35 year old mom wants to become a nurse ...

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Hi,

I am almost 35 years and I have 2 children and have been married for 14 years. I have owned my own business for around 9 years. It is in a vocation that I would never choose myself. In about 5 years I want to sell my business and I will financially finally be able to have a career that I want to do because it makes me happy not because it puts food on the table. So I am planning ahead...... I want to become a delivery nurse. I have NO experience what so ever in the nursing field but have a flexible schedule and a desire to learn.

Can anyone help me understand the schooling? I have been told that if I get a bachelors in science/ health management through university of phoenix then I went to Nursing school it would be considered the same as having an RN with a bachelors in nursing.

Do I become a vocational nurse first? LVN?

Any help would be greatly apprecieted!!

I am seriously a fish out of water!!!!:(

Thanks,

Heidi

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I would not recommend getting the Phoenix degree first.

You can get all the nursing courses and degree at the same time and

cheaper........I also believe it would be a better education from a

nursing school.

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Specializes in Maternity, quality.

As far as I understand there is no substitute for having a BSN, i.e. a BS in health mgmt + an RN will not make you a BSN. That being said, the combo of the two might open some doors to you, but I'd check with a HR rep at different hospitals to see what they have to say about it.

Check out the Pre-Nursing forum here on allnurses and that should help to answer a lot of your questions. Welcome and good luck!

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Thanks for the replies. I am just having a hard time finding a way to become an RN part time. Without any prior experience. Anyone in California have any suggestions.

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Specializes in Maternity, quality.

Well, I'm not in CA (maybe some people on the CA forum can help), but I would recommend checking out local nursing schools you're interested in and finding out what their pre-reqs/co-reqs are. The general ones are A&P I&II, microbiology, intro. psych... but they can vary depending on the school. Find out what they are and start chipping away at those now. By the time you are done all you will have left are the clinical courses, so you should be able to do it mostly part-time. The only thing I would say about the LVN if you're interested in getting into L&D is that I've heard that many hospitals will not hire LVNs to work in that department, so you may be better off going straight for the RN. Again, it depends on the hospitals near you. Hope this helps.

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Specializes in critical care transport.

Go to school, bag the U of Pheonix. you will need a live classroom for at least an associates level.

Go to local community colleges, and check in the counseling center- they usually have a list of prerequisite classes required to apply to school, maybe even a nursing school packet.

Be prepared for a competitive feeling- you may have to wait, you will likely have to get good grades to stand out.

Your college will do a test to evaluate your skills to see what math to start in. Some classes required (like chemistry) requires college algebra to get into, even though the prereq sheet may not mention algebra.

most colleges have a website for you to get information from. Call and even ask what the competition is like to get into school (minimum GPA's, volunteer time, etc).

I am 32 and going into nursing school this fall. If it is something you truly want, you should get it.

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Hi,

I am almost 35 years and I have 2 children and have been married for 14 years. I have owned my own business for around 9 years. It is in a vocation that I would never choose myself. In about 5 years I want to sell my business and I will financially finally be able to have a career that I want to do because it makes me happy not because it puts food on the table. So I am planning ahead...... I want to become a delivery nurse. I have NO experience what so ever in the nursing field but have a flexible schedule and a desire to learn.

Can anyone help me understand the schooling? I have been told that if I get a bachelors in science/ health management through university of phoenix then I went to Nursing school it would be considered the same as having an RN with a bachelors in nursing.

Do I become a vocational nurse first? LVN?

Any help would be greatly apprecieted!!

I am seriously a fish out of water!!!!:(

Thanks,

Heidi

You can check out information about nursing and do a CA program search at http://www.discovernursing.com After you have located programs in your area, call them up and ask if they have a part time program or an evening/weekend nursing program. You might be surprised. I live in the heart of dutch country in PA and we have those types of programs.

No, you don't have to become an LPN first. There are LPN programs and RN programs. You can choose either path first.

You can also do nursing prerequisites online. I would check out http://www.edukan.org or http://www.ccconline.org

Good luck!

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Specializes in ER, IR, Endoscopy.

I say go for it. My wife is 36 and we have two young boys (age 5 and an 18 month old) and she is about to start the prereq's. I did it part-time and as long as you are patient and dedicated it is no problem.

