Need advice - older, non-traditional student

[Fenway1]

I will be graduating with my BSN in May. I am close to 50 years old. I have a previous Bachelor's degree with a Computer Science major from 1987 and an MBA. However I have not worked in 17 years as I have raised 3 children as a single parent while working on my BSN for the past 6 years (four years part-time, two years full-time.) I have no recent nursing experience although I was a nurses aide for two years almost 30 years ago. That is my only relevant nursing experience (other than clinicals). In addition, I spent one year in a full-time volunteer position in a homeless shelter about 25 years ago. It was an intense experience where I actually lived in the shelter and worked directly with the homeless as a case manager for 40 hours/week without any pay.

So my question is, do I include any of this previous experience on my resume? My last position before I left when my I had children was as a Systems Analyst, which was a computer job where I did not interface much with other people and which was not related to nursing at all. I am at a loss of what to do. If I put down the nurses aide experience, I have to reference that it was in 1983-85, which is probably about a decade before the other new grads I will be going up against for jobs were even born!

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I personally wouldn't include work experience that occurred more than 10 to 15 years ago.

Although 'older' new grads get hired with regularity, this does not change the fact that we still live in an ageist society. I've heard nurse managers complain that 'older' nurses are inflexible, hard to train, and set in their ways. Yes, the stereotypes are alive and well.

You don't want to close doors by indicating you worked in the medical field in 1983 when your interviewer might have been born in 1986. I was born in '81 and just had a 33rd birthday a few days ago, and yes, a couple of my hiring managers have been a few years younger than me.

Once you get a foot in the door, discuss your previous healthcare experience during the interview. Play up your strengths and indicate you plan to remain with your first licensed nursing job for years to come. Good luck to you!

[Tracey0529]

Just curious Fenway, how you made out and if you found you're first nursing job?

[Fenway1]

Yes, I did find a job. In the end I did put my last position on my resume as I had worked at that company for 7 years and held three different jobs there. When I interviewed, the nurse manager asked me a lot of questions about my former job especially about supervising people and getting along with people. She could not have cared less that it was 17 years ago.