58 years old - Am I too old to start nursing school??

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You are reading page 5 of 58 years old - Am I too old to start nursing school??

Dear OP,

Read it all, weigh it all, and remember...many of us go an entire shift without the opportunity to urinate.

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

Only you can decide but do weight it carefully. Read the thread from Nurse Beth on age discrimination. Be sure you REALLY want to go through all that because there is most certainly ageism in nursing, like all over the USA. Beth provided some good ideas in order not to "appear" too old, but frankly, it's gonna take you no less than 2-4 years just to get through nursing school, THEN you are starting out new and providing you have the energy for the rigors of nursing school, you will need to have even more for your job.

Most places where new grads start out, like acute care or long term care come with the requirement you be able to lift a certain amount. And to go long hours without food/drink or bathroom breaks. There was one job where I had to demonstrate ability to lift and move 50lb before they would hire me. (it was LTC).

Right off the back, I would go for my bachelor's in nursing, if I were you, because in many places that is what is being required. Also, you won't advance beyond the staff nurse level in most places without at least your BSN.

Again, time may or not be on your side. You have to decide how much energy you have and if you really want to put yourself through all that it takes to be a nurse.

Good luck and whatever you decide, I wish you the best.

Specializes in LTC, Rehab.

Not only do I think the 'it costs hospitals $100K to train a new nurse (and therefore why would they want to do that with an older hire)' argument to be not only wrong, but backwards. I think it is MORE likely that an older new nurse is going to stay several years with the same facility, thus enabling the hospital to 'recoup' their investment.

My LTC facility probably spent more like $1k (I'm not joking) training me, and I'm about to hit 2.5 years there, which - amazingly, to me - puts me there longer than probably 75% of the nurses currently there.

Specializes in Oncology.

I'm not sure why people keep saying there are other opportunities besides bedside nursing. Not for new grads, there aren't. Does anyone really think a nurse can land a case management job out of school? Reality check, guys. New grads in their 20's can't even get LTC jobs, let alone acute care jobs. The market is saturated. Those non bedside nursing jobs almost always require at least a few years of bedside experience.

Specializes in Registered Nurse.
Knute said:
My opinion and experience says nursing school at any chronological age is a personal thing that should be rigorously and honestly self-assessed. That said, I went to nursing school at age 59 and worked 50 plus hours a week and attended FT day school and it was not a challenge for me. I was under-challenged. My Grandmother was a veterinarian surgeon and clinical instructor who performed her last equine surgery at age 87. She stopped when her horse fell over a jump on a hunt course, crushing her hip. While I was in nursing school, I met a nurse who was 74 and had just returned from climbing Mt Hood. She looked like she was 40 and had more energy than an 18 year old. I am 61 and have more energy than I had when I was 30. My cog processes have improved and not declined. In addition I bring years of experience as a CNA and PCT, Phlebo., and so on. The real hands on care. And...because I have observed many years of learning exactly how I will not be as a nurse and exactly how I will be as a nurse I didn't feel a huge transition from being a real bedside nurse into med pass nurse. My work days are much easier physically and less demanding than when I was PCT or CNA. It's a different kind of stress that I refuse to let get inside of me. And....being older and not having children at home....I fill in every shift every parent calls in because of needing to meet the needs of children. And, as many new parents are struggling financially, I often pick them up for shift work as well. And....sad as it is....I also feed CNA's and PCT's on occasion because they are paid an unlivable wage for doing 90% of nursing work. So having an older nurse around is a smart move for thinking management, and a really smart move for those nurses who tend to want to destroy someone's life.

I'd love to know where you work that it is easier than it is as PCT or CNA. Not even close at my place of work. I understand CNA's can do some physical work. I do as a nurse also. But add all the stress of nursing and the responsibility. I run from morning throughout the day and am exhausted. You must be superwoman. Cheers. (Just a little cynical on this one.)

Specializes in Registered Nurse.
qaqueen said:
Dear OP,

Read it all, weigh it all, and remember...many of us go an entire shift without the opportunity to urinate.

LOL...true that

One more thing: Will nursing school be a hardship for you? Can you pay for it and are not dependent upon finding a job right away? If you do not succeed or cannot find a job, will you be saddled with crushing debt?

