Hi all!!Well let me introduce myself and give the short version of my so called life
Ok..well...back in 1986 when i graduated high school(yes Im in my 40's)I sorta played around.Went BACK to college to take nursing that would eventually lead me to medical school.I was early 20's.Through a series of bad luck and being talked OUT of my dreams(was too old to get into medschool and I was at a community college) I dropped out.Fast forward to now.No more school and a series of HORRIBLE jobs.Im tired of it.I need a career.My thoughts are this...I need a JOB NOW...so I was going to take a pharmacy tech course and with that done...that be my job and help pay for nursing school
Am i stupid or old or crazy?LOL//the pharmacy tech is a stop gap toget me going and have an OK paycheck.Im earning minimum wage now and I have to work two jobs to keep up
Im in NC but may move to WV.please help out an old girl...lol
and hello everyone...Im so excited and happy to be here
I just finished up a CNA course. My plan is to work as a CNA to gain some experience while getting my BSN. My course started on May 17 and finished on July 30. We went Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 5:00-9:45pm. We started with the lecture part and started clinicals on July 5. It wasn't too bad and I just got hired as a CNA while I was in the last week of my clinicals.
I turn 41 in December and will graduate with my nursing degree in May 2011. You are NOT too old! Many of my classmates are close to my age and a few are older than me. I think the oldest in our class is 50 and she's so youthful that it's hard to remember that she is the age that she is. Age is a state of mind, after all.... I plan to start on my BSN immediately after graduation with my ADN and then hope to earn my MSN at some point although I don't know yet where I want to focus. I'm hoping to become a Nurse Practitioner. I honestly feel that we older students have excellent life experience to bring to the table and also can often be more dedicated to our work in school.
The hospital where we do our clinicals allows us to work as health care techs (very similar to CNAs) after our first semester of nursing classes are completed. Many students choose to go that route because it gives good experience and sometimes preferential hiring when they move to a nursing job. Some programs require that you're a CNA before even being admitted to a nursing program, so it really depends on your school, etc.
Go for it! There is nothing holding you back if you are truly determined to succeed...least of all, age. :)
I know exactly how you feel girl but like I have heard you are never to old to go back to school I am in my mid 30's so old LOL and I am going back to school so excited!!!!!!! I cannot wait to start if going back to school to become a nurse is what you want then go for it I am:nurse: Yeah I wish I had done this sooner but at least I am going for it now:beer::w00t:
I'm 33 and in my last semester, but there are MANY folks older than I am (both male & female) in my class - so please don't let your age be a hurtle for you...you will have other hurtles, don't create one that isn't really there!
I would think that both CNA and Pharmacy Tech would work out well. With the CNA position you would get more hands-on patient time, even if it is just bedpans and such. Many new student have to get over actually touching the patients, so you would be over that already.
This 1981 high school graduate is starting nursing school next month. As part of my school's application process, we have to be trained as CNAs and I did the training last year in a hospital. We had 75+ hours of classroom training (some of this is done on-line now) and 75 hours of clinical training. I enjoyed the work and had a great experience probably because of the facility. The CNAs in the hospital have an additional level of certification but I believe it is only about 80 more hours. The CNAs there took vital signs approx. every 4 hours or more ofter after surgery. Assisted with bathroom trips and the occasional bed pan. Most of the hospital patients were ambulatory to some extent. There were a few bed baths, bedding changes, gown changes. The level 2 CNAs also did blood sugar checks and oxygen level checks. It's way more active and engaging than pharmacy tech work which can be a little monotonous. The pay is more in a hospital setting over LTC. I think the pay may be a little more for the pharm tech but with experience, the CNAs get a little more.
I graduate in May. I'll be 40. I was married until a few years ago and I have one 10 year old daughter. Until I started back to full-time nursing school, I worked as a REALTOR and I was the office manager of the small firm I worked in doing all the computer stuff b/c no one else knew how to do all that stuff.
When I started 3 years ago, I continued to work. I was only going part-time at first just to see how I could handle it all and still work and be a mom, etc.
