Is 47 years of age too late to bridge to RN

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Hi everyone

I have been a LPN for the past fifthteen years, and I have worked in many different areas and know matter how much I may enjoy the area, after a while the nagging desire to be a RN always returns. Why? Are wage is not so bad... okay it could be better! Maybe it is job security or maybe just a feeling of inadequacy, what ever the case it always comes up. My dilemma is I cannot afford to go back to school full time ,(I work full time) Iknow I can take it through Athabasca university but it will take approx 7 years! I will be 54 by then! Most nurses retire at 60. I guess I just wanted to vent and get some other perspectives on this. Feel free to speak your mind I will not be offended,am I being rediculous, should I just be content being a LPN?

There are too many posters on this forum who are all "yeah, go girl, you can do it if you want it". Yet they never really look at it realistically. We have American posters jump into Cdn. threads and tell us to just go and do our ADN instead, they don't know our system.

I've been working since the bridge came in and the only people I know who have done it are in their late 20s to mid 30s. My friend is on her final placement with AU. But even she's admitted it was hard work and she'd never have done it if she had kids in her house.

People can do anything they want. They are asking for realistic, pro/con answers. For the majority of those of us in our late 40s and early 50s who have worked for a decade or so, it's just not worth it. We are looking forward to slowing down not picking up a full time job in order to pay off a student loan.

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Yes I agree with you, and I do know people telling me that they could not go to full time school because they had other responsibilities...I am from Ontario by the way, and we have many many immigrants coming to Toronto and Ottawa and many who are in their early or late 40's and early 50's, their degrees from back home don't mean a thing, so they had to go to universities/colleges and get their degrees, and they had language problems but they made it...

Now the most RPN can get in Ontario is probably no more than $28/hr, and the most RN can get is $40+, so it doesnt matter how similar the scope of practice is, why would you want to do it for less if you are doing the same job....

RPN in my nursing home walks around all shift long and pass on pills, RN on the other hand sits down most of her shift (when u turn 60 u wouldn't mind woking if you get to take it easy), also I have some teachers who used to be RN's and probably older than 50 so there is always opportinuti to teach...

Me for example I only work twice a week and have full time school, but it is only because I can afford to do that while i'm in school, but when i had to I worked 5 days a week and had full time classes, we should not look back on life and think we should have done something but we didn't.....Maybe I think this way because I went through 2 immigrations with my family and everytime we pulled through, as well as many other newcommers who are less fortunate than the ones who were born here.

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To teach in an RN programme, you require a Masters degree (at least out west).

I thought Ontario was the land of milk and honey for PNs at least according to one poster, you all started at over $27/hour.

Oh, and I'm an immigrant, I wasn't born here. I've worked for everything I have.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Med-Surg..

Yes, you need a masters to teach in Ontario, although I think you can teach PN students if you have several years experience in a hospital. I would not be surprised to see a masters become a requirement to teach the PN students, along with years of work experience.

Oh I wish Ontario was the land of milk and honey and yes I do agree that advancing education is not always a great move for everyone. In Ontario, you could work as a casual for quite a while which could make those student loan payments a real burden for someone with family responsibilities and/or is the main income earner in their home.

I think continuing education just boils down to many different factors for each individual.

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Specializes in ICU, ER.

In my opinion, the personal satisfaction of fulfilling your goal would be worth the lost wages. Trust me, I know what it's like to be facing a crapload of student loans and how stressful it is to be living paycheck to paycheck and having literally no money, but money isn't everything. I've just earned a 4-year degree and will soon write the CRNE so that I can (hopefully) become what I've wanted to be since I was 2 - long before I knew what being a nurse really means. It feels good...

Given what you have posted I'd say do it. Age is just a number. I'm graduating with a woman who started a FT in school 4-year BScN program at 48. But only you know what is best for you and your family. Don't forget that we're just a bunch of strangers giving our opinions.

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Specializes in ICU, ER.
To teach in an RN programme, you require a Masters degree (at least out west).

I thought Ontario was the land of milk and honey for PNs at least according to one poster, you all started at over $27/hour.

Oh, and I'm an immigrant, I wasn't born here. I've worked for everything I have.

RN programs require MScN or higher here (Ontario) too. Many of my teachers had a PhD. All clinical teachers were required to have at least BScN.

In my area RPNs are lucky to make more than $25. At the nsg home I worked at in school, they started at $20.01 (I started there at over $19 as a PSW) and the RPN with the highest pay was making just under $22 and had been working at this facility for over 30 years.

At the hospital I work at now, the RPNs start at $23 and reach top at $25 - not what I'd call the land of milk and honey...

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Med-Surg..

I would agree that $23-25 per hour is not the land of milk and honey but many nurses are married and still need the extra income to contribute to their household.

Many factors affect whether someone upgrades, and often finances are an issue and become an even larger issue as one ages. Many things change with age. Anyways, it is really a personal choice that must be balanced with other responsibilities.

As for satisfaction from achieving a goal, well, I have already obtained a degree in another field, so that alone would not be enough to keep me going. Right now, my goals are bank deposits pure and simple. JMO.

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Wait are you telling us the poster who kept stating $27/hour was a starting rate for PNs in Ontario, may not have been correct? The same poster who kept saying AB nurses were underpaid?

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RPN (Registered Practical Nurse) in Ontario gets paid different amounts, in Ottawa Hospitals the starting rate is $24.86, in some Long-Term health facilities it is $25, and if you work casual for an agency (not all agencies)it goes up to $26....

Now the other posters stated what they know, but you can still find few long-term health care facilities that pay you $22...

Do AB Practical Nurses have the opportunity to get $24/hr, if not then they are underpaid compare to Ontario, and I can only speak for Ottawa for now

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Specializes in ICU, ER.
Wait are you telling us the poster who kept stating $27/hour was a starting rate for PNs in Ontario, may not have been correct? The same poster who kept saying AB nurses were underpaid?

Ontario is a big, big place. RPNs in areas near Toronto will likely make significantly more than RPNs in smaller communities. I live in the Ottawa Valley and cost of living is relatively low compared to Toronto and even compared to Ottawa so the RPNs here are paid less. I imagine if RNs weren't paid per ONA, we'd be paid less than those in Toronto also.

Maybe that poster lives in the GTA - I don't have any idea what RPNs make in Toronto, but it's possible they could make upwards of $27.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

I work in a small town north of Toronto that has one LTC facility and the RPNs make $28/hr plus shift differentials. I work in a hospital in the same town and I make $26.05

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So basically, Ontario doesn't have one union bargaining for you.

In AB, all hospital, LTC, public health nurses are under the same contract. The pay rates are $22.70 to $29.72 hourly as per AUPE Auxiliary Collective Agreement. Evening premium is $3.25, weekend premium is $3.25 and night shifts are worth $5/hour more. So if you work a weekend evening it's an extra $6.50/hr and nights are $8.25/hr. Doesn't matter if your in Calgary or Fort Mac. The wages are the same.

Even non union clinics (ie medi centres) pay the same hourly wages. They might not match the shift premiums because they don't consider their hours to be as unsocial as hospital hours.

Oh, and if you are under the AUPE contract part of the yearly permit fee is reimbursed and three days with full pay are granted for eduation days.

After reading what some of the US posters say are the hourly rates for either LPNs or RNs, all I can say it I'm glad I'm up here and unionized.

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