To take a chance on nursing school or not?

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Hi everyone! I've been reading almost everything I can find on this site for quite a while to prepare myself for nursing school, and what the career is really all about. I'm honestly feeling more and more nervous about the reality of it all. However, I can't seem to find anyone in a similar situation as I am in. Basically, I am in my early 40's, stayed home and raised my kids, (I had them early so my youngest is now in high school and only one left at home). I started my pre-reqs when he was a baby and finished them all with good grades, but was never able to afford being a full-time student so nursing school was put on the back burner for several years. Fast-forward to now, and I am about to finish my CNA class and applied to the RN program this spring. I passed the hesi A2, but took it on a whim and got a 77. Not great, but considering my prereqs are 7-10 years old I was happy. I got a 90 in math, 87 in English, but 75 average in sciences. I bombed chemistry, and do not remember conversions very well etc. My school accepts all my prereqs so I am not forced to retake anything, but I am literally agonizing over my path to take and how to go about it at this point. I certainly don't want to waste money, time, effort re-doing AP 1+2, chemistry, etc if I don't need to. However, I don't want to take up a spot in a program should I get in, that I am in *reality* not cut out for, that someone else really deserves. Some tell me I can brush up as I go. Another consideration, I am doing great in CNA class academically, except I get very nervous with the hands on with the residents, I'm not sure if it's because the elderly make me nervous and seem fragile, because I do way better with the ones who can communicate more. Anyway, this is my first experience working hands-on with people, and I don't want to give up..but no, I am not really enjoying it. I don't mind the work, am not grossed out at all, but LTC isn't for me. My path to nursing has so far taken me years going to school part-time, and now I have that big gap with the exception of CNA. After reading all the posts about how hard it is, and how much many hate it once they are in their careers, I am extremely concerned it's not what I thought I wanted. I over analyze everything in my life. Fear of failure is really what it boils down to and the amount of liabilty nurses face. I don't know if I should just jump in and try it, since I have wanted it for so long. I'm on information overload now because I have spent so much time watching you tube nursing videos, reading articles, and quite frankly it scares me to death I am not smart enough to graduate, and then what if I end up hating it? If given the chance, should I just jump in and plow through, or am I naive to think I can pass with prereqs as old as mine are? I'm by nature a planner, not much of a risk-taker, but trying to change. Anyway, sorry to ramble I just keep going back and forth over my decision should I be accepted. I've heard I have a good chance so it could be the real deal now. Can anyone out there relate to any of this?

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Specializes in ICU.

I don't think any of us can answer this for you. What happens if the only jobs available when you graduate are LTC positions? I don't know what part of the country you live in. NY and CA are heavily impacted and finding jobs are difficult for new grads.

Why do you want to be a nurse? What are you looking for in life by wanting to become one? I ask this because many people have this misguided notion as to what being a nurse actually is. I see posts on here all the time from people who hate it and say, I didn't realize this is what nursing is. I don't feel this great fulfillment when I go home every night.

Its a job, just realize that. There will be fear as there is with learning any new job. There are good days and bad days. There are negative people in every profession out there who will never be happy no matter what they do. It's easy to get on the internet and complain. You gotta take some of it with a grain of salt.

You have to decide what you truly want and whether or not you can accomplish it.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

You more than likely won't know how you feel about nursing until you try it. Even nursing school won't give you the chance to do real-life nursing work, not until you pass the NCLEX and start practicing. That's where the critical thinking and technical skills a nurse needs so badly come in. You can't know for certain if you've got what it takes until you're actually doing it.

That being said, I think you should go for it. Most of us have some ambivalence about nursing and it takes a while to get used to. Don't give up on your journey unless you become absolutely certain you're not suited to nursing. You aren't there. Don't overthink things---just hold your nose and jump in!

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Moved to prenursing

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Thank you for your replies! I'm just terribly nervous where I will fit in over-all as a student, compared to everyone else who will probably be much younger than myself. At this point I wish I would've had the opportunity to work as a CNA, so I am more comfortable with people. I am going to try very hard to not overthink what everyone out there says. I've always wanted to be a nurse, I am a natural born care-taker, I LOVE taking care of anyone who is sick, hurting, upset, it draws me in. Plus I've always had an interest in disease processes etc. My thoughts on LTC may change as I gain more experience. I've never had experience with elderly at all, so I was truly shocked by the condition some are in. It's not that I don't want to help them, I am simply not confident in my skills yet I think. This is all a new chapter in my life, all of this is new to me, and I want to try and get it right. It's just surprising to read about how many nurses out there do not enjoy their work, and I don't want to invest all my time, energy, and money if it's as bad as many say it is. Again, gonna start taking it with a grain of salt. So for now, I think I'm going to stop reading so much online, wait for my letter, and go from there. I've been through alot of hard times in my life, and would like to give back, so I have several areas where I think I'd love to be helping those who are where I have been. I hope my life experiences will enable me to bring a certain relatabilty that only those who have walked that walk can truly understand. Funny, the more I am writing and sharing I am realizing just how bad I do want it. Failure is scary to me but I think for now I'm just gonna calm down about it, and if I get accepted, then I will know God is opening this door for me to walk through. I just needed to remind myself why I decided to start this journey, and how my reasons to continue on have evolved into much more.

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Specializes in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.

I went to school with quite a few older (like, mid-40s) non-traditional students (who either had older teenagers or kids in college and for them, school got put on the back burner, too) and they did just fine. Actually, your pre-reqs aren't much older than mine when I started and I was surprised at how much I had retained compared to students who had much more recently completed their pre-reqs. I wouldn't get too wrapped up in that. You'll have a lot of opportunities to stop and review something in more depth. I would go for it.

Some words of advice:

1) You must be flexible in your studying styles. What works for you in one term may not work at all in another.

2) You must be flexible with how infuriating nursing school politics can be. I am of the opinion that much of nursing school stress comes with being aggravated by things like scheduling, having things pulled out from under us last minute and feeling like the instructors aren't quite clear on what they are supposed to be asking of us (my school was going through MANY changes as graduation drew near and it was nearly intolerable). You may want to check on the reputation your school's nursing program has right now just to know what you are really getting yourself into.

3) LTC is what you will start out with because it's a good way to cement your nursing fundamentals. I know you don't like it now but, as a CNA, you will have a leg up on how things work in LTC and you might enjoy it a little bit more by then.

4) Much of what you're afraid of will become enjoyable once you learn about it and get used to it. There are so many scary things in nursing that I was petrified of -- until I was completely thrown into it with no choice and ended up loving it.

5) As soon as nursing school starts, you start studying for the NCLEX. Don't let anyone say you're starting too early. The more you practice questions, the sooner you'll get the hang of how they work -- that's a learning curve you don't have time to deal with once you graduate.

6) As soon as nursing school starts, the post-graduation career planning starts. Make your over-planning, over-thinking parts of you work to your advantage and whatever you can do to get ahead, do so.

7) If you have the opportunity to attend a NSNA conference (or your state's SNA conference), do so. Don't do it so early but maybe about mid-way through your program. It'll get your head right about job searching and NCLEX prepping.

Good luck! You are by no means a unicorn in terms of your age and background -- put those things out of your mind ASAP. I'll be you'll end up thriving! :)

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