I'll try to make it short. I'll be 40 this December. I got my GED when I was 18 and I've been a hairstylist/salon owner since I was 20. Looking for a career change and nursing has always been the field I wanted to pursue.
But boy to I have some Debbie downers around. From family to even my perspective counselor. Family days I'm too old and the counselor said basically that because of the time frame since I got my GED until now that it would be extremely hard & time consuming for me. She wasn't the nicest person while communicating this to me as well. I left out in tears.
So I was hoping there were some nurses/students here with similar situations like mine that can motivate me and hopefully can share any advice. I appreciate you guys.
It could be done. I do have to admit my first thought was "Why in the world would someone want to subject them self to the rigors of nursing school when they're bumping up on middle age?"
And then I realized it's because I've been an RN almost as long as you've been alive and I'm looking forward to retiring in 6 years lol.
If you really feel motivated, do it. I won't go into your financial situation, it's none of my business, but I think weighing the options of not working and going to school full time vs working full or part time and going to school full or part time should be figured into your decision.
My first piece of advise, DO NOT listen to anyone that says anything other than, "If it's what you want, then go get it!". The only opinion that truly matters in this endeavor is yours. I will say this though, wanting to be a nurse is not enough, you must make the choice to be a nurse. Will it be hard, sure. Will it require sacrifice, absolutely. Anything worthwhile always does. I spent a year fulfilling prerequisites. I am now in an ADN program and I will be 45 at the end of our first semester. My end goal is CRNA. I completely understand looking for motivation and hearing stories of others in similar situations, I did the same. Now go get it! [emoji106]
I completed my ADN with a student that had a GED. The only one that can limit what you can do is you. Either way time marches on, so do you want to be making educational progress or in the same spot? Everyone has a story. I personally, was a very young parent with 4 kids by 25. I have 2 Associate's degrees, a BSN, and just graduated with my DNP 5/21 at the age of 38. If family doesn't support you then you need to find people that will because that is one thing that is necessary about nursing school. I would not have gotten as far as I have without a support group. Good Luck!
Specializes in Med Surg/ICU/Psych/Emergency/CEN/retired.
I completed my ADN with a student that had a GED. The only one that can limit what you can do is you. Either way time marches on, so do you want to be making educational progress or in the same spot? Everyone has a story. I personally, was a very young parent with 4 kids by 25. I have 2 Associate's degrees, a BSN, and just graduated with my DNP 5/21 at the age of 38. If family doesn't support you then you need to find people that will because that is one thing that is necessary about nursing school. I would not have gotten as far as I have without a support group. Good Luck!
I posted before but I'll add a little more. I graduated from an unaccredited high school so my community college wouldn't even call me a high school graduate the first semester. It was a big mess, I couldn't be a full-time student if I wasn't a high school graduate or GED and they wouldn't let me take the GED since I graduated from high school (which the college wouldn't count). ARRGGGHH! Finally, GED mysteriously shows up on my transcript.
I had no confidence in myself because of my alternative educational background so I took just 9 hours my first semester. I took a basic biology course that semester since I was kind of thinking about nursing. Had a wonderful professor and easily scored an A in that course. That, with an A in English and a B in Algebra (almost more proud of that one than the other higher grades) gave me the confidence to apply to nursing school.
Use the resources offered to you. I went to Algebra tutoring and it was great. Later, when I took statistics, I frequented youtube and Khan Academy.
I've been encouraging, now I'll be realistic. If you struggle to make it through basic pre-requisites, that may be a signal that your energies are better spent elsewhere. Especially if your end goal is a graduate degree. But you've never really tested yourself academically, so go and explore the possibilities!
I'll try to make it short. I'll be 40 this December. I got my GED when I was 18 and I've been a hairstylist/salon owner since I was 20. Looking for a career change and nursing has always been the field I wanted to pursue.
But boy to I have some Debbie downers around. From family to even my perspective counselor. Family days I'm too old and the counselor said basically that because of the time frame since I got my GED until now that it would be extremely hard & time consuming for me. She wasn't the nicest person while communicating this to me as well. I left out in tears.
So I was hoping there were some nurses/students here with similar situations like mine that can motivate me and hopefully can share any advice. I appreciate you guys.
40 is not old. Look into the programs you're interested and figure out what prerequisites they require. Enroll at your local community college and take those classes. Take the HESI or TEAS (whichever your school requires) after you take anatomy and physiology 1 and 2. Don't let ONE counselor and Debbie Downer family members determine your path. Going back to school is not an easy endeavor but it isn't impossible!
It's never to late, I graduated with my BSN in 2008. I was my moms' last child, of 3 to graduate college. After that she went back and finally got her GED at 40 something. She just finished microbiology and statistics with A's. She's already taken A&P and all other prerequisites. She is now waiting to get in. No matter how old she is when she finishes, I'm going to be sooooo excited to be able to pin her. So, yes it can be done. Her prerequisite grades are better than mine because she was a lot more focus than I was at 21.
Specializes in Medical-Surgical/Float Pool/Stepdown.
A CNA doesn't interest me at all. I respect every position in the healthcare industry however here locally a CNA equates to diaper changer. No thanks.
I just want to caution that the CNA role happens to be basic nursing, AKA Foundations of nursing, and if this type of work is not up your ally then you may want to rethink nursing. You may be surprised with how much exposure to what nurses actually do and experience dealing with Pt's that working as a CNA can reward you with. Many have thought that they wanted to be nurses to find out within six months to a year that nursing just wasn't their cup of tea.
Either way, have you even taken the placement exam for the school you're thinking of attending to see where you'll even place/start academically?
For what it's worth, I graduated with a GED at seventeen and worked lower paying jobs until starting college in my early thirties. I tested into honors English when I took my schools placement exam, went to school full time doing my gen eds and kept a 4.0 (to even be able to apply to my ASN program) while working full time plus overtime all the way through nursing school and also was the only income support for my family of four (2 kids).
Graduated with a 3.8/4.0 with my ASN at 35, a 3.8/4.0 with my BSN at 37, and just turned 40 and will start an MSN program in a few months.
It is hard, it is rewarding, but only if you're all in.
Your age does not matter. The fact that you have a GED does not matter. Your family's opinion does not matter. You need to apply to a school of nursing and go from there.
What DOES matter is a "perspective counselor" can drive you to tears. Nursing requires confidence and courage.
Jensmom7, BSN, RN
1,907 Posts
It could be done. I do have to admit my first thought was "Why in the world would someone want to subject them self to the rigors of nursing school when they're bumping up on middle age?"
And then I realized it's because I've been an RN almost as long as you've been alive and I'm looking forward to retiring in 6 years lol.
If you really feel motivated, do it. I won't go into your financial situation, it's none of my business, but I think weighing the options of not working and going to school full time vs working full or part time and going to school full or part time should be figured into your decision.
Let us know how it works out.