NP: Age limit?

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Hello all Advanced Practice Nurses,

What is the age limit to apply to NP program in your opinion? When do you think is late to do so? Is 50 late? 55? What is the rate of success in this field for the nurses older than 50?

Thank you!

romanti

Not about me but I have a new coworker NP who is in her 60s and has been an NP for five years. You can do the math to figure out that no, you are not too old at 50, 55 ?

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I am late forties and starting NPMH in August. I am not taking a loan, my employer will pay for some tuition and with my travelling allowances will pay for some. MHNP is not flooded, so many jobs even in teaching, I think age and experience helps. I have seen NPs who only were at the bedside for a year and are doing well, so experience is a plus.

hopeful MHNP

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Nope. You can do whatever you like when you like. You're only as old as you feel. My aunt always wanted to be an RN and she did so around the age of 60 and never regretted it.

I'm something like 35 (for almost a decade but shh) and I have another year to finish my NP. My children tell me I'm old when my hair greys and I tell them that's knowledge. I'm flossy! ??

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Good for you NurseBlaq, age is just a number, mine is unlisted. You are still a baby but your babys' think otherwise, the sky is the limit. That is the beauty with nursing, you can be anything you wish to be at any time in your career.

simba and mufasa plashing in the mud

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You know these young'ns nowadays think anybody older than 25 is old. ?

People will be 30 and my kids act like that's 88. I tell them what my granny told me, "just keep on living".

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19 minutes ago, NurseBlaq said:

People will be 30 and my kids act like that's 88.

Well, then I must be dead!?

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4 minutes ago, Wuzzie said:

Well, then I must be dead!?

You and me both! They already got me half way in the grave. ?

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Specializes in RN-BSN.

I'm in this boat. Just got accepted to a FNP program. I will turn 48 in December. I became an BSN-RN in August of 2019 at the age f 46. It was crazy being in a class of twenty year old people. You are never to old to accomplish your dreams and desires.

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Specializes in Cardiac, stroke, telemetry,Med-surgical.
9 hours ago, simba and mufasa said:

I am late forties and starting NPMH in August. I am not taking a loan, my employer will pay for some tuition and with my travelling allowances will pay for some. MHNP is not flooded, so many jobs even in teaching, I think age and experience helps. I have seen NPs who only were at the bedside for a year and are doing well, so experience is a plus.

hopeful MHNP

Thanks a lot for your support. I had never felt my age when I was in Nursing school doing my BSN. But now I started to think about it... I do have my ten years experience; not exactly the one I wanted to have before applying for NP. The plan was ICU. Never happened. Just tele-stroke. It feels that I was waiting for too long because I wanted to get into ICU. Med-surg -a few years, tele -a few years... ICU - a few years ...

And now this COVID19 thing. LOL. Nothing is easy or as planned.

First I Need to take the English test before applying for NP program. That is their requirement.
must take it As soon as possible ? no time to be wasted. I wasted enough already.

thanks everyone!
stay safe.

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1 hour ago, romantic said:

I had never felt my age when I was in Nursing school doing my BSN.

I feel curious: What is someone your age "supposed" to feel? ?

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On 7/15/2020 at 7:36 PM, FullGlass said:

Thank you! No, you are not too old. Nursing is also my 2nd career. I started ABSN at age 53, went straight through to MSN NP, graduating at age 56. Got 9 job offers, all in the six figures. After about 1.5 years of NP experience, got job offers from $135K to $165K.

As others have comments, life experience and looking a little older can be a big asset for a provider.

With regard to cost of education, older individuals typically have more financial resources, so can pay more cash and require less loans. They may also be able to utilize a home equity line of credit, which is a lower interest rate than student loans. Your employer may also pay for part of your education.

There are also a lot of Scholarships available. The HRSA Nurse Corps Scholarship is a full ride scholarship that even includes a living stipend, in return for working in an underserved area for 2-4 years. Many states have the equivalent program for state residents. Underserved does not mean just rural areas - it includes inner city areas, as well as smaller cities and towns. There are also scholarships offered by private entities such as J&J, various NP associations, etc. Most schools also have scholarships available for their students.

Good luck!

@FullGlass I'm just curious, which states did you apply in where you received numerous offers? I'll be in the same situation in a few years & am targeting the MidWest to try to start. I like Ohio. I am a California native and know it's best to get the hell out of here because prices keep going up.

No kids, no spouse, so I can move anywhere.

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Specializes in Cardiac, stroke, telemetry,Med-surgical.
On 7/21/2020 at 8:27 PM, db2xs said:

I feel curious: What is someone your age "supposed" to feel? ?

You just don't think about it at all.

Now, as my joints ache (Sometimes. Not all the time, thank God!) and there are other changes, it is difficult not to think that I am getting older and older every year, every day. I am taking care of my elderly patients and it makes me think that it will be me in ten-fifteen years. ***. And I started to understand that time is flying very fast; I don't have luxury of wasting my time; I don't have time to be indecisive ?

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