Fast forward to NS acceptance in 2009. I decided I had to quit my little job but I had to focus on school and family and there was just no time for a job at that point. When I started my 2nd semester of clinicals I bugged my teacher nearly every day for her to help me find a tech job. I wound up getting a job on that floor where I did my clinical and I've been there ever since.
Personally, if I had to work and take classes, I would look for the job that would allow me the most flexibility. $8/hr vs 10/hr isn't that much of a difference if the higher paying job takes you away from family and studying.
Do you have all the pre-reqs you need? Will you just apply to the program and start from there? If so, I wouldn't do either job at this point. If you have some time between or need to do your pre-reqs then a pharmacy job might not be a bad idea. If you got the CNA certificate, you may only find a job in a nursing home/LTC and you will, most likely, be working 12 hour shifts. Even most hospitals run 12s too.
CNA / Tech work isn't easy. I work 7p-7a and I am exhausted at the end of every shift. Some nights are worse than others but for the most part I am on my feet most of the night and only sit down for about 2 hours throughout the night. Most nights, I have 16 patients and many of them are total care patients. Any given night I am doing vitals on all those 16 or so and doing at least Q4s on half of those. Then I'll have anywhere from 2 to all of them needing blood sugar checks 2-4 times per night. In between all of that, I'm changing diapers, toileting patients, or putting them on the bed pan. It never fails that I'll change bed linens several times throughout the shift too. Then there is my charting and making sure all the total care patients are turned Q2H and fetching waters, ice, etc for everyone. It. is. exhausting. Rarely do I get to sit and read my notes or anything like that.
I don't have my CNA either. My hospital will hire techs that have completed the first semester of nursing school. That was a huge help. I just work PRN but it is still hard to to to work sometimes especially when you have a test looming.
So why do i do it? I'm learning just being there but I also *bug* all the nurses to let me watch little procedures and stuff too. It isn't much but it is helpful.
Since I work the over night shift I end up sleeping most of the next day but I also have to catch at least a 3 hour nap the day I go in. That isn't easy with a child really.
I think a pharmacy tech might not be a bad idea either. For the most part, you are working somewhat normal hours. While you are working, you will at least learn a lot about the drugs and you will start to see what the most common drugs are what they are being used to treat. We have 2 or 3 pharm techs in my program and they all did very well in the pharmacology class. That was my hardest class so it would have probably helped me too.
If you are torn between the two it is probably time to start asking a few questions. Who is hiring pharmacy techs in your area? Are there jobs out there in your area or does the program help you find a job? If so, what kind of hours will you be working there? Who is hiring CNAs? What kind of hours will you be working? Would you have to commit to a 'set' schedule or will they be flexible with your school schedule?
A lot of units and nurse managers won't hire student techs because they won't spend the time nor the money to hire and train someone. On the other hand, my nurse manager LOVES students because she knows they are working to gain knowledge and is being trained by HER staff and she can hire that tech once she graduates and the new grad comes in as an RN halfway trained on the floor layout & environment and computer system. In my situation, I don't really want to work on this floor as an RN but if it is the only job out there I won't turn it down.
I kind of feel like I rambled on here but i think having all the facts, pros and cons helps you to make a better, or at least more informed, decision.
Of course, these are just my experiences as a student and working as a tech. Someone else may have the exact opposite type of story to tell you.
I think being an older student has helped me in classes sometimes. I think I have better critical thinking skills than my younger counterparts for the most part and I can communicate with a MUCH wider variety of people. It is soooo funny to watch the little, prissy sorority girls talk to the elderly patients or other patients that aren't their socioeconomic level. They just aren't good at it yet. Being older has helped me communicate better with my patients and really HEAR what they are saying as well as what they don't say.
good luck! I think it is never too late to go to school.
I plan to start on my BSN immediately after graduation with my ADN and then hope to earn my MSN at some point although I don't know yet where I want to focus. I'm hoping to become a Nurse Practitioner. I honestly feel that we older students have excellent life experience to bring to the table and also can often be more dedicated to our work in school.
FLmomof5
1,530 Posts
I am 48 and pinning is on Monday!!!!
:nurse: