We here all about nursing students who are going back to school and making nursing a second career for themselfs. I have a HUGE respect for these ladies and gents'!
What about us young nursing students? I think we have our own set of trials to go through. I am the youngest student in my college (pre-reqs) (due to awesome high school early admission). I do not look that young for my age but when people here I want to be a nurse they are very surprised!
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
first of all, thank you for starting this thread! :) i've been needing to vent about something....
I just started my 6th week of Nursing. I graduated in May (i'm 18)....i'll be 20 when i graduate. (starting off with a ADN- RN program)
I also have respect for the students returning for a second career. There are mostly older students (late 20s early 30s to mid 40s) in my class. Congrats to them!!
But does anyone feel like sometimes they don't respect us younger students?? I have heard things like..
"oh what???....you just graduated??....you shouldn't have ANY problem with nursing school because you don't have to worry about husband/wife/kids/house. it should be a breeze to you."
which bothers me that people don't understand that I went from HS tests to NS tests. that's tough & a pretty awful transition. and for every youngun out there, congrats!
and also...this was from someone in my summer anatomy class who over heard me talking with my good friend...
her: "so, you got into the RN program?"
me: "yes mam"
her: "didn't you just graduate?"
me: "yes mam"
her: "oh, i applied and i didn't get in and i have been a LPN for 8 years, i was going to do RN but i got pregnant when i was 18 and so i got married and LPN was as far as i went. Isn't that going to be really really hard on you???"
me: (intimidated and feeling very guilty) "oh, well i'm sorry you didn't get in..."
and this one gets me down the most....from a woman my mom knows through work.
"so laura is applying for nursing school. so am i. i just really feel like i'll be a better nurse now that i'm older and have more life experience." (she didn't get in) ....she is a very smart and usually kind woman. she has a previous degree and she is very successful.
I'm just wondering...am I wrong to think that even though i don't have the life experiences of a husband/kids/house that doesn't mean i won't be a good nurse? i feel like my anatomy classmate and my moms coworker made their choices after they graduated -just like i did. But they still make me feel guilty.
sorry that was so long, but that has just been bothering me for a while. but congratulations to everyone! good luck & best wishes :)
Don't let them get to you, I had majority of my life exp. by the time I was 18, (had a really hard life growing up) but regardless, we all have different trials and I have found that sometimes people's experiences have gotten in the way in nursing school because they are stuck in what they know and having trouble in transitioning into a new way of thinking.
I see you are from WA, as soon as I saw running start I went and checked. LOL I did a lot of my pre reqs in WA and had a few students in my class that were in running start. It's a good program, I wish they had it when I was going.
Yup! I've lived here my whole life. I did Running Start, but kind of fiddled around in my classes... :chuckle So my GPA sucks. I think it's really cool to meet other pre-nursing/nursing students like myself. I'm not in a program yet, but hope to be in one when I turn 20 or 21. One thing I've got to figure out is how to deal with people who tell me I don't look like a nurse (or even an adult; I get IDed all the time). It's gonna take several years for me to look my age, haha!
Yeah, I encountered the problem someone else mentioned about being too young to go out to bars 'nstuff. I finished my CNA class over the summer, and almost everyone went to a bar after the exams. I, uh, couldn't go. Ah, well. I don't have any interest in alcohol anyways.
Great for all of you young ones. I got my first degree (Sociology) at 20 and now at 30 am going back for Nursing. I think it's great to be young and motivated like you are. :-)
Don't let ANYONE get you down or question your abilities just because of your age...
This silly thread stopped sending me emails, sorry!
Anyways I know what you mean with a few things. I am young, but also have expierienced ALOT more than people my age. Yes I do not have kids and a husband, but sometimes other things can be very challengeing. I was kicked out, did drugs and drank, watched my prother go to juvi. Dated a guy 8 years older than me for a short time then dated one four years older for a while. Then I moved across country, and didn't know anyone. I started watching kids, gave my heart soal and mind to Jesus! and I live with my parents. AHHH :) and I am still in my teens.
I taking 16 credits plus two classes online for my highschool degree. Also I am debating about becoming a CNA next semester while going to school full time!
On a side note I agree high school test are wayyy different than college test!
This silly thread stopped sending me emails, sorry!
