Hello!! I am 38 years old. I have wanted to become a nurse for quite sometime, but always had too many things going on in my life to go to school. Now i have found myself in the position to do so, but im afraid that im too old to go back to school!! Is 38 too old to start nursing school??

Thanks!! I really need motivation and support! No one in my life really seems to be on my side about this, and obviously i need it. Thanks again.
When did you start school? How long do you have to go? Are you taking classes online or going to class on campus?

Thank You...Now THATS some motivation!!

Did you take your classes online or on campus?? Do you suggest LPN first?

I am 37 and just received my LPN license in August! I went thru the fast track program which took me one year. I am very excited to begin my nursing career and I think you will be also! You are never too old to learn. I plan on going on for my RN in two years. I only wish I had done this sooner. I have had many job offers! You can do it too!!

I am taking classes at a local community college. I need the structure. there are great on line schools but I am not that great a student and need the extra help I get from one on one with my instructors and other students. and I like the extra socialization I get. Because ot the demand for student slots I will finish the academic part in May 08 and then am on a waiting list to finish clinicals which are three semesters long. So If I get into clinicals in fall of 08 I can graduate in january of 09 worht every minute. I got my LPN in 1970, then the lifetook over and here I am again in school, and working full time.

We had a 50 year old start the program.. so no, not too old especially if it's somethng you love!

Me too! I'm 46 and just started college. I hope to get in the nursing program here at ENMU-Roswell and get my
RN. It's great to hear about others doing the same thing. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time and I am finally doing it. What a great site, I am glad to have found it and you can bet I'll be visiting often!

Jen

I see you don't really need any more encouragement, but I thought I'd add mine anyway. I was 38 when I started nursing school. I really wish I'd done it earlier, but I didn't due to many other things in life that had to take priority at other times in life. School at that age was a little more difficult for me than school was when I was in college the first time at 18, but still perfectly doable. And when I was in school as a young person, I remember an 81 year old woman in my freshman orientation. The lession to me was there is no dead line for education. You get to it when you get to it. My guess is that she was not there for career purposes! Probably that woman just always really wanted to go to college, and so when she could, she did. Did you see the story in the news recently about the 95 year old woman who finished her college degree? There is no deadline here--except that you need to be still breathing.......For a long time I considered whether or not I wanted to put the time and effort into a graduate degree at this point in life. At 52, I just started my graduate studies. I hope to be finished by 55, and I'll still have 10-12 years to work. There is such need in nursing now for nurses of all kinds in every field of nursing. You are not too old, and your life experience will bring a fresh and mature perspective to nursing. I hope you decide to go into nursing. Don't let age or the work load scare you. We moan and groan a lot on this website, but we're just venting. It's a high stress profession, but it's also a high reward profession. The profession itself needs a lot of work right now, and someone with the wisdom of a few years is an asset to nursing. You can take from nursing what you need in your life in terms of rewarding work, possible advancement in your life circumstances-- and you can also give to nursing; your maturity, wisdom, insights from outside nursing, guidance in how to improve as a profession, how to meet the needs of its "constituents," so to speak, etc. Don't let anyone or anything keep you from fulfilling this if you want to do it.

I am 43 & I just start to going to school for nursing. It's been long time that I would like to be a nurse, but I was afraid of to get in to it and I also didn't get a chance to follow my desire. About a month ago I got laid off and I thought " this is it ", everything happened for good reason and I made my decision to not doing anything else except do whatever is my passion which is nursing and no matter how hard it would be, I'm gonna do it. Just go for it. I was like you, but I'm so excited now. By the way, I didn't take the online classes.

I am 38 too and I am in the same place. We are never too old to go back to school it just takes a little more effort some times. I am wanting to start my classes in January. Right now I am a RMA and I regret not just going for my LVN instead. If I can I would like to ask everyone one question for both of us. I was thinking of just going for my RN but is that the best way to start?
Good Luck! Don't let anything hold you back!

I graduated with my ADN at 42, my BSN at 50 and I plan to start the family planning nurse practioner program at Frontier in November. I'll be 51! You are as youg as you feel and there is so much work to be done in health care and such a shortage of nurses. Good luck too you.

I began the BSN program 15 years ago. I was 27 years old. I graduated at 32 years of age. My motivation was the birth of my daughter. I always thought nursing was a noble profession. It is the purest profession. Your motivation and intention are for the benefit on mankind. The heart and mind are linked in the pursuit of serving others. What other professional can claim this selflessness?

My thoughts on that: If it something you want to do, go do it, you are never to old do anything. You are only as old as you feel. That is what my mom tells me all the time.

One is NEVER too old for nursing school. Just remember with life experiences comes maturity which can never be replaced by being younger. My mature students sometimes understand the idea of being flexible much better than the younger students. I say go for it. Follow your heart and all will work out. You're as young as you feel and age is just a number.