Is it the right time for Nursing School

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Help! I need some friendly advice regarding making the decision to attend Nursing school. I am 28, married and have a 1 year old daughter. I have a BS in Finance (ironically, I started out a Nursing major). I have a great job now where I work 8-3 which are ideal hours for me to spend time with my family. Problem is, I am bored at my job (and have been at other "finance" jobs in the past as well) and think about nursing and the medical field all the time. I have checked into ADN programs in the area and I am just having a hard time deciding if now is the right time. To throw some other considerations into the mix, my husband would like to plan on having a 2nd child when our daughter is about 3 or 4, which may be fine depending on how long would it take me to get into a program. I will need to work part-time while attending Nursing school as well...maybe 20ish hours a week. How can I make this hard decision to jump in now or wait until later. I am scared of regret either way. Thanks for listening. Any advice? :thankya:

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Specializes in Addictions, Corrections, QA/Education.

If nursing is something you really want, I say go for it. I started nursing school when I was 30 yrs old and I had a two year old. Then when I graduated I got pregnant right away. THEN I ended up having another baby last year (she just turned 1). Its doable and very rewarding...

I work PRN and love it.

ETA: I did have a hard time working though because of nursing school and my child. I do know a lot of people do it though. You can do anything you put your mind to! :)

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Specializes in Government.

I'm a second degree RN. I left a very nice career that was more or less dead end but with great hours. Nursing has opened up a world of opportunities for me wherever I've lived which would not have been true for my prior career.

Many people in my nursing class had children. The ones that succeeded had terrific child care support and bomb-proof back-ups. I think you can test the waters by taking pre-reqs. Even if you had a science heavy first degree, I'm sure there is something you'll need before you can enroll in nursing school.

Best wishes to you. I have no regrets.

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A big thanks for the responses. I love to hear from moms and from 2nd degree nurses. I need to take A&P I, II & Microbiology and I will have all the prereqs. I think I may take your advice and take those and see how they go. I won't be able to apply until the spring so that gives me some more time to think about it as well.

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All I can say is JUST DO IT. If you keep thinking about it too much you will postpone it longer. I speak from experience.I have a 4 year old and 18 month old and no babysitter except when my husband is home :). I am currently in pre-nursing classes at 34 years old. I wish I had done it sooner but always made an excuse. We are even thinking of having one more child. I will not let anything get in the way of becoming a BSN this time and I encourage you to do the same. Good luck and your family will be supportive you will see.;)

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Just do it..don't end up like me..10 yrs older and still dreaming, yearning to be a nurse. I finally bit the bullet and went to take the entrance exam for our private LPN school. I am now at the 1/2 mark.

I have 15 yr old and 5 yr old daughters, a hubby, a job I work at 30 hrs a week (luckily I have the luxurey of working from home for the company I work for.)

I sit and think had I just done it when i wanted to I'd have almost 20 yrs in the nursing field..and most definatly with my RN degree. Now, I am taking the long and expensive route..LPN in a private tech school $$$ and then bridge to RN.

Best of luck to you. If nursing is your passion..don't put it off or you could be looking back years from now going "should have" "could have" "would have" and "what if"

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Specializes in Med surg, cardiac, case management.

It's not easy becoming a nurse and having kids. My brother-in-law just completed his LPN (full-time) and has a two-year-old to take care of as well. It's been hard, especially on my sister, but they've somehow pulled it off. He's going to get his RN online and then hopefully things will settle down.

Nor is it easy going back for a second degree. I'm about to do so, leaving 10 years in the field of research. It's a lot of work and a lot of debt, but it will open up so many other possibilities than my present dead-end position.

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If you really want this and can't get it off your mind you should go for it because if you don't you will have many regrets later. At least enroll in some pre-requisite classes and see how it goes.

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You are the only one who can make that decision. Go for it!!!!

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

IMO...there's never really a "right" time,

Or you could say there is a "right" time, but we usually don't recognize it until that time has passed ("Oh, I should have went back to school a couple of years ago before the baby/move/new job/house purchase/etc."). Got to love that 20/20 hindsight :/

Only you can decide if nursing school is best for you right now. Nursing school can be done if you're working/have a family/want to start a family...but it's a lot of work. Actually, even if you're single with no kids or job to worry about, it's still going to be a lot of work :) But if this is what you really want, you'll find a way to make it work around your life.

Good luck in deciding!

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There are some schools that you can get your RN degree in about a year if you already have a bachelor's degree in something else. (It's very fast tract though)

You're still young...so I would go back now if I were you. I have 2 more years left in nursing school and then i will be an RN and I'm 27...most people in my program are older than me. So it's never too late to do what you really want to do.

Good luck!

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I want to thank you all for your replies, they are VERY encouraging. I think I am going to proceed with my final prereqs and apply to nursing school in the spring. In the meantime, I am going to pray about it and if nursing school is where God wants me to be, then it will all work out. Thanks again, I really appreciate it.

I am off to take my mind off of all this for a while and watch some LSU Tiger Football!

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