To contemplate retraining as a nurse at 45

[MrsRLH75]

It’s funny (sort of), whenever you speak to people in a professional role - like teacher, lawyer, nurse etc - they nearly always dissuade people from entering that profession. I’m no different - I’m a lawyer (by accident and still here 20 years later) but have said for years I’d love to be a nurse. I also recoil (discreetly) if my kids mention going into law but I guess with all us professionals we just see too much of the downside of the job. The thought of no income for 3-4 years scares me but the idea of retraining and then becoming a nurse makes me feel more excited than literally anything else I think about! Am I mad?

I would highly recommend getting some experience as a hca first to gain an insight into care work.

I did my training at 26 and had no experience at all. I was really upset and shocked on my first shift. I naively had not understood what was meant by a lot of things prior to starting the degree . I presumed toileting meant walking someone to the toilet and back ( I did say I was naive) I didn't realise so many adults in my care would be pretty much wearing nappies all day and my job was to change them. I also had no idea that nurses did last offices ! I was quite surprised to find out when someone had passed away it was myself responsible for washing and preparing the deceased. I presume mortuary staff would do this .

Alas I have been qualified 5 years and work in a senior role so it was good I did the course . I now work on a helpline for patients undergoing chemotherapy the pay isn't the best despite it being senior and averages around £30k full time although I earn £20k as I am part time. I was recently offered a clinical nurse specialist post but declined as money wise I would have been worse off due to loss of weekend pay.

I used to feel so ill after a 12.5 hour shift on the ward . Some days I would start 7 am and not finish until 1030 at night ! It's very hardcore .

How weird. I asked a nurse how she got into nursing. She said well, i was 48, suicidal, hated my job that I worked in for over 25 years and was about to kill myself. I called my husband to say goodbye and he told me to just come home, we will sort out work. That day I quit my job. A week later she saw an advert to train to be a nurse and told herself no I'm too old. She ended up going for it and thus is around 8 years later. She said it was the best decision she ever made. She's an educator now.

You get to choose 6 days out of the month to pick days off or shifts you require on contract. Or once qualified you can join agencies or the nursing Bank where you pick and choose your shifts - that's if you need flexibility.
I find it frustrating when people think they're too old to do something. Life is too short not to do what you want to do. GO FOR IT!

Paediatric nursing us the best job in the world. And somewhat removed from the stresses of adult nursing. The workload is much smaller for one thing. And kids are great to look after!

Also, you will get income.

£9000 student loan paid in 3 installments over the year
£5000 bursary - no need to pay back

You can then work one or two days a week as a healthcare assistant on the bank so let's say around £100 a shift - extra £400-£800 a month. (after 6 months of being a student though so maybe save to cover you for those months)

Plus universities do bursaries too, my colleague got a £5000 one from her uni

As far as I know, you can qualify in adult nursing and work in paediatrics, but if you qualify in paediatric nursing you are limited to that branch only.

It's not a family friendly profession in my experience. I left years ago.

"Life is short, and you're a long time dead."

If you want to, then go for it! If you eventually decide to nope out of it, the lawyer side of you is still there!

I'd have thought, by 45, you're old and wise enough to realise that you're looking at it with rose-tinted glasses... but like all jobs, they have their good sides and their bad sides!!

@HarrisMcCoo I agree . I had to decline some jobs I was offered as they simply wouldn't offer me any set days for childcare . They wanted me fully available 7 days .

My current job isn't the best family wise either have to pay an extra day in nursery in case I am out down to work. Again wouldn't offer me set days for childcare .

@katie2812

How weird. I asked a nurse how she got into nursing. She said well, i was 48, suicidal, hated my job that I worked in for over 25 years and was about to kill myself. I called my husband to say goodbye and he told me to just come home, we will sort out work. That day I quit my job. A week later she saw an advert to train to be a nurse and told herself no I'm too old. She ended up going for it and thus is around 8 years later. She said it was the best decision she ever made. She's an educator now.

You get to choose 6 days out of the month to pick days off or shifts you require on contract. Or once qualified you can join agencies or the nursing Bank where you pick and choose your shifts - that's if you need flexibility.
I find it frustrating when people think they're too old to do something. Life is too short not to do what you want to do. GO FOR IT!

