MA to RN

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Hello , I am a MA right now and i have been thinking about becoming an RN, but i dont know if ill be able to survive. Just by looking at the pre-req i am second guessing the decision, but i am also thinking about just taking the plunge. (Also is graduating as a nurse at age 23 old?)

Specializes in Emergency Department.
Hello , I am a MA right now and i have been thinking about becoming an RN, but i dont know if ill be able to survive. Just by looking at the pre-req i am second guessing the decision, but i am also thinking about just taking the plunge. (Also is graduating as a nurse at age 23 old?)

First off, since you're younger than dead, you're not too old. I started down my journey to becoming an RN about 8 years ago. I had to refresh a lot of prerequisites and also in the process, and I ended up earning a nearly 4.0 GPA. Like one of the above posters said, how do you eat an elephant? The answer: one bite at a time. I tackled all of the prerequisites one or 2 at a time until they were all complete. Once I completed all of them, then I started applying to all of the nursing programs that I was qualified/allowed to. The reason I say that is because I have a prior bachelors degree. I was not allowed to apply to my local university because they were closed to 2nd bachelors students. I would've been one of those, therefore I could not apply.

If memory serves, I started applying to nursing school around 2007. This was for the 2008 academic year. It took me several years to gain entry, during that time I went through all of the graduation requirements that I needed and ensured that I had met all of the requirements to graduate once I had completed the nursing program, regardless of which program I attended. I was originally selected 2011 with a projected graduation of spring of 2013. Through a series of misadventures, I ended up having to roll back a year, and graduated in the spring of 2014.

I suspect that it has been closer to 9 years now since I decided to become an RN. It was a long road, but just like eating an elephant, I took it one bite at a time and now I am working as a nurse. From the time that I actually entered school, it really was not that long. If you attend college while you are applying to nursing programs, I would suggest that you complete all of your educational requirements for a degree, minus the core program, so that once you enter the program, all you have to do is the core coursework and when you complete that, you graduate with a degree. You are perhaps 22 or 23 years old, that would place you at approximately 25 or 26 when you're done. That is still very young and by the time you reach my age, you will have been a nurse for at least a dozen years.

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Go for it!

I have been an MA now for almost 4 years. I have been taking my prereqs while working fulltime and have enjoyed all the things I have been learning along the way. This Fall semester will be my last semester of prereqs before nursing school and it feels like it has flown by. Take the plunge! It will be so worth it.

No 23 is not old. In my CNA class a majority of the students were in their 30s or above with plans to move forward to nursing school. If I start nursing school in the spring then I will be 25 by the time I finish. As long as there is a will to achieve your goals in life, no one can hold you back or stop you but yourself.

Good luck!!

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Specializes in NICU, telemetry.

Considering that many college freshmen who go to school right off the bat are 17 or 18, that means many who choose a traditional, 4-year BSN program would be either 21 or 22 upon graduating. Those who started even a year after graduating high school would be 22-23 on completion.

No, 23 is a very "norm" age for a new RN. There are also plenty who go back at twice that age(or older) to even start!

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Hello , I am a MA right now and i have been thinking about becoming an RN, but i dont know if ill be able to survive. Just by looking at the pre-req i am second guessing the decision, but i am also thinking about just taking the plunge. (Also is graduating as a nurse at age 23 old?)

I love is "(INSERT AGE) too old to be a nurse"! I am 57 yo and starting my third semester. If you're thinking about taking the plunge, ask yourself why. If you like being an MA, but want to do more, go for it. Your background can be a help.

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Thank you to everyone for your supportive comments. I am going to take the plunge and thanks for reminding me that age isnt everything :)

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