Hi everyone. I am new here and so far I really enjoy the information and experiences that everyone is sharing.
I just turned 35 years old in Jan and after years of not knowing what I wanted after I left the Navy, I have finally chosen the one career that my Great-Grand mother told me that I was going to be. Matter of fact every since I was a little girl she would always ask me, "So, you are going to be a nurse like Florence Nightingale, right?". And I would always tell her that I would.
So far, I have really liked what I've learned and have even passed my A&P I with an A. I have always liked feeling like I am making a difference in people's lives and I want to help people get better physically as well as emotionally and spiritually.
Are there any other 30 something year old people out there that have just now chosen nursing as their career and do you ever feel like sometimes you may be too late in choosing although you know there is no way that you want to stop now? (Sometimes I feel that way)
I will turn 44 in two weeks and in May I will complete my second semester of Nursing School. It is the best decision I have ever made and not for one minute have I thought I was too old! So I say GO FOR IT...and enjoy.
Go for it blessed 2Bhere! I've posted this before, but I started a 15 month accelerated nursing program at 54 years old, passed the NCLEX and received my license at 55, and just finished orientation (hired this past November) and have been flying solo for three weeks now at a large hospital here in the Northeast. I will be 57 in May. I work on a med/surge floor and love every minute of it. There were a lot of tears and stress getting here, but the rewards are priceless. Forget about your age! Life experience gives you an advantage in helping your patients and even younger RN's too. The younger RN's give you a whole new perspective on life or a perspective that might have dimmed through the years. There is so much more wonderful being an RN than there is bad in spite of what anyone might tell you. Live your dream!
I'm 42 and am in the middle of my pre-reqs for the nursing program. I'm still working 30 hours a week at the job I have had for over 20 years so at this rate, it will probably be 2013 before I ever finish but I know that nursing is what I was meant to do. You are not alone!
I am going to be thirty five this year. I have always known what I wanted to do with my life. I have always always wanted to be a nurse.There are many nurses in the family, grew up with them as friends to the family, not to mention my own grandmother wanted to be one. She would have made a great nurse, but, she chose to put her family ahead of her own dreams. Nursing is in my blood. It is going to take me some time to get to where I want to be, but I am doing all that is necessary to make it.
Look, we are not twenty five years old. You could not pay me to be twenty five again, with the same mindset and lack of knowledge. The naivete that comes along with youth is only dispeled by living, and most of us by this age have lived and experienced life a little, if not much. It is wonderful to know what you really want, to not be stuck in mediocrity. Working towards a goal is uplifting and it fuels the need to be something more, to contribute something more. I know so many people who are stuck, miserable as hell and hate everyone and most of all unwilling to even make a slight change. Sometimes that is all it takes, is adjusting your view and the willingness to just try something new.
We are not living in the age where if you are thirty, unmarried or what have you, you are considered pass your prime. Women our age and much older are living fabulously, there are so many choices. It almost makes me giddy with pleasure just thinking about it. Life is for the living and well my advice to all is live your life and live it well. To the dickens with anyone who tells you or makes you feel like being you is not enough! I am thankful to be approaching 35 and I feel wonderful!
I feel you are capable of this considering your disipline in the Navy. I am also thinking of changing careers, I have a family a PhD in Biology but know I want to help people, not lab rats.. not that it can not translate.... that being said I have applied for the UMD CNL program for fall of 2010 and waiting for a reply. Good luck to you always :)
blessed 2bhere: You are definitely not alone. I'm 38 (also was in the Navy...seems like a lifetime ago!) and I've decided to go back to school. As others have mentioned, I definitely would not have made it if I had pursued this after high school. I was more into partying and hanging out with friends. I went back to school in my mid-twenties but focused on a career that provided me with "normal" business working hours for my son due to my husband's whacky shift schedule and deployments. He still works whacky hours but now that my son is older, I can focus on school. I find that I really enjoy going to school this time around. The classes intrigue me and I am so interested in the content. I am truly inspired by those who are even more... umm...mature?...than we are and are pursuing this. You are never too old to achieve your dreams! :)
I am glad I saw your post. I am 33 and decided to go back to school to become a nurse about 6 months ago. I am taking prerequisites now and on occassion get discouraged. I feel like I am starting too late and this is impossible. Some of this stress comes from financial uncertainty b/c we have two kiddos and my husband is a contractor. I can usually calm myself reminding myself that I can only do what I can do with what I have right now. I have an added challenge as well in that I never went to high school. Any of it. I dropped out my freshman year to get a job and didn't get a GED until I was 24. I made a high B on the GED with no studying or preperation, so I know I am smart enough to do this. It is difficult b/c of these challenges, but I want it bad enough to never give up. If it takes another 20 yrs to get there, I will get there. I know this will happen one way or another at some point. I have never been so sure of anything. I was a late bloomer like so many others I have talked to. I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up, but now I know what I need and want to be. This is the path for me and I will not be deterred by doubt, seemingly impossible challenges, set backs or nay sayers.
After being at home for almost 25 years, raising 8 children, I am finishing up my prereq's at 47. I know I'll be in my 50's by the time I'm a nurse, but I'll be in my 50's in a few years, anyway (hopefully!) ;-) Remember that saying: "Today is the first day of the rest of your life" It applies here, too. This is your life. Pursue what you are interested in, and don't let your age discourage you.
Your fellow "sister pre-nursing students" on this board will be here to cheer you on the entire way! :)
Dear blessed_2Bhere, I'm not thirty-something, but I'm fifty something! I can remember sitting across the desk from a college counselor and telling him, "I want to become a nurse but I'll actually be 51 when I graduate in four years!" He said, "How old will you be in four years if you DON'T do this?" It was the best thing I ever did, following through on the nursing program. I have my heart and soul to the learning and did very well with school and am now an ICU nurse. You sound like you already have the tools and the heart to be successful in school and become a caring and professional nurse. Don't stop now! You have a wonderful future ahead of you.
I know this will happen one way or another at some point. I have never been so sure of anything. I was a late bloomer like so many others I have talked to. I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up, but now I know what I need and want to be. This is the path for me and I will not be deterred by doubt, seemingly impossible challenges, set backs or nay sayers. 
stborton
8 Posts
I will turn 44 in two weeks and in May I will complete my second semester of Nursing School. It is the best decision I have ever made and not for one minute have I thought I was too old! So I say GO FOR IT...and enjoy.