Never too old to learn

groovy jeff, RN · Oct 21, 2011

graduated nursing school at the tender age of 54. i love nursing, but it is a ball buster! you also might consider nuclear medicine, dialysis tech, or other hospital related jobs.

you think a paper mill smells, wait till you have the pt with c-diff

DixieRedHead, ASN, RN · Oct 21, 2011

Dialysis? Stay away, stay FAAAAAAAAAAAARRRR away. Dialysis has good pay, great benefits, and good hours. They are always begging for help. Think about it.

EMT-newbie · Oct 21, 2011

48 guy here spinning up for a big career change too, going back to school for prerequisites and then doing the rain dance to find a school after summer is over. Looks like we're all in good company =)

I'm actually looking forwards to a ball buster, your mileage may vary :yeah:

mofomeat · Oct 27, 2011

I'm 37 going into my 3rd or 4th career change, depending on how you look at it.

When i went back to school, I expected to be the oldest fart in the room, but so far in 10 classes it hasn't happened yet. Right now I'm in A&P and while I've never taken a survey, I bet around 95% of the class are aspiring (if not perspiring) nurses. I'm interestingly in the middle as far as age goes, and I'm one of 4 guys.

-J

zzrider · Nov 4, 2011

You definitely aren't alone! I'm 45 and currently taking my last prereq (A&P II); intend to start a ADN program next fall. I come from a completely different background as well - have an engineering B.S. and worked 20 years in software development. Hated every minute of it (except cashing the paychecks).

When the high-tech burnout hit me, I decided to get my feet wet in health care slowly - I took an EMT class and have been working full-time for an ambulance service for over a year now while taking my nursing prereqs. I'm also working as an ER Tech and unit secretary in a community hospital. I love it, and this low-level exposure to various healthcare settings has helped solidify my commitment to becoming an RN.

If you have no real work exposure to what it's really like in a health care facility, you might want to try this route before making the commitment to nursing school. It's definitely not for everyone.

I must admit I am quite anxious about job prospects once I finish school. Everything I hear and read is doom and gloom for new grad RNs. I hoping that my "maturity" will be seen in a positive light, and that "paying my dues" with my current EMT/ER Tech work experience will help give me a competitive edge over other new grads. We'll see.

Good luck!

Bortaz, MSN, RN · Nov 5, 2011

I was 41 when I graduated from nursing school. Came from a corrections and law enforcement background. Best idea I ever had. Good luck, fellers.

charlie8025 · Nov 9, 2011

graduated nursing school at the tender age of 54. i love nursing, but it is a ball buster!
you think a paper mill smells, wait till you have the pt with c-diff

that just about covers it, i also graduated at the age of 54 following retirement from another career. nursing is a lot of work and stress. to me its worth it, as long as i can figure out how to manage the stress. and c-diff......that is a smell that you never forget!!!! good luck, give it hell....

MrChicagoRN, RN · Nov 10, 2011

My question is are there any other person that have waited this late in life to make a career change like this and what are the pros and cons of doing so.
I'm a people person and the thought of dealing with people on a daily basis doesn't worry me , I'm just worried that with my age and lack of experience in the medical field I may not be accepted like I hope.
Any input , positive or negative will be greatly appreciated.

Nursing can be a great career choice.

A big consideration is the academic rigors. If you haven't been in a college classroom for a few decades it can be an additional challenge adapting to totally different demands. Maybe start now by taking a course that may be easier in order to get into the swing of things

chuckster, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Nov 14, 2011

I'm a 50 year old male and I want to change careers. . .
My question is are there any other person that have waited this late in life to make a career change like this and what are the pros and cons of doing so.
I'm a people person and the thought of dealing with people on a daily basis doesn't worry me , I'm just worried that with my age and lack of experience in the medical field I may not be accepted like I hope.
Any input , positive or negative will be greatly appreciated.

Speaking as one of the "young-old" myself, I can safely say that you are far from alone in making late move to nursing. All of the things you mention are minor barriers and can be relatively easily overcome. One thing I can suggest is that you consider is becoming an EMT before going to nursing school. Many volunteer fire companies have an ambulance corps and most will pay for you to get your EMT cert if you join. The course is only a few months long and once you have your cert and are running on the ambulance, you will get a sense of whether or not patient care is something you want to pursue. This would mean a minor delay on the road to nursing but the payoff is that you will become very familiar with a lot of patient basics (history, vital signs, etc) and if you decide that nursing isn't for you after all, well then there's no harm, no foul.

The bigger challenge I think will be to find work as an RN after graduation. This is not so much do to "ageism" as to the general oversupply of nurses in most parts of the country. With that in mind, if you do decide to go the nursing route, IMO, you'd be better off to find an eve/weekend program that will allow you to keep your present job.

Best of luck to you.