Older students biased against younger students?

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First let me say that I'm not trying to start an argument on this thread, but I want to bring to everyone's attention a situation I was in yesterday.

Soo, yesterday morning I went to register for summer courses and I was standing in line between two very nice women who were in their early 30s (I am 20). We were all talking about the nursing program etc and both women started talking about how this was a second career for them and they feel that older people should receive spots in programs over people straight out of high school because they are wiser and have more life experiance. Usually I would just brush comments like these off (even though I am not just out of high school, I have been taking pre-reqs since I graduated in 2007 and have been accepted into a program for Fall 2009), but they would not stop going on and on about teenagers and even people in their early 20s not knowing what they want to do with their lives. I really take offense to this because I'm working very hard to achieve my goal of becoming a RN, does anyone else come in contact with people that have this same mindset?

So refreshing to hear, but I do not think you want a 48 year old sitting next to you--LOL! I have been in your shoes prior to returning to RN school. I hold a degree in Histotechnology/Pathology, medical transcription as well as LPN just recently completed. Hold your tongue, and sooner or later they will not be there to annoy you--LOL!

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Specializes in Psychiatry.
Touche' my fellow nurse. I could have not said it any better..

Amen to that! :yelclap:

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This sounds like a statement made by two women standing in line. They are two individuals with their own opinions. By the way, 31 isn't actually very old by my standards. 31 is actually still fairly young.

I agree with you that 31 isn't old but I think she stated OLDER. (insecurities, I tell ya)

31yo student is OLDER than a 20 year old student.

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I remember my freshman year I had a college cultural shock. I went from attending high school with everyone around the same age to Human anatomy in which I was the youngest student (18) and the average age seemed like 35.

There were 2men and 3 women that had to be pushing 50. I was intimidated by them b/c of the whole life experience argument. Out of a class of about 60, Looking back on that prerequisite class I can honestly say that I was only one of the few who actually made it into nursing school.

At my school the older and younger students work together. If an older guy/lady is weak when it comes to cpu skills (emailing, formating, etc) one of us (younger students) help him/her out.

If there is a older student who works at a hospital all ready but just not as a RN and one of us younger students want to get a job so we can have a better view of what nurses actually do, we network.

Our motto is "Keep Your Seat" and help out those in need.

I believe students are simultaneously accepted in their program together for a reason. You can not make it out of a challenging Nursing program on your own.

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So sorry you had that negative experience. I will be 50 in August and will finish LVN school in October. I am finally getting to do what I wanted to do when I graduated high school. I am the oldest student at my school. What I have discovered is that the best students regardless of age are the ones who have the heart for nursing. It's not your age, IQ or class standing that is going to make you a good nurse. Unfortunately there are horses buts in every situation you will encounter. Hang in there.

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i came across something similar as well. I'm 22 years old, and the classmate i was talking to is 62 years old. While we were talking about Nursing school and trying to get into a program, he told me that he would probably just wait to be admitted through waitlist. He then proceeded to tell me that by the time that he would be enrolled in Nursing school, graduate and finally start working, he said he would have about a year to two years left to work as an RN and then retire! he was serious too.

I don't know for some reason i felt upset, I'm not the type to tell a person to not follow their dreams and all, but I just think since he's much older and only plans to work as an RN for 2 years, that his spot should be given to someone else planning to really work long in the field.

I'm not going to read this whole thread because its filled with ageism prejudice but this... sigh. I'm sorry but just because you want a spot in a program doesn't mean you are any better and doesnt make your desire or your reasons ANY better than his. Maybe he just wants to say he did it. Maybe he just wanted to go to school for something challenging and make it through. Maybe he just wanted to be able to hold someone by the hand as they passed away and help them through that difficult transition because he felt his own mortality and realized he would be in that position some day.

Regardless of ANYONE'S reason for being in ANY program ANYWHERE, its unbelievably self centered and close minded to think that the only reasons to judge whether someone "deserves" their spot in school are based on YOUR criteria. You don't need a "calling" to be in school, you don't need to have a desire to be a nurse going back to toddlerhood, you just need to be able to make it through the program. Thats the only real criteria, and IMO I would rather have a person who was not going to put ANY time in "out in the field", in my class, than someone who felt a higher power called them to it but couldn't pass the classes. If they can pass, and they can add something of interest to the class, and they were able to get in based on their GPA or whatever that school's criteria is, then they absolutely deserve to be there and not only will I welcome them in, but I will CHEER THEM ON, regardless of how long their journey may be.

BTW, I am 32, a lifelong student, and intend to be in school in one form or another for the rest of my life (and have been since my first dual enrollment class in high school).

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fun fact about humans - when you get more then 1 that share some trait in a group, then they start to look at it as "us vs them". age, gender, grades, whatever. we are social and warlike creatures.

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That's too bad that this happen to you. I really enjoy the younger students. I am currently a 40+ year old student trying to enter into a program next Fall or Winter quarter. I took Microbiology last quarter and the study group we had were mainly students out of High School. It's really good to see these students motivated to get an education. I have no problem with this. Best of luck to you.

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acceptance should always be based on merit. to base it on whether a person is younger or older i believe is against the law. (oh look at me throwing that in. lol) those two the op were talking about were full of it!! i'm 42, not jealous of the younger students at all. yes, i do have more life experience, lot's of it. i wish i knew back at 20 what i know now though.

the only things that bother me about a couple of the younger ones in my class are the following:

1. yes, we all know you have three children, however, that does not give you the right to miss class and clinical and still expect to pass.

2. i really don't care that you went out drinking until 3 am the night before the test.

3. their dadblamed cell phones. they're banned in class and clinical and i'm constantly hearing the keys clicking as they text message. mine's in the flipping car.

admittedly, it's only about 5 or 6 of them, so i do realize it's not all of the 20 somethings. most of them are some of the most level-headed, mature young women and 4 guys i've met.

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1. yes, we all know you have three children, however, that does not give you the right to miss class and clinical and still expect to pass.

this "younger" student has alot of children for their "young" age. :D i am assuming many of the students who have anywhere between one and 47 children would be clumped into the "older" category. we always seem to be.

on a side note, i have 3 children and i have never once missed class. i missed clinical once due to one of the 3 sharing their pinkeye with me. i don't expect to pass, i do pass.

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Specializes in Telemetry.

I'm an older student as well, and I think that nursing spots should be available to anyone who wants it.

However, I think the requirements should be tightened in a way that it can sift through the students who don't want it bad enough. Spots are hard enough as it is, and it's just disappointing to see students who drop out in the middle of the program just because they didn't want it bad enough.

Just my two cents.

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I have to admit that I am impressed by today's young woman and their study ethic, but that is based upon what I was doing in my 20's. It is refreshing to see that these younger girls have their stuff in order and can still maintain a social life while keeping a great GPA. Truthfully, I'm envious b/c I wish I would have had the same self discipline these younger girls have when I was there age ... sheesh, I'd be a seasoned nurse by now instead of just starting!!

So kudos to all you young women out there ... don't let us older ladies get under your skin!! Not everyone is like that! ;)

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