Most banks and agencies (the reputable ones anyway) want you to have some experience in a contracted role before they’ll hire you to do agency work. NHSP will allow you to work as a newly qualified RN if you have been with them as an HCA during your training and have provided your PIN on qualifying but they still usually want you to have some experience working as a nurse (not a supernumary student) before they place you.

@HarrisMcCoo

As far as I know, you can qualify in adult nursing and work in paediatrics, but if you qualify in paediatric nursing you are limited to that branch only.

Not in my experience. Peads is a whole different ball game. You CAN work with peads but not independently, there would need to be a peads qualified nurse there. Im not sure how anything else would stand up to NMC scrutiny.

No - don't do it.
You're too old to start now, to be honest.

You'll be on your feet the whole time, run ragged, no respite, night shifts, terrible pay for the high level of responsibility, being clapped instead of getting a decent salary, an increasingly dangerous job, undermined by a hostile government, the general public, consultants and doctors, patients and their families.

Go for it! Nurse here. My Mum trained when we were teens as she had always wanted to be a nurse. She is still working and loves it. I’m sure it was tough for her but she is brilliant (much better than me) and still really passionate about it. You could have another 25yrs working. Good luck.

I retrained in my mid 30s. You've still got 20 years of work in you depending on your retirement plans, you might as well enjoy them!
Yes its going to be hard, but you know that, it sounds like you're under no illusions and are prepared for the reality.
Go for it I say!

Is there a particular reason you’re drawn to nursing? If you don’t have any experience in the field, you might be in for a bit of a shock and i wonder if the reality of the job might be a fair bit different to what you imagine it might be like.
Im an ICU nurse in Australia and it’s utterly back breaking work (literally), 12hr shifts including night shifts, not to mention all the training you have to do to even get there. And how would you feel about the pay cut?

To answer your question… well really only you can decide that. I think it would be a bit bonkers yes. But hey, you only live once eh?

I'm just place marking on here, as I'm interested in nursing as well and I will also shortly be 45! I'm in Germany so things are a bit different - here it is possible to go through an apprenticeship route to nursing, which is what I would like to do. There's a local version of St John's Ambulance that does volunteer nursing and paramedic placements, so I planned to start with that. I'd like to be doing something where my skills would be in enough demand that I could reasonably hope to work near where I live, and have the option to be part time through working as bank staff. I also fancy having a qualification that would be recognised back in the UK, as I do plan to return before retirement. I like the idea of a physically active job - I used to be a scientist, and I always preferred more lab based jobs to sitting at a computer - and the other thing about that is that I'm not put off by the discomfort of wearing PPE and dealing with bodily fluids and so on. Most of all I'm motivated by doing something where you're actually needed (my old career was highly competitive and I found it very depressing to think that there's a queue of people who would like your job better than you do!) - good nurses have made a really profound difference to my life at various points and I would love to be able to do that for someone else.

My kids are also now almost teenagers which is why I'm considering it now. IDK how people manage it with little ones. 24 hour stress!

@HarrisMcCoo

As far as I know, you can qualify in adult nursing and work in paediatrics, but if you qualify in paediatric nursing you are limited to that branch only.

You can, but it's not the best way into paediatrics. You will have heaps of career options in paediatrics anyway. It's no limit.

I’m just about to qualify and I have a job as a district nurse ready for me in September. I’m early 30’s with a DS and don’t get me wrong it’s been really hard but it’s been brilliant. Night shifts, weekends etc is a pain in the arse but every placement I’ve had has been really good, the placement I’m currently on (my final one) have said I don’t have to do weekends/nights so I’m not. My job will be office hours and yeah I’ll have to work christmas etc but it’s not the end of the world

Definitely not too old. I qualified 18 months ago and I am 40, I was a long way off being the oldest in my cohort. I work with quite a few nurses in their 60s who are either quite senior or specialist or happy to stay at band 5 - you wouldn’t believe most of them are as old as they are, I really do think the job keeps them young.

It is tough, no doubt, but I love my job and wouldn’t want to do anything else. I don’t think my children have suffered - they do plenty of activities and play dates. Plus they think my job is really cool .

Oh and I work in A&E so not at all family friendly on paper, but in practice lots of us have children and they are quite flexible.