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I will be 32 this winter. I am currently a massage therapist, and I love my work but need/want something else to supplement my income as well as to 'fall back on' if the economy gets worse as well as when my massage days are over. I want to stay in healthcare type fields but also want/need to be able to pay my own way.
I was originally set to go to nursing school 3 kids and a lifetime ago. I'm not sure I have what it takes to go into oncology like I had planned, but nursing still appeals to me. If I get the finances organized I can start nursing pre-reqs in the spring and be done by spring 2011 and ready to sit for the boards.
My questions-
Am I completely out of my mind to think I can start *now* at my age and make a career in nursing? Especially if I stay an LPN for a year or two before applying to bridge programs for RN if I choose to go that route?
I see local hospitals advertising for LPNs all the time but advertisement doesn't always mean jobs. Are there actually a decent number of jobs available in the current market? What do the trends look like?
I am going to call in the morning and schedule a meeting with an advisor but while I wait I wanted to see what answers I can find from people actually out in the real world, not just an advisor trying to meet enrollment quotas or whatever.
Go for it now. You know what they say: Whether it takes you 2 years or 4 years or whatever, in 2 years you'll be 34 anyway and in 4 years you'll be 36 anway. Nursing is a good field. I would say don't wait. I do think going for an RN would be better and it pays lots more. Good luck.
Right now the job market is still very good for solidly experienced nurses (5+ years on the job), particularly those who have some specialization in an area or two.
For fresh-out-of-school RN's, the job market has changed very considerably for the worse in the last 12-24 months. This is due to most hospitals' budgets have tightened dramatically recently. There are probably not enough nursing jobs right now for all the fresh nursing school graduates. This situation could markedly improve again though sometime in the next few years.
Can I ask those of you who have direct/indirect experience with nursing when you aren't so young? (RMD, INTN, Houston, and anyone else)?
How physically exhausting is it (school, work) as a nurse? I'm pushing 40 (with 4 kids ages 2-10) and am considering going back to a health program (I already have my 4-yr degree with a focus area in community health education). I wonder about the physical demands. I originally was in a pre-BSN track back when I was a bright and perky college student who ran, biked, lifted weights, etc... and I am sure I would have had no problem with the reduced hours of sleep etc... of the program and then the physical demands of the job. Alas, I foolishly changed my major. Now, I wonder how much harder it would be. I remember getting physical therapy when I was in college and my PT, who was in her 40s, was considering law school b/c she was getting "too old to be moving and lifting very heavy patients".
I'm considering many options from accelerated BSN (12 mos) to regular BSN to a 12 mo LPN, or medical assistant, to radiography to respiratory therapy.
I know someone who is going to nursing school right now - at 51. I am getting ready to go back to school myself at 48, with two kids I'm still raising and a full-time job. I wish I was as young as you are - GO FOR IT!
Even if hospitals are tightening up right now, the demand will always be there somewhere, the population is aging by leaps and bounds. I wish I could stomach nursing, I'd go for that too.
Can I ask those of you who have direct/indirect experience with nursing when you aren't so young? (RMD, INTN, Houston, and anyone else)?
How physically exhausting is it (school, work) as a nurse? I'm pushing 40 (with 4 kids ages 2-10) and am considering going back to a health program (I already have my 4-yr degree with a focus area in community health education). I wonder about the physical demands. I originally was in a pre-BSN track back when I was a bright and perky college student who ran, biked, lifted weights, etc... and I am sure I would have had no problem with the reduced hours of sleep etc... of the program and then the physical demands of the job. Alas, I foolishly changed my major. Now, I wonder how much harder it would be. I remember getting physical therapy when I was in college and my PT, who was in her 40s, was considering law school b/c she was getting "too old to be moving and lifting very heavy patients".
I'm considering many options from accelerated BSN (12 mos) to regular BSN to a 12 mo LPN, or medical assistant, to radiography to respiratory therapy.
Seriously consider respiratory....and my favorite new allied health field (and a next step of sorts) - polysomnography (sleep tech) or Health Information Technology (HIT) - working with EHR.
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