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If you really want to be a delivery room nurse, then go to your local community college for the Associate degree in nursing. You can get the BSN later and have your employer pay for it. You can easily get the BSN online from a variety of programs after you get your basic nursing degree. Good luck! I too love L/D. :)

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Specializes in critical care transport.
I say go for it. My wife is 36 and we have two young boys (age 5 and an 18 month old) and she is about to start the prereq's. I did it part-time and as long as you are patient and dedicated it is no problem.

Totally- I started when my daughter started kindergarden. Took one class, then took two classes, then three... easing your way into it, and having patience, is the key. School doesn't have to be "a drag." In fact, it was one of the best things to have ever happened to me. It helps to have a killer instinct about wanting something badly enough to have a "do or die" attitude. Maybe that isn't necessary, but it helped me have my GPA between 3.75- 4.0, and I felt good about the accomplishment. My daughter (who is now 10) has been learning an extraordinary lesson in getting all this stuff done FIRST before getting married and starting a family... She knows, and your children will probably learn the value of an education, too.

The other important factor is, is making sure your family is on the same page with you, which means that sometimes:

-they will have to come up with dinner

-if you are studying, you cannot stop every time they might want you too.

-they will recognize that your sacrifice involves them (which you will acknoweledge), and they will benefit from it eventually. I don't think any mom doesn't want their family to be better provided for.

-you can incorperate them into your studying. I spent time with my daughter by making flash cards together, having her read the questions to me, and I help her with her homework too. Not traditional quality time, but good for everyone. I love sitting at the counter doing homework with my daughter.

-sometimes they might increase responsabilities like laundry, picking up after themselves a bit more, etc.

-you will have to make sure that you don't totally ditch the family. Scheduling times become necessary for study and family time.

-making the extra effort to keep the communication lines open when school gets tough, keeping your family informed and likewise asking them about their day.

Talking to your school counselor is your best bet- also, there are state specific forums here at this website. i'd encourage you to search for it and read through some of it.

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hi,

i am almost 35 years and i have 2 children and have been married for 14 years. i have owned my own business for around 9 years. it is in a vocation that i would never choose myself. in about 5 years i want to sell my business and i will financially finally be able to have a career that i want to do because it makes me happy not because it puts food on the table. so i am planning ahead...... i want to become a delivery nurse. i have no experience what so ever in the nursing field but have a flexible schedule and a desire to learn.

can anyone help me understand the schooling? i have been told that if i get a bachelors in science/ health management through university of phoenix then i went to nursing school it would be considered the same as having an rn with a bachelors in nursing.

do i become a vocational nurse first? lvn?

any help would be greatly appreciated!!

i am seriously a fish out of water!!!!:(

thanks,

heidi

heidi; go for it!!!

you most likely will have to have all your pre-reqs out of the way to begin with ie; micro, a&p as well as all the gen ed classes.

get an appt w/the director of nursing at a college you plan to attend for a guideline as to what is and isn't required so you do not take more classes/spend more money than you need to.

because it is competitive to get into a program look at several schools in your area for different options. ditto to others comments, usually if you can get your rn your place of employment will offer advanced degrees and pay the cost.

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It is in a vocation that I would never choose myself.

This is the only thing that concerns me. Maybe I'm just not understanding the way you said it. Do you WANT to be a nurse? Sometimes it can be a very hard career, and those that don't WANT to be a nurse have a very hard time with it. It you really want it, there are ways.

Community Colleges often have good ADN courses, and the Pre-reqs can be done part time. The clinicals normally must be done full time. Another option is to get your associate degree in applied arts and the go to a university that has an adult degree completion program. This would give you evening classes and you could get your BSN. Try talking to the Admission Councilors in the schools near you that have a nursing program and see what they have to offer. You can also normally check your Board of Nursing website and check the first time pass rate on taking the national boards. This is important in finding the best school in your area. The higher the pass rate, the better prepared the school's program. CA pass rates are at http://www.rn.ca.gov/schools/passrates.htm

I myself am going to college at 33 YO and am in a Full time traditional BSN program. I have 2 kids and have been married 8 yrs... this time :) My kids are 15 and 12, and my youngest is disabled. My wife is very supportive and is able to be available during the day to handle issues with the kids. It's hard, but can be done if you set your mind to it ;)

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