jonjor2m

I am done with my pre-recs and am entering nursing school in the fall in a very competitive program. I am taking a English comp class this summer with a gentlemen who is well in his 60s who is going to college for English. By the way, I am 62 and starting a second career. Unfortunately, I live in an area where the cost of living must have gone over 300% the past few years because we are now a popular place to be. Get prepared to see those "old" people start those programs. By the way those "old" people have even "older parents" and they get to pay for their health care programs in health care facilities (such as dementia). So they helping their children with their children and are helping their parents receive adequate health care. It is like being in the middle of a sandwich. People who also enter this program actually may be more invested in the process than those who are 22. Most of us have been CNAs before because it is hard to get into a program without being one so we are used to doing the hard stuff.. I wish everyone luck with whatever they are doing. When you start walking in someone else's shoes, then you might gain some understanding about their choice in life. And I said to the sweet CNA whose mother said she should help the older CNA's who might need help because they are older, I can take care of my own patients and if I need help (which people should do) I will ask.

I got into Front Range Community College/Westminster in their RNA program and will start in Fall 2018. They use a rubric score criteria. At this time the cut off is 12 out of the 15 points. I had a 13. I had a 92 on my HESI, I have a 4.0 average on all the pre recs, I have a CNA license, and I have over 300 of paid work as a CNA. It is very competitive. It is actually better to do this than have a wait list because nursing school does require quit a bit of academic rigor and if you having issues with getting especially below a B in your pre-recs maybe this program might not be for you. The easiest program to probably get into is Denver School of Nursing. The hardest is probably Regis and University of Colorado/Anschutz.

I worked with a gal who got accepted and will start there in January. She is a terrific CNA and I think she will be a great nurse. She is a hard worker and will succeed where ever she goes. Me I am waiting to get into Front Range because I don't want to go bankrupt going to school but I will have to take my BNS after I finish my RN... oh well

Last days are hard... I would go in... Just think of the money you won't get if you call in... leave with your head high... don't look back... had the same thing happen to me about a month ago and I had a resident pass away on my shift that was really hard on me but I was glad to help her with her transition... I held her hand when she died... so glad I went in on my shift

In Colorado you can get a verify license using your name and address... you can pull up your numbers and everything... Best wishes

Krista. I applied at the Westminster campus and didn't get in--- don't have enough points... how many points did you have... my problem is I haven't taken many classes at FRCC westminster

Glad you do know it all....

One of the most important things I have learned from a life of working with a variety of ages is when to pick you battles. If I would have told my classmates, who were much younger than I was, to get back on topic I would have had no one who would be my clinical partner. This has nothing to do with about being a coward. Yes you pick battles for patients all of the time. And by the way, your quote about what you would say about Justin Beiber is very snotty. I don't think you understand about the certificate for the CNA stuff and I hope you have a work partner where you are at. You learn most of your "stuff" while working with patients in your clinicals.

The answer is probably EVERYONE!... you are right about the amount of study but I don't know if it is memory lapses... I don't mean to make judgements but sometimes "old gals" like us who are paying for their coursework take their studies more seriously... I certainly am a much better student now than in my 20s...

I actually think being over 60 will not be too old to start a career in nursing. Many patients possibly will be over the age of 60 and they may be able to relate to you and you might be able to be a very effective advocate for them. I would take each A & P separately and make sure you get really great grades because that will be considered. As for expense, consider going to a community college for your classes because it is less expensive and don't take student loans out to cover extra expenses. Consider working as a CNA while you are in school to offset expenses. It is possible where you work as a CNA will want to hire you as a nurse.

Ok-- I am a former teacher and also interested in nursing so I feel I can address this issue. Sometimes it is not the best idea to speak up, etc. if you have an instructor who may not pass you in the class. If the class is this disorganized and poorly constructed, the best thing is to get the credit and move on. Remember if you don't get credit for taking the class (certificate) you can't take the licensing exam. Effective teachers are more facilitators rather than authoritarian rules. An RN is more of a position of authority and the go between the doctor and the patient. Think what would happen if the RN challenged the authority of the doctor> There are other ways to do that.

I am also a former teacher making a career change in Colorado and want to be a nurse. I am also over 50. I realized to get my "feet wet" I needed to be at least a CNA. My course cost $1200 dollars and lasted about 15 days including the clinicals. It was very intense and we didn't talk about Beiber but Trump was mentioned (well it does have to do with health care, doesn't it?). I passed the test the first time I took the test and I had my first job before I passed my licensure test. Mind you this is Colorado. I can say I look at this as an extension on my clinicals which I will be having and I will have practice with patients before I start nursing school which is smart. In Colorado many many programs really want you to have a CNA or EMT experience before they will even consider you into a program. It is also good to do this because it gives you an idea of your work environment and who you will be working with. It has been mentioned that is it worth taking these classes if you are over 50 to go into nursing. I think it is. Is it worth taking all of these education classes to become a K-12 public school teacher if you are over the age of 40. No it is not. If you are an RN and don't go crazy with your loans and attend a community college, it is doable to pay back.

From what I understand if they are interviewing you you are pretty much in... they will send you to financial aide after the interview...

that price for rent (650 to share with others) in that area of town is very very very good.... you should get it filled up fast when others find out the price of rent... I live in the Denver area so if you out of staters have any questions please go ahead and message me... Margi

I agree with you about they don't put the effort into classes. Some of those who give bad reviews are angry because a teacher wanted them to redo an assignment to get a better grade. How can you be mad about that? I guess they think they should get all As all the time with no effort and the school should be free. I don't think they should be at DSN because they really are not ready.