Need upfront Input/Advice

Bob,

I know a guy who went back to school in his 60's and worked part-time during his program. It can be done. If you can swing it, you might try to land your part-time job in healthcare to gain a little experience prior to graduation.

Working and going to nursing school can be tough, but not unheard of. At 50, you bring life experience to your work which is a huge advantage. Don't worry, once you get past that novice nurse stage you will be fine. Good luck and hang in there.

if financially feasible, reduce your work hours to =/

i had one student who was in his 50s, retired as an engineer, with 2 master's science degree. his reason for becoming a nurse was for altruistic reasons. he and his wife (also an engineer) wanted to return to the community and work in a depressed area. he said that the nursing program was more difficult than getting his master's degree.

best wishes.

You can do it. When pursuing my BSN, I worked 5 days/wk parttime until my senior year, many in my class did also, some fulltime.

I 2nd the suggestion to work in the healthcare field while in school - especially if you don't have prior HC experience.

It's a trial, but not impossible. Best of luck.

Brian

Thanks for the advice and words of encouragement.

The next few months will decide if this is doable or not.

Again, thanks....

Bob -- There are innumerable threads here regarding older RN nursing students. All are extremely positive... and correctly so, IMHO.

When you get a minute do a search. Plenty of encouragemnt to be discovered!

Good luck!

hi bob,

i posted this on another forum. thought you might be interested in article.

with retiring boomers expected to cause a shortage of skilled staff, employers are making it easier for them to stay. here are five sectors where employers are eager for experienced workers.

excerpt from msn money article

link:http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...dlovingit.aspx

keeping nurses on the job is imperative. because it's such physically demanding work, a number of hospitals have begun to install mechanical lifting devices to help nurses move patients. to help fill the 200,000 nursing jobs projected to be open by 2010, nursing schools nationwide are creating accelerated programs that award degrees in 12 to 18 months for professionals who hold a bachelor's degree in another field.

rr, a 54-year-old former marketing executive with a degree in economics, is taking advantage of such a program at case western reserve university. r was always interested in health care and decided to change careers after caring for his wife while she was ill with breast cancer for six years. she died in 1999. r, who became an rn in january, is on his way to a doctorate in nursing. he says he finds the work "very fulfilling, intellectually challenging and stimulating."

mf is a career changer who is benefiting from an in-hospital training program at yale new haven hospital (no. 5 on aarp's survey). f, 51, laid off from her flight attendant job in 2003, entered an accelerated nursing program in bridgeport, conn. she graduated in may and was immediately hired into yale new haven's nine-month training program for operating room nurses. "i am being paid a full-time salary while they train me," she says.

This thread is exactly what I was looking for. I am 54 and am looking to pursue nursing school. They keep saying 50 it the new 30...and us boomers are gonna have to work till we drop dead AND I have wanted to be a nurse for many years but was not able to quit work and go back to school. My biggest concern is whether or not I am crazy to do this at my age. From the sound of this forum, I'm not so "out there". Unfortunately, some of my units had expired from my first couple degrees and I will have to retake Microbiology and a few prereqs. Oh well. I will hang arount this website and lear from you all!

Ok, here is my situation.

I'm a 47 year old male who is working towards a second career as a nurse. I am planning on getting an ADN from a local community college.

So far I have completed all the general courses and most of the pre-requisites. I will apply for admittance into the nursing program for the Fall of '07.

My course load in Spring '07 would be Human A&P I, Pharmacology, and Med Terms.

In Summer of '07 I would take Human A&P II.

The next four semesters would be taking Nursing Processes 1-4 in sequence with one Microbiology class thrown in. This means I would graduate and be able to take the NCLEX-RN at the end of summer of '09.

This makes me a 50 year old male starting a new career as a nurse. Is this a realistic proposition?

I will probably need to work part-time while taking these courses, is that feasible?

Is there any advice or pearls of knowledge that anyone would be willing to share?

Sincerely,

BobRoberts

Hi Bob,

I'm 53 will get my ADN and hopefully pass the NCLEX this year. My experience is that the more you can clear off the table to do your work, the better off you are. Ask around and make sure you don't take any electives that are time consuming. Can you take some online courses? (Your school with tell you how many courses are needed at your home college.) I know lots of students who juggle kids, jobs, and extra courses. Some are totally fried. As for a realistic proposition, of course it is! Nursing can wear you down, but keeps your mind alive. Good luck, and don't pile on more than you can handle. Micro is hard, but anatomy is just time-consuming with lots of memorization.

Diahni

I'll be 40 when I finish, though 40 isn't 50, I'm still going to be almost 20 years behind others in their career.

With my luck, my first supervisor will be 22 years old :)