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.
If a CNA equals a diaper changer, who do you think does it when there is no CNA? That would be the nurse. I think the poster meant that some CNA experience would help make sure you like what you will be doing as well as experience in healthcare which may help you get into schools and with clinical. Please remember you will have plenty of time at the bedside before the msn which may or may not take you away from the bedside.
LPN program with a woman in her 60's, changing to nursing from law enforcement. If nursing is your hearts desire, you can do it! I really liked the community college version with its bridging exit points, they are used to GED's, and you will have several adult learners in your class. You can find programs that do the LPN and the ADN together. The nice thing is you can take your LPN boards over the summer and start working. This is nice for two reasons:one, you can take your boards and have experience with the test, two, gives you a chance to work in nursing so you can really know where you want to go with your degree. If you obtained your MSN by 45, which would be a marathon, but doable, you would still have a good 20 years of practice. Good luck!
I can attest you are never to old to go back to school. I got my GED at 27 yrs old. When my children started school I began the whole process of going for my LPN. I honestly didn't think I could do it, but I did !! :) I went from LPN to a MSN in Nursing Education. I am 44 yrs old and it took me from 2005 to 2015 but I achieved my goal. If I can do it you can too. There will always be people who are discouraging. DON'T LISTEN TO THEM. You have that it takes now GO OUT THERE AND DO IT :)
First, find a more supportive counselor. I'm 39, I took college classes off and on in my twenties, and failed a handful of them. I haven't taken any classes in the last 12 yrs, I have a GED, and I started the prerequisites for the RN program at a community college in May. My academic advisor has been so helpful and encouraging. No one has told me I'm too old (although I feel old!) and I finally feel like I'm ready to be the student I could have been twenty years ago. Find some support and get afterit. Best wishes!
A GED will never hold you back unless you let it. Neither will your age! I graduated, from an accelerated program, with an Associates as an RN in 2013 at the age of 33. I ONLY have my GED. I am now only 6 classes from my BSN. I would advise taking your easier prerequisites first just to get back into the groove of school. After you've gotten your feet wet, if you still want to be a nurse, then don't let anyone or anything talk you out of it except your own learning capacity. As a former LPN instructor, I tried to tell my new students that just because you WANT to be a nurse, doesn't mean you SHOULD or are capable of being one. Give it your all and see where you land! Best of luck
You have already found allnurses. To me that says you are serious about becoming a nurse because this website is a humongous support system saturated with knowledge. I found allnurses by mistake years ago and have shared it with anyone who would listen. I have a GED too. I'm finally a LPN at 33yoa and have had to take a class per semester, times I couldn't take a class at all due to high costs of childcare and no online class available, move to a new duty station every 2 years, etc. over a time span of 10 years. Do not let yourself talk yourself out of nursing school and nursing. Every time I thought I should give up God showed me another reason I needed to keep pursuing my goal. Do your prerequisites 1 or 2 at a time per semester if you can. When you get into a nursing program it will be overwhelming in the beginning because it is new to you. Be flexible and accept everthing as it is. The annoying classmate that knows everything, not your problem. Clinical site changed last minute-don't gripe just be there on time. 4 tests in the same week, maybe 2 of them on the same day- study and be awesome! 40 is not too old for school. One of my bosses is in her 70's and attending classes for her MSN right now. The lady has been a nurse for 50 years. She began as a CNA. Anything in life is only as difficult as you allow it to be!! You can do this!!!! Take care friend!!!!
First suggestion would be to either A) go back to that advisor and tell her exactly why she's horrible at her job and she's going to take you seriously, or B) just get a new advisor.
These are supposed to be people who HELP you get where you want to go, not people who tell you why you suck at life.
If you haven't done school in a long time, don't dive in head first your first semester. I'd suggest limiting it to two classes - one being the first A&P class (which tends to be really intense) and then an easier prereq (pshyc, dev. psych, a writing class, etc...). After that semester, you'll have a great idea of how much you can handle at once - you might be able to take 4 or 5 classes at once, or maybe you'll need to keep it at 2.
The debbie downers telling you how hard it will be... Well, why surround yourself with those people? Tell them where to stick it, and if they don't, then why keep them around? Who the heck wants people like that in their lives?
Long story short... If you're a successful business owner and/or have had a solid career for 20+years, you can probably handle going back to college.
I am 43 and was just accepted into my local community colleges nursing program. I received my GED at the age of 37. I did not really think that I would be smart enough to go to college but I was encouraged by several people to go for it and so I did. I started classes 3 years ago starting with the cna class. I had to take many classes that were prerequisites to prerequisites! But here I am 3 years later with a 3.86 GPA and an acceptance letter to the nursing program.
Yes, these last three years have been tough as I have 6 kids and a full time job in a psych unit, but I have come this far and kept a decent GPA. I know YOU CAN do whatever you set your mind on. Just take it 1 semester at a time and take advantage of the support your college has to offer such as tutoring services and be sure to make regular advising appointments to stay on top of your class requirements. Also, research where you will get your msn in order to work on those prerequisites along with your ADN prerequisites.
I applaud your dedication, but one thing you said bugs me... you don't want to be a CNA because that is basically a "diaper changer". Good luck finding an RN job where you aren't sometimes the diaper changer. I went to nursing school with a girl who had never worked as a CNA. Boy, were clinicals a shock for her! I'm not saying that CNA should be your end goal, or that you need to work as a CNA before applying to nursing school. But in my experience, new nurses who have worked as a CNA and know how to interact with a person in that way, tend to do much better and have an easier time of learning the nursing role.
I dropped out of high school in 1985. Received my GED in 1991. Enrolled in college for a career in Nursing at the age of 44. Graduated in 2015 with my ADN, started working as a RN. I am now 48 and enrolled for my RN to BSN with Masters bridge starting in July. Do I think you can do this - yes, yes I do. Does it really matter what the naysayers think? What do YOU think? Believe in yourself. KNOW that it will not be easy, but if you are willing to work hard, learn lessons each and every day and trust in yourself that YOU can accomplish this...... then you have what it takes! Good luck with whatever you choose. I will say one last thing..... I am so glad that I did this. I am where I feel that I was meant to be.
I was 43 when I started my prerequisites at our state college. I started taking prerequisites and kept going for 4 straight semesters until I had my requirements. As an older student, I was more determined and much fewer distractions. I am 4 months from graduating and I am the NSA president for our college and I am the administrator of 2 FB pages for our class. I had not been in school for 25 years and I quit a high paying corporate job because I hated what I was doing. I'll have my BSN by 47 and a MSN before 50. If this is what you want then don't let anyone tell you that you're too old. If I would have listened to my advisor I would not have applied for the nursing program that I got into the first time. Each semester 500 apps for about 80 spots. Do what you think you want to do. Good luck.
pedseraprn
36 Posts
If a CNA equals a diaper changer, who do you think does it when there is no CNA? That would be the nurse. I think the poster meant that some CNA experience would help make sure you like what you will be doing as well as experience in healthcare which may help you get into schools and with clinical. Please remember you will have plenty of time at the bedside before the msn which may or may not take you away from the bedside.