Anyways I know what you mean with a few things. I am young, but also have expierienced ALOT more than people my age. Yes I do not have kids and a husband, but sometimes other things can be very challengeing. I was kicked out, did drugs and drank, watched my prother go to juvi. Dated a guy 8 years older than me for a short time then dated one four years older for a while. Then I moved across country, and didn't know anyone. I started watching kids, gave my heart soal and mind to Jesus! and I live with my parents. AHHH :) and I am still in my teens.
I taking 16 credits plus two classes online for my highschool degree. Also I am debating about becoming a CNA next semester while going to school full time!
On a side note I agree high school test are wayyy different than college test!
I mean, I'm young too...but I was physically and intensely emotionally abused as a child/adolescent and went through a lot until my dad finally stopped making me see him when I was in high school. I'm kind of messed up for it, but I make it and am rather smart (if I do say so myself). People need to not assume that we haven't "seen anything" because we're so young. I've seen a lot and due to my own experiences have learned a lot to help others through situations. I may be young, and there's a lot I haven't seen, but there's a lot I've seen as well. :heartbeat I think all we nurses and nurses-to-be that are our age (18-early 20s?) have traits that our older counterparts don't, whether it's from growing up in a different "era" per se or whatever. I'm taking a smaller credit load, because my family situation's gotten worse (my family's pretty abusive towards each other; it's a bad place to be), but I'm making it there.
Hey I'm 19 and have 5 and a half more semesters of nursing school til i graduate.. I was attending UAA in my state of Alaska which one, had a waiting list and two, was the only school that granted BSN's so i as well got was one of the few fresh out of high school students. I transferred to a small private school across the country and most are around 20-23 with quit a few my age. I think it really depends on what type of school you go to. Don't let anyone's comments get you down though...just think...you get to start living your dream way younger
im 21nd started this fall. however, i graduated in the spring w a bachelors in bio-behavioral health and will have a bsn in nursing in a lil over 14 months. that will be 2 bachelors and i'll only be 22 =0)
I dont really fall in either category. Im not old and Im not young, im just living life and hating school.
Are you taking pre-reqs, or are you in Nursing school? I would be concerned if you are hating nursing school...maybe it is not the right fit for you... Just something to consider.
I am 40, and just finishing up my pre-reqs. I will be 42 when I finish nursing school. I have a previous degree in Architecture, and have been a full-time stay at home mom for the past SIX YEARS! My children are both in school now, and I decided that I SHOULD HAVE gone to Nursing school a VERY long time ago. BUT...there is no turning back the clock. There are a few quick points I would like to make (about LIFE and nursing school).
Age is ONLY a number... and for those of you wishing to LOOK OR BE older....STOP IT NOW!! It will happen in good time, and you will want to look/be younger!!
Everyone "figures it out" at a different age...and some NEVER figure it out! There is no shame in when it happens, but hopefully it DOES happen.
It took me until my 30's to finally feel comfortable in my own skin. The sooner you can stop the negative "self-talk" the better off you will be!!
No one can EVER MAKE you feel a certain way...ie. guilty, etc... Only YOU control your own feelings. If someone is TRYING to make you feel guilty because they didn't get into school...feel sympathetic, be kind, but don't feel GUILTY for something YOU have no control over. Be proud of YOUR accomplishments, without bragging...
Good luck to you all, and remember that age means nothing...it's all about what you are made of on the inside!!
Age aint nothing but a number.... isn't that a song?
I agree with allot you had to say. Those hate'in on us youngins' just for being young are jelous. (I moved to the south and am currently working on my southern accent, FAIL! ) :)
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Are you taking pre-reqs, or are you in Nursing school? I would be concerned if you are hating nursing school...maybe it is not the right fit for you... Just something to consider.
I wouldn't be worried, from reading what a lot of the seasoned nurses have said, actual nursing is nothing like school.
I will be 20 when I graduate with my RN in May. My class has every age range-I think the oldest is 55?? Anyway, I have the UTMOST respect for people who are much older than me and are going to nursing school. I think that they are amazing people and will make amazing nurses. I hope that I have half of their energy when I am their age!
So KUDOS to all of you 'more mature' nursing students! I never cease to be amazed by what you have/will accomplish!
Ah, well. I don't have any interest in alcohol anyways.
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~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN
5,259 Posts
Don't let them get to you, I had majority of my life exp. by the time I was 18, (had a really hard life growing up) but regardless, we all have different trials and I have found that sometimes people's experiences have gotten in the way in nursing school because they are stuck in what they know and having trouble in transitioning into a new way of thinking.