Is nursing your second career???

SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP · Jun 2, 2015

Nursing is a second career for me. I decided to go back to school when all but one kid was grown and out of the house. Just my son left, but he can drive himself around now, so I have time to devote to my studies.

It was a tough decision to make because I had been in the same career for 17 years (project management). There were some days I felt like I was old enough to be everyone's Mom in the class room. But I've never regretted going back to school one bit. I just graduated summa cum laude from our program and landed a spot in our hospital's nurse residency program where I had my clinicals. I'm just waiting for my ATT to sit for the NLCEX to officially be an RN. It's definitely do-able!

I'll try to tackle a few of your questions:

1. I'm not sure of the admissions requirements for the programs you are applying to. However, many programs that use a points-based admissions process will give points for prior earned bachelor's, master's or doctorate degrees. The program I was in gave the most points for GPA. It was a sliding scale, so the higher the GPA, the more points.

2. Most volunteer hours will have to be documented on letterhead from the organization where you volunteered. Usually, there are restrictions as to what type of volunteering "counts" towards admissions. Again, as I said in #1, it's based on your program's admissions requirements. The program I was in required volunteer work to be healthcare related and no older than 5 years ago, with a cap on the # of hours submitted.

3. I had little experience. Back in 1990, I took the CNA certification course via the Red Cross. I didn't pursue a nursing career after that because life has a way of changing your course of direction. So, 20+ years later, finally get a chance to finish what I started. My CNA certification didn't count towards admissions because it was too old. I ended up taking a phlebotomy certification course at the community college prior to applying to nursing school for the admissions points. I found it to be very helpful. IV starts were a breeze when I was in nursing school because I had confidence I could hit the vein every time. The phlebotomy course required an externship that lasted the entire semester, so I got plenty of exposure in the hospital setting. I found it worthwhile. See if you can take a certification course in something that interests you in the medical field if it'll help you with admissions points, or even just to gain some experience.

Good luck to you! Just know that you CAN do this, it's not impossible

And I can't stress enough: go visit the advisor for each school you're interested in. They will map out EXACTLY what you need to get in to the program!

SpruceToSea, BSN · Jun 2, 2015

I'll be starting nursing school this fall, and it will be my third career

Being older (36) and having worked in two incredibly disparate fields (IT & sm. business owner) has given me the experience to truly understand my skills, weaknesses & desires in a career. Although a constant refrain in my head is "this would have been so much easier at 20!!" the truth is that I just didn't know who the heck I was then. I think I'm figuring it out!

The most frustrating thing about the application process is the different criteria each school uses for admission. I had a Bad Experience with college during the first go-round in my teens/20's, and had a low GPA. That being said, I had a 4.0 for all of my pre-req's, and the schools I applied to either weighted science course GPA separately, or only used courses taken within the last 5 years to calculate overall GPA.

For healthcare experience, the option I know of is to get a certificate and start working (CNA, phlebotomist, etc.) For volunteer work you should call hospitals/clinics/long-term care/public health depts. and see what they have for opportunities. You may also be able to arrange job shadows.

Good luck!

anicole285 · Jun 2, 2015

Thank you both for your feedback! It definitely helps! I have been looking into CNA programs around KC - The ones at JCCC just fill up so fast! That is a great option though!

Best of luck to both of you! :)

LabRat3 · Jun 2, 2015

Second career for me too. I'm 29 and got my degree in biology back in 2008 and I've been working in a clinical laboratory since then. I'm starting in August and I'll be leaving my job right before then. It's terrifying but exciting at the same time! I'm married but no kids so it's a little easier on me. I'm not sure of your specific program requirements but I wasn't required to have volunteer hours. My college accepted me within a week, most likely due to my first degree and experience. Best of luck to you!

anicole285 · Jun 4, 2015

Thank you for sharing!! Congrats on the acceptance :) Best of luck to you!

ajmclean · Jun 4, 2015

My third career. Did 31yrs in the military, 8 years private military contracting. At 57, I'm older than most of my instructors, but it gives me an edge. Confident, mature, history of success. I'm in an accelerated ADN program at Keiser University in Florida. It's tough but good.

aknapp8 · Jun 5, 2015

Nursing will be my second career also. I'm 32 and have been working in human resources for nearly 10 years. Because my prior bachelor's mama I don't qualify for financial aid, I've decided to go the adn route and then do a bachelor's completion program. I got "lucky" in that my local community college, which has a highly respected nursing program, uses ONLY the TEAS score to rank applicants. If you have all the prereqs you tale the TEAS and that's it. No gpa, no work experience, nothing. I managed an 89.3 in the TEAS and was accepted on my first try. I for one don't think it would have been easier in my 20's. I feel much more prepared now, and am much more dedicated to school. Who knows, maybe it's because I finally know what I want to be when I grow up!

anicole285 · Jun 10, 2015

Thank you both for sharing !! Definitely encouraging hearing stories of other people doin this. Nervous and excited at the same time !