I see older nurses at my job with yearrrrsss of experience that always say " whose gonna hire an old lady?" Ageism unfortunately is real and is probably very discouraging but is it there so know you will deal with it unfair or not.

I am 57 (58 when I graduate with my BSN), and this subject is obviously close to my heart. To complicate matters, I'm also male, which makes me "non-traditional" in more ways than one. It has been a tough few years, as I got my last degree in 1982, and there have been many changes in schooling as well as in me over the intervening decades. However, I have to believe there is a niche out there somewhere for someone like us. One of the biggest reasons I chose nursing as a second (third? Fourth?) career is the tremendous breadth of professional options under the "nursing" umbrella. I don't expect to have the stamina of my 23 year old compatriots, or their natural ease with social networking (we used to call it "talking"), but I feel very strongly I have a great deal I can bring to my patients. I might end up behind a desk or in some other non-floor-nurse position, but I will still be helping people, which is the point.

I say go do it. I refuse to be shelved, pigeonholed, or ignored after all these years I have spent growing up. A job or career is what you make of it; we might have different hurdles than a 23 year old, but they are just that: different. Not impossible, not even necessarily higher, just different. If you can physically get through school, then go forth and contribute!

I'm sure there are other articles out there.

I am 53 and currently a CNA. I began that journey when I was 51. I definitely plan on doing an ADN program in the very near future. However, I don't look my age, I workout and eat well. I think prayer, attitude and keeping fit goes a long way. I feel age discrimination all the time. It's hard starting over. I have no husband or children to fall back on so I have to take care of me. I choose to be a LVN. I think I can...I think I can! Be positive!

I totally agree with this entire post. I don't post much as homework for school and working takes all my time away from any of 'my' reading. I'm 53 and finishing my first year of nursing school, I'm a PCT on an extremely hard med-surg floor at one of the trauma hospitals in my state. I will bring 3 years of PCT med-surg hands on experience to the floor once I'm a nurse. I'm lucky as my floor teaches (we are a teaching hospital) so when I go to school I've either had hands on skills (from my PCT school which for my state was very advanced) or I have the ability to follow a nurse and learn what he/she does.

Being a PCT, I don't like it, it's back breaking work and there are some nurses who treat us like crap - but then some are totally appreciative and work with us like we are honored guests. This allows me to learn what kind of nurse I WON'T be.

Anyways, I don't think age has anything to do with it - the younger kids in class (thats anyone under 30 for me and are my daughters ages) scoff at first at my experience and think this old lady will be gone - and when they don't understand whats going on, they come to me for advice or help. They ask me how do you do it? School is my second job, and I have to prioritize and I have to lose things that I want to do (like seeing my boyfriend, visiting my daughters out of state, seeing my grandson) but I will be able to do that after school is done.

I don't know everything, I ask questions all the time, I doubt my knowledge all the time, I doubt I'll be able to make it to the floor all the time - this is all normal - there are days when I think I'll never be able to do it, but I will. I will learn the critical thinking.

So after this long post, is 58 too old? Nope, 58 is young - I look at it this way - my Dad is 84, has his own business, still drives back and forth between LA and San Fran 3x a month - travels the world, walks up to 6 miles a day.....is 84 old? 58 is the new 30 - 84 is the new 50 :)

I encourage you to relax and persevere.

I met many a nursing student in school who suffered both physically and mental ailments while in school.

Moreover, many of those nurses were in their 20's.

Your ability to be excellent nurse does not hinge on your age, gender, race, creed, sexual or religious preference.

If you have the training, demand excellence in your work and if your genuinely care about patients, I would like to encourage you to go for it.

Not every nurse works in a hospital. Some work in clinics, dialysis centers, research, and private care, on board cruise lines just to mention a few. Do not limit your scope when seeking a position.

In addition, sell yourself in interviews as your life experience will be an invaluable tool when employing critical thinking.

It may be that this is the first time in your life that your are not caring for children, planning maternity leave or applying for one job with your eye on another. Likely at this stage you plan to make this your final career stop….hence, your employer will invest in an employee who plans to be a permanent part of the team.

Take care of your health, then get back on your horse….and carry on.

From another 58 y/o who just finished nursing school.

"The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself." FDR