-type folks. I'm not one of these, so it took a little getting used to for me, and I could imagine that it would be a little more difficult if I were a little more set in my ways.

CRNA school is very doable at a later age. Just make sure your life is in place to do it. Make sure you have a financial plan, and a good support system. I didn't really understand the value of a great support system until I started, and If I didn't have one, it would be much more difficult (but doable).

I won't lie. Sometimes I see friends doing cool stuff on facebook, and after having to decline so many invites I sometimes wonder if I should have went to NP school instead since the majority of people I know who are in NP school seem to be able to work full-time and STILL go out on weekends.

BUT, this is my dream job, and I just try to keep the end in site. Also, the amount I'm learning is awesome, and while I'm just barely starting to scratch the surface of the vast amount of information there is to be learned (nobody can learn it all though), I'm starting to put it together and it's super awesome. So, overall it's worth it, and if you think you would like the job, shadow a CRNA, and if your life is in order I say do it.