Is 32 too old to start nursing school?

Nurse Ratched, RN · Mar 15, 2003

My brother graduated nursing school with a woman who was 57. There were a few ladies in my nursing class who were over 40 and 50. Never too late - "older" students are becoming the rule rather than the exception.

hapeewendy · Mar 15, 2003

too old???!??!

absolutely not!

I'm a believer of the do what you wanna do when you wanna do it school of thought

I'm doing my bscn right now and at 26 years old I can tell you that I'm one of the youngest in the class!

dont let age (A NUMBER !) stop you from achieving your goals!

you can do it

good luck! :)

Scavenger'sWife, RN · Mar 15, 2003

Go for it! I graduated at age 46. Have been at it 4 years now as RN and love it. I know a man who went to LPN at age 42 and was the valedictorian. The year before me in RN school, we had a 52 yr old graduate.

I was neither a CNA or EMT....I had experience as a phlebotomist and had been an ophthalmic tech for 6 years working in an office. IMHO: Go straight for the RN route...in Ohio you have to complete an Aide class before school anyway, and it will give you that end of the job. Then you can work part-time while you take classes....why waste time. I agree w earlier statement about in nursing you do "scut-work" anyway...only you can decide how you wanna deal with it. But nursing is the best thing I ever did. Go for it! Keep us posted!

nptobee · Mar 15, 2003

Go for it Jason, just do the damn thang!! How old will you be in two years if you don't?

Rena RN 2003, RN · Mar 15, 2003

unless you are going to be getting younger anytime soon, 32 is not too old to become a nurse. :chuckle

as for experience, i suggest some time as a CNA. because with the "scud work" comes a lot of compassion and admiration for exactly what CNAs do. a good/bad CNA can make or break a good nurse, IMO. nothing says you must remain a CNA throughout your school career. you could always switch to an ER tech position if ER is your eventual goal. good luck with your decisions. :)

allnurses Guide · Mar 15, 2003

Regarding becoming a CNA first . .. if you are already worried about your age why not just go the RN route now?

Some of my fellow students in pre-reqs really pushed the idea of taking the CNA class the summer before we started nursing school. I spoke with a nurse I greatly respect and she advised me to take the summer off from ANY schooling, enjoy my family, take a vacation, relax, etc., because I was about to start the most stressful two years of my life. I didn't take the CNA class and she was right. I work with great CNA's now and we all do our share of the "scut" work. They take a pt. to the shower, I make the bed and so on. It is called teamwork. You can be a good team member w/o taking a CNA class. Be kind to your CNA's.

As I said, go for it! Best of luck.

steph

cactus wren · Mar 15, 2003

And in 3-4 years how old are you going to be if you don`t go to school?? Not one bit younger, unless you have a secret...

.I started in my ADN program at 42...graduated first in my class...not bad for someone who hadn`t been in a classroom for over 20 years...And that was the hardest thing for me, getting used to sitting ,and listening for long periods.....and let`s not forget freshman English...and term papers...

I had worked for many years as an aide, so a lot of things were stuff i already knew. It was a help. Many of my classmates were either CNA`s or Emt`s.

Lausana · Mar 15, 2003

Welcome aboard Jason!

SeptSue · Mar 15, 2003

Hi Jason - you're motivated, you can do it! All the best.

JasonC · Mar 15, 2003

Thanks for all the positive feed back! This site is great and has alot of useful information.

BTW...does anyone work at Yale New Haven? I used to work there about 10 or so years ago...as a PT transporter(mom got me the job)...I left just before the new childrens wing was complete...that place must be huge....any more add on's in the last 10 years?

Thanks again for all theh great advice.

Jason

yannadey, LPN · Mar 15, 2003

Age is just a number in my book & you are as young or old as you feel. I went to nursing school at 38 & I was not the oldest there was a 60 yr old nor was I the youngest so if this is what you want to do PLEASE do not, I repeat, do not let anyone including yourself tell you, you are too old, you stated you are single well just go ahead & get into an RN program & another thing WELCOME to allnurses.

nurseygrrl, LPN · Mar 15, 2003

Hi Jason...:)

You are NEVER too old to start something new. Doing so always makes you feel good about yourself and builds confidence. I got my LPN 5 years ago and am now contemplating whether to go for my RN. I'm glad that I got my LPN first because I think it will make getting my RN that much easier. You'll find that in nursing, once you're in the field , you learn A LOT very quickly and that can make things easier. I started nsg achool at 24 and I thought I was too old then! Boy, am I glad that didn't deter me. I'm very happy with where I am in life today.

Good luck to ya!