Is 63 to old to start nursing school?

never too late · Aug 20, 2019

what I did not explain is that, I have an MBA, I have been in business financing nursing homes and assisted living facilities all my life, and I dont think these institutions are the answer, so, I am now starting an adult day care / senior center hybrid, I will be the administrator and I will hire a nurse , but I am going to nursing school because I want to understand something about what nurses know, but I will get help fromCNA's, dietician, exercise therapist, recreational therapist,social worker etc. I am starting a business in the exploding field of eldercare for the 80 % of elderly who prefer to stay in their homes, they do not wanna sell out and deplete entire savings and jump into assisted living, but their families want respite and want to go back to work and their physicians want them looked after. the elderly need to get out of the house for chronic care therapy and socialization, they do not want to be locked up. the elderly want to avoid institutionalization, they want to focus on chronic care illnesses and avoid acute/med surge scene--this is the future, I am trying to think outside of the box, the current system is not working for those who--slip and fall, break a hip, --or become obese, take meds for hypertertension, statins, metformin--or those who get pneumonia, COPD-- or UTI--or have joint problems- they are sitting at home in the recliner alone with nobody to talk to except for homecare aide who comes a few hours a week to give showers--this is not enough to fix the loneliness problem--yeah maybe I am too old for the whole grind but I am not too old to put this together with lots of help, I have a dream and it is very different than what's out there now, I want to keep old people healthy and happy and get them off meds and living in their homes where they want to be. that is why I am going to nursing school at this late age, because I have a plan for what I wanna do for the next 20 years, and fortunately I am in good health and can do it, hope y'all dont think I am crazy as a loon

Wuzzie · Aug 20, 2019

@never too late

Not sure what part of the country you’re in but these services exist. “Home Instead” and “Visiting Angels” are two that come to mind. If you can figure out a way to make them affordable then you’d have something. One area you might want to consider is the small nursing home concept such as “Green Houses”. These are facilities that are more like homes and house from 4-12 residents. I honestly think that they will be the future of elder care.

never too late · Aug 20, 2019

yes home instead and visiting angels and greenhouses are leading players but they have very small market share compared to the enormous size of the need--yes I agree these are leading players with their heads in the right place

Patricia Guzik · Aug 21, 2019

Hi! I started pre-requisites at 53, got my CNA for experience and was glad as later a CNA was mandatory. I entered 2 year ADN program at 56 and took NCLEX at 58..passed at 75 questions! Been working ever since..am now 73 years old...in surgery and PACU. Love it!! Keep going and do not let anyone tell you you are too old. I have had a few apologies from surgeons who did tell me I was too old while doing clinicals. Fooled 'em all.

Mossback · Aug 21, 2019

I started pre-reqs at 55, then moved on to a second bachelor's program. I graduated with a BSN at 59, passed the NCLEX with 75 questions, and got hired at a university-affiliated hospital two months later. Two years later I went back for my master's while still working full time. Don't let anyone tell you you're too old to keep up. I work circles around coworkers who are young enough to be my grandchildren.

Editorial Team / Admin · Aug 21, 2019

Closed for Staff review

Editorial Team / Admin · Aug 21, 2019

Topic re-opened.

Thank you.

Mallory Sunset · Aug 21, 2019

On 8/19/2019 at 1:02 PM, hopefulRN'17 said:
Mallory Sunset - I commend you for even wanting to do this. I hope that no what, you choose what is truly best for you. ❤️

Thank you. Have an amazing day!

9 hours ago, Mossback said:
I started pre-reqs at 55, then moved on to a second bachelor's program. I graduated with a BSN at 59, passed the NCLEX with 75 questions, and got hired at a university-affiliated hospital two months later. Two years later I went back for my master's while still working full time. Don't let anyone tell you you're too old to keep up. I work circles around coworkers who are young enough to be my grandchildren.

Thanks. I really loved hearing your story.

glenrubin · Aug 21, 2019

Yes school is hard to get in, about half get excepted and another half drop out before graduation. But that is actually better than the student body overall at my college.

Time to get back to the books, two quizzes and a project due tomorrow, another quiz the day after. Next week an exam that's pass fail and a must pass for anyone wanting to continue in the nursing program. Then school officially begins and it wil be nice to work with my fellow classmates.

Good luck everyone,

[email protected]

turtlesRcool · Sep 10, 2019

After reading your reasons for wanting to go to nursing school, I think it makes more sense in that you aren't going to be competing with a bunch of 20-somethings for new grad hospital residencies.

That said, if your purpose is to better understand the needs of the elderly so you can open an adult day care, I don't think getting your RN is going to give you the experience you want. RNs mostly do clinicals in acute care settings, so what you are going to be seeing are elderly people who need the interventions you are trying to avoid.

While I suppose there is some value in seeing what you don't want, nursing school isn't going to give you the tools to accomplish what you do want.

It would probably be a more effective use of your time and money to research adult day care centers than to jump through the hoops required of you in nursing school. In your capacity as owner/manager of a senior activity center, you're not going to need to do head-to-toe assessments, manage IV infusions, place foley catheters, read EKG strips, or all the other skills your two years of clinical rotations will focus on. You will not need the mountain of information you will have to memorize in order to pass your exams. Nursing school will waste months making you do mandatory rotations in OB and Pediatrics that have no bearing at all on your goal.

Since you're planning to hire nurses and therapists anyway, you really don't need to know what they know. You need to know how they can be effective and what their roles will be within your organization. Now if you had years of experience under your belt, being an RN might be helpful in this situation, but as a new grad, your RN won't justify the years of your life and thousands of dollars you put into it. The ROI just isn't there.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Sep 15, 2019

the onslaught of baby boomers on the scene are not going to stand for the current situation. they dont wanna spend their 70's , 80's, and 90's under the care of 20 year olds who cant relate to their problems.

Sorry, I'm at the tail end of the Baby Boomers, and I could not disagree more. I've had wonderful care from 20 and 30-somethings. Kindness and compassion aren't necessarily age related. I've also had some nurses my own age who are burnt out, slow due to age related physical issues, and generally just couldn't be bothered. I really don't like to paint any specific generation with a broad brush. You have your good and bad in all age groups.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Sep 15, 2019

Being a nurse is really not that difficult once you acquire the knowledge from school.

Says a second semester student who has NOT yet worked as a nurse.

I don't know if the OP is up to the challenge or not, but nursing is HARD work at any age. Please don't act as though you are in the position to speak to what it's like to be a nurse when you are only in the very beginning of nursing school.