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

Dear Nurse Beth Advice Column - The following letter submitted anonymously in search for answers. Join the conversation!

You are reading page 6 of 58 years old - Am I too old to start nursing school??

Specializes in Wound care; CMSRN.

Yes you are, but don't let that stop you. I'm 62 and I got my license in June; passed the NCLEX on the first try; computer stopped at 78 questions. That and $4.50 will get me a latte' at Starbucks.

Depending on whether you've already got recent college under your belt; how good your math, science and critical thinking skills, etc. are; whether you intend to get a BSN before you start actually nursing; whether or not you'll have to work while going to school; how supportive your SO is; all those things play in to the end result.

If you can get a hospital with a residency program to give you a contingent scholarship and you get a BSN and you've got college under your belt already with a 3.5+ GPA, you should be golden. Otherwise, you may work really hard (nursing school is not a cakewalk for most) and end up having a hard time finding a job.

One possibility that might make it easier is getting an LPN and then doing a bridge. Our bridge students seemed to have a slightly easier time of it and there are lots of jobs out there for LPN's; you can take nursing for a test drive without a huge investment and get good clinical experience in the bargain that does pay off down the road.

Just my two cents. Good luck! The brain exercise alone was probably worth the trouble.

Something you might do in the meantime is get a CNA job! Depending on the state you live in, training can be free or very cheap, and short! Good way to get up close and personal with the wonderful world of Nursing. Don't expect to live on your paychecks though.:roflmao:

I was 61 when I graduated from nursing school for an associates degree. I started taking prerequisites 3 years before and got accepted a year later based on good grades. God has been my rock though the whole process though I did have a lot of anxiety. I got A's until my senior year and then B's in my nursing courses. I passed the NCLEX the first try. I did have a hard time getting hired a job 5 interviews and then an operating room manager hired me and gave me a chance. The training before going on call and being completely independent as a circulator for me was 13 months. I still blame my gray hair for not getting the first 5 jobs but that is not provable but I look at it as God putting me where he wanted and I am happy to be where I am. Am I lucky. No my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has blessed me. I am planning on short term missions starting next year. I work Thursday, Friday and Saturday for 12 hours and take call one night a week and am normally the only nurse on Saturday (which means I do charge at that time) It is challenging but rewarding. I love my 4 days off together too.

Andrew Little

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing." Abraham Lincoln

Dear Knute, you are not normal.

Having done a reality check--financial investment vs. ROI vs. debt vs. ageism vs. experience vs. job market vs. competition, etc.-- , at 48 I changed careers and started the long nursing school journey. What I've experienced was more negative attitude from my nursing school peers than on my clinical rotations. During school I managed to volunteer weekends at a local hospital and now know many people there. Doing this is a two-fold win: I get to feel out the people who work there and they get to know me as a worker and quasi-colleague. I would suggest volunteering before you make your decision, just to get your feet wet, and again once you're in nursing school (schedule permitting, of course!). Nursing school is very challenging, and I'm lucky that I have a supportive family. The "money out" vs. "no money in" question has kept me up at night, worrying about retirement, being in debt 'till I'm 100, etc. It's a lot to consider. But as Knute said (and per current business theory) "energy is the currency"! Do as much as you can to increase your energy "capital"-physical & mental- and present yourself as a dynamic, flexible, and positive person. These qualities are always desirable, despite one's age.

Best of luck in whatever you decide!

If a person is older, like I am, 55, and wants to become a nurse. Some of the nurses here are saying that it is harder for older people to get a job because of training expenses. So, would it be better to first become a CNA, Then immediately an acute care CNA, then immediately an LVN/LPN. That way we will have alot of hands on experience. Also, do you all think that at 55, I would be able to get an job as a LVN/LPN and an assisted living/Nursing Home, fairly easy. I would like to become an LVN/LPN and work in an assisted Living/Nursing Home, or even Home Health, Hospice. Does anyone have any advise for me, like what track I should take at my age, I don't really want o become an RN because of the length of schooling and the stress. And it seems it is difficult to find a job.

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.

