I am 47 years old, soon to be empty-nester, and retired. Looking ahead, I want to fulfill a long time dream and become a nurse. I'm too young to just sit on a beach drinking margs all day (sounds good but can't do it more than a week) but I'm wondering if realistically becoming a nurse in my early 50's might not work out so great as far as getting jobs.
Over 50 too old to start out??
I'm not really doing it for the money (though that would be a nice benefit). I want to have a fulfilling, meaningful existence and really love the medical world. Years ago I was a CNA while initially going to nursing school but young twin children required more mommy time so I stopped pursuing nursing. I became a stay-at-home mom who worked as a medical transcriptionist for 13 years.
I'm fit, healthy, and available. Just waiting for my name to be pulled out of the "hat" for the local nursing school lottery.
No one can answer that question for you, only you know what your physical and mental endurance levels are. I see no reason not to go for it if it's what you really want to do.
Thanks for your advice. I guess it's good for me that because of my age I have worked in many environments and with many hateful co-workers and know what it's like to be stabbed in the back and how to recover from that.
Trust me. I do not romanticize nursing. I remember the nurses I worked with who were hateful and mean just trying their hardest to make my life more miserable than theirs was. I remember my feet aching from literally running on them all night between patient rooms due to short staffing. And I also remember the small victories like a truly grateful "thank you" and "you helped me so much".
You gotta take your small victories when you get them and shrug off the negative stuff as much as possible. Yep, I remember how one nurse was so continually mean and nasty, and the stress building up to the point I basically yelled while crying at her telling her how I felt. Oddly enough, that is what it took to earn her respect and have her treat me respectfully. I'm not saying that is how one should always handle stressful situations. I'm just saying I've had a few and don't live in a fantasy land looking through rose-colored glasses thinking nursing will be all smiles, thank-you's, and warm fuzzies.
I've worked in hospitals and private clinics for years. I know those waters. Those waters are pretty much like everywhere else honestly. Every job is what YOU make of it. We all have control over how we respond to things and much we can handle.
I'll keep on with my life-long dream because I know what I want to make out of it.
Thanks again for your input!
This is all I'm going to say, and you can take it or leave it. I'm going to go against the grain if everybody else here. I'm going to preface this by saying I don't necessarily think age is a factor here, I think your reasoning off the bat is going to be your downfall.
People romanticize what being a nurse is. It's my life-long dream, they say. I hear that no less than twenty times a week on here. I just want to feel satisfied at the end of the day and to know I've made a difference, they say.
Nursing is a job. It's a job. You deal with hateful coworkers, inadequate management, short-stacking, negativity of family, doctors that get crappy..... It's a job. You often leave on the verge of tears. Along with out and out exhaustion. Yes, at 47,at 12-13 hour shift is harder on you than it was at 25. Take it from me.
If you are retired abd are looking for that great fulfillment, volunteer somewhere. Homeless shelters, food banks, get that warm fuzzy feeling that way. It's not nursing.
Look at how many threads on here from people saying, I'm a new grad and I hate my job. This is not what I thought Nursing was going to be. If you think you will have all these families thank you and remember your name and how you made a difference in their lives forever, you are wrong. It's about getting one patient well enough to get out, so the next, sicker, one in. It's your job to get them well enough to get off your unit.
DeeAngel
830 Posts
No one can answer that question for you, only you know what your physical and mental endurance levels are. I see no reason not to go for it if it's what you really want to do.