Last week while at work I met a very bright young woman. I noticed how young she looked and that her name badge said RN so I had to ask.
She is 18 years old. She graduated at age 17 from a 2 year LPN program her high school had. She then went directly to one of Wisconsin's technical colleges and got her ADN in 9 months. She currently works in a critical care unit of a large hospital and tells me she is enrolled in an online RN to BSN program. She wants to become a travel nurse after she gets a couple years in critical care and her BSN. By then she should be the ripe old age of 20 with a BSN and two years critical care experience! Her long term goal is to become a CRNA or FNP.
I admire her ambition and wish I had had my act so together at such a young age.
Specializes in ER,ICU and Progressive Care Unit,Peds.
My path of education was much the same as Idon'tcodgerdodge (wow what a name). Last half of my SR yr in high school I took dual enrollment course at a local community college. So I enter my college with 19+hrs worth of freshman courses. I graduated from nursing school with my BSN when I was 21. Needless to say I was the youngest in my class. Now that I'm in the Navy, I get confused for a corpsman quite often b/c I look so young. We wear scrubs on our floor too which makes it so easy for that too happen. So many of my pt's families can't believe I'm an officer. I'm the youngest nurse on my floor (23 now); even most of the corpsman are older than me. So when the corpsman that I have working on my floor ask "Ma'am how old are you?" I smile and say "23". Then they get this oh my look....like I'm older than you?!
I was very motivated to get out of school at fast as possible.
Yeah...sometimes its hard for people older than you to take orders
from someone younger.
Also, I'll be able to retire from the Navy when I'm 42.
I plan on going back to become an FNP after my 2nd tour; so I expect to be the youngest one when I go back too! I'll be 26 then.
This is so great. It gives me hope about that generation. I thought I knew what I wanted to do at 18, spent 5 years in college to achieve a bachelors in psych. I found out that I could't do anything with this degree without going to grad school. I was terrified of going to grad school. So, I became a CNA and worked my way through school, again. I finally had my RN at age 28. I turned 41 yesterday, and almost finished with my masters. I feel old in some ways, but yet I still have at least 24 years until I can retire. The great thing about being a nurse is that there are so many different specialties. If this young gal gets tired of one area after a few years, she can try something else.
I think it is great. I wish we would have had an LPN program at my high school, but I was able to graduate high school with my CNA certification at 17. I start the ADN program at my local college this Fall and will be turning 19 in October. I will graduate when I'm 20.
wow and i thought i was a young nurse. Im 19 now but i became an LPN through highschool and was an LPN at 18. Now im in an LPN to BSN course hopefully headed towards my masters in midwifery. I always wonder what will face the nurses of this generation and on. We have so much to learn!
Wow, that is impressive. I am a 19 year old LPN (just passed my boards last week). I feel like I am young in the nursing field, and I know I am. I wish I would've had the chance to complete an LPN program in high school though. She definitely has her head on straight.
I will be 19 with my RN. I will turn twenty in October. I can have my BSN in 18 months, so I will be 20 when I have my BSN. I also took college classes while I was in high school.
My friends joke that I will be old enough to pass narcotics, but not old enough to drink!
That is SO awesome! I wish my high school would have offered an LPN course.
Me too. I went to a career center in my county for my junior and senior years. We became STNAs in our 3rd nine weeks of our junior year and then senior year was all basic nursing skills and getting ready for second semester when we had work placement where we only had to go to our academic classes and lab class one a week. In the career center in teh county below mine, they offer a lpn class to seniors who took the stna class junior year. I would be a lot fartger along if mine offered it.
When I was in LPN school there was this girl who entered the program at age 17 and finished by age 18. In fact, on our last med surg rotation I often found her flipping flash cards, having already started her ADN program.
It is amazing the maturity of some kids these days.
navynurse06
325 Posts
My path of education was much the same as Idon'tcodgerdodge (wow what a name). Last half of my SR yr in high school I took dual enrollment course at a local community college. So I enter my college with 19+hrs worth of freshman courses. I graduated from nursing school with my BSN when I was 21. Needless to say I was the youngest in my class. Now that I'm in the Navy, I get confused for a corpsman quite often b/c I look so young. We wear scrubs on our floor too which makes it so easy for that too happen. So many of my pt's families can't believe I'm an officer. I'm the youngest nurse on my floor (23 now); even most of the corpsman are older than me. So when the corpsman that I have working on my floor ask "Ma'am how old are you?" I smile and say "23". Then they get this oh my look....like I'm older than you?!
I was very motivated to get out of school at fast as possible.
Yeah...sometimes its hard for people older than you to take orders
from someone younger.
Also, I'll be able to retire from the Navy when I'm 42.
I plan on going back to become an FNP after my 2nd tour; so I expect to be the youngest one when I go back too! I'll be 26 then.