Thank you SO MUCH for this post!! I started college for the first time at 55 and have worked my butt off to get into my RN program and excel. I am a senior nursing student now and will be 60 when I graduate next May. I knew there would be some ageism to overcome but never let that stop me as I worked to reach by goal of becoming a nurse. All these comments have been so negative. I am a positive person and I plan to work many many years. I am on two tennis teams ALTA and USTA and I am accustomed to playing three sets in the hot Georgia summer sun against opponents half my age, with no problem. I pray that after I graduate, I will find a place where my age and experience will be appreciated. You give me hope!!

Thank you, love this post and what you said is what I have believed going into this process at age 55. I will graduate next May having just turned 60. I'm healthy, have no kids at home and ready to work!

Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
tnicnat said:
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 ?

Your dad had his own job. Of course he loves going to work. Working for someone else is a completely different game - no comparison. I doubt your dad has to lift sacks of potatoes all day. We don't have the time to take a 6 mile pleasure walk every day. These kind of replies are not helpful to someone who is contemplating starting school at 58 in a field which is very crowded and competitive.

Specializes in Orthopedics, Med-Surg.

Here's what I learned in microbiology and A&P:

Micro: Wash your hands. Go back and wash them better.

Anatomy: If you can't see it, you don't need to know it.

Physiology: You don't need to know any of it. It's strictly for jumping through hoops.

I took my A&P from a frustrated wannabe med school lecturer in a state university setting. Every little detail was as important as the last and as the next. As a result, the facts I packed in my head lasted until the test. The people I knew who took A&P at the local community college where they taught it like it was a high school class had *much* better retention of facts. Now, did that deficiency in retention harm me in my practice? Actually, no. I could find elbows, hips, and knees without assistance. Origins and insertions of muscles? What was that to me? I was a nurse; not a surgeon.

Physiology? Are you kidding me? We might as well be discussing macroeconomics or quantum mechanics for the application to my work.

My conclusion was that much of the prerequisites for nursing school exist merely to cull the herd. The most useful non-nursing classes you could take... skills you would use multiple times of every day: basic algebra, psychology, and sociology. Oh, yeah... English can be useful as well.

ConnielCanada said:
WOW is all I can say in regards to the continuation of perpetuating a serious issue. As a practicing midwife I see the same treatment of women having babies after the age of 26 by physicians. You are just too old to have a baby, and yet women are having babies "successfully" after the age of 30 every day.

The only way to change a wrong doing is by stopping the ridiculous rhetoric. I will have a job when I graduate, and I will be successful. I have a lot of life experience, wisdom, greater patience, and no children to keep me out of work, these are all very good marketable qualities. I would turn your statements around and say "Look at all I have to offer, over a 20 something that has no real work experience, doesn't already know how to play in the sand box with her co workers.

Ageism has got to stop, and all those who think they are doing someone a favor by "telling them the truth of the matter" is just feeding the myth. I have more stamina, business sense, and stability than most new graduates. I will be successful, as I already am successful, and I have a LOT of years left for anyone to invest their time in.

Kudos to you. You have a positive attitude and that's why you're a success. The problem with a lot of forums is they perpetrate negativity. The truth is if you BELIEVE you're too old, you probably are. If you BELIEVE you can do it, you will.

CatHair said:
As someone who is 57 and completed RN Licensure last year I can tell you that age is INDEED a factor in the workforce.

When people meet me and hear I am an RN, they think I have 20+ years of experience.

When they find out I am a new grad with no work experience they start questioning why I became an RN at my age. That is what comes up in the few interviews I have been able to get.

As already mentioned, do you think a hospital is going to invest $50-$100K in training for you?

They would not for me.

There always seems to be a "hiring freeze" in effect but they will hire "from within", in other words if you are already working there in another capacity. (as PCT/CNA etc).

I couldn't even get a LTC facility to interview me.

Perhaps they are waiting for me to qualify as a Resident so I can pay THEM for being there? :(

This is similar to the treatment I received when I was only 42. Imagine asking questions during the interview that make it obvious that you discriminate in hiring, based upon age? If I were you, I would think long and hard if this is what you want to do, come heck or high water. If you want to become an RN for the pride and self satisfaction of achieving that goal, fine, but do not do it if you must put food on your table or keep a roof over your head. Warning based on my own experience, I do not pretend to speak for others.

One of the issues to consider is if you have to take out loans to finance your education, you may have to be paying them off when you retire and are on a fixed income which could seriously affect your quality of life. You can also consider working part time. It is also a good idea to see your doctor, to get a physical to make sure you are OK to work and perform all the tasks.

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