Aibu to retrain as a nurse at 45?

[Tigerflowers]

Hi all

So I have always wanted to become a nurse however childcare during placements was always an issue for me being a single parent with no parental help
I have worked many different jobs throughout thier childhood & the last few years I've been working as a care assistant in the community.
My dream is still to become a nurse though, I need a challenge and I've always felt this is something I would be very good at.
My children are now grown up and I have alot more freedom.
I applied for an Access course and I have now been accepted for a place on the course this September coming.
Initially I was excited, however today I am worrying if I'm too old now to achieve this?
By the time I fully qualify I will be 49!
If anyone has had a similar experience please share

DW has been a nurse for her entire working life, so TBF, I think she’s more than a little jaded now.

That being said, she’s now mid fifties and finds the nights and constantly being on her feet absolutely shattering. Her role is one that means she’s not able to be seated for long periods of time and her breaks can often be pushed or not happen at all.

If you’re fit and well and the menopause isn’t wreaking havoc on your sleep etc etc then it might not be a problem for you, but I would seriously consider what a variable shift system and a creaking NHS will do to you if you’ve not experienced that before.

I can believe this. I lost count of the amount of times I bumped into student nurses in tears in the changing rooms. Not from dealing with upsetting things, but with being treated like shit by qualified staff.
I was not training as a nurse, but as an ODP, and it was toxic with us too. I ended up so unwell from it all, I ended up being sectioned and spent a long time in hospital.

There is a saying.. nurses eat their young.

I'm a nurse and love my job , but knackered at 46. The only other thing to consider is paying back student loans if you will need them

You’re not too old.
I qualified at 43.
12 years later I think I’ve had enough and will return to a healthcare assistant or something else.
Its mega stressful and frustrating. The wards are full of mental health patients who should be elsewhere. There are more managers than carers. Too much paperwork.
The only good thing is meeting different people.

I have just completed my 2nd year or ODP training and will qualify next year at the grand old age of 49. It is the best thing I have ever done. Similar to you I always wanted to do nursing but due to caring for my kids and elderly relatives it kept getting put off. I was worried walking into uni on my 1st day thinking I would be so out of place but honestly everyone just gets along no matter what the age. 1st day of placement I knew I had done the right thing. I was terrified walking into the hospital but ended up staying 2 hours longer than my allocated time as I wanted to see the patient through their whole theatre journey.

I used to do that too. Stayed behind so many times. I was told my biggest strength was being an advocate for the patient.

Most of the people that were in my cohort are no longer ODPs.

My aunt did this and qualified aged 51. Because if her previous experience she was a high performer and quickly moved up through the ranks.

Hi I’m 44 in a few weeks and I’m about to start my course to to be a registered nurse in 6 weeks. I’m already a HCA for about 8 years now and have finally decided to make the leap. Fortunately I can do it through my work so for the 1st year I go to college to do the HNC endorsement scheme and get to keep my salary for the 1st year and then head into 2nd year of uni. Go for it your never too old !

I'm a two thirds of my way through my first year at age 51. My only regret is not doing this ten years ago when I first decided i wanted to change careers. The majority of people in my cohort are mature students from all walks of life and I've chosen a uni that only takes a smaller number each time so it's nice as your tutors actually know who you are! There's lots of support with your academic work and my first work placement was lovely. I'm in my last module of the year and two more placements, one six weeks and one four weeks and then we have two weeks of clinical skills. Please don't let your "age" be the reason you don't follow your dream. Ask yourself if you'll regret not taking that leap. Good luck 🤞

I did access then nursing at 40 now I’m a lecturer on the access course! Many people do nursing at your age!

You aren’t too old at all!

Being at Uni, having placements and doing the academic work is the easy part though, it’s once you’ve qualified that the reality hits.

I’ve just left the NHS at the age of 42 after 17 years of working as a nurse as I was absolutely broken.

Beneath the idea that it’s a lovely, nurturing, caring profession (vocation) there are very real levels of toxicity, nastiness, selfishness, lack of care to colleagues, hierarchies and people enjoying bringing each other down and looking out for Number 1. And then you add in the long hours, the pressure, the work load, the lack of support from colleagues and management etc and its soul destroying. Some mornings I would sit in my car in the car park and actually cry at the thought of having to enter the building. The downsides of nursing affect your mental health, your emotional well-being and your physical health and it’s something to seriously consider.

I found that over the last five years of being in the hospital things were slowly getting worse and worse and in the end I had to say “no more”. In some ways I was devastated as I loved my job but I just couldn’t be in that environment anymore.

I have even let my nursing registration lapse as when I resigned from my post I had no intention of ever wanting to work as a nurse again. That was over 18 months ago now and I don’t have a single regret.

Do it. I'm 40 and about to start my third year. The oldest person on my course is 53!

Well done on being accepted for the access course. Your never to old to learn and you will now have a wealth of experience. Good luck on your journey to become a nurse

This rings painfully true. Some of the best people I have met were in healthcare, along with a good number of the worst.

You’re definitely not too old! But to be honest as a senior sister who has been qualified for 36 years I would not recommend it as a career! It’s hard work with little reward and jobs are getting harder to come by. I had 300 RN’s apply for 2 jobs and it’s going to get worse!

You’re definitely not too old! But to be honest as a senior sister who has been qualified for 36 years I would not recommend it as a career! It’s hard work with little reward and jobs are getting harder to come by. I had 300 RN’s apply for 2 jobs and it’s going to get worse!

From someone that lectures in a nursing department, you are not too old. If anything mature students add a wonderful dynamic due to life experience, and a different respect for the role at that point.

My personal view is:
There is only one fact I can say about your age; in four years time you will be 49, that will not change (sorry).
You will either be a
49 year old nurse
or
49 year still wondering if they should be a nurse

Good Luck 👍

I done the access to Nursing at 40 and im starting uni this year im now 41, I put it off for years for the same reason, childcare was an issue, go for it. Age is just a number, mature nursing students bring lots of life experience to the role xx

I started my nurse training many years ago when I was 22 and one of my set was 45.
She qualified and had a very successful 20 year career.
I think her maturity helped her and helped the rest of us as students. She was far and away the most liked person in our group and we became great mates.
You should go for it.

I’ve just qualified at 56. Do it x

Congratulations on getting accepted onto an access course.

Current retirement age (and we’ll use this loosely as it’ll probably go up!) is 68. If you qualify at 49 you still have 19 years to work in a job you hope you will enjoy before then. Though retirement will likely be at least 70 by then so let’s call it 21 years of working in a job you want. So if you want to do it then absolutely go for it.

However nursing itself is a slog - long hours, pay not great, understaffed, night shifts (the latter is SO much harder when you are older). It’s not a great job for those reasons. The NHS is stretched and morale is low. So 1) only do it if you think it’s definitely something you want to do - your heart REALLY has to be in it, and 2) remember you can always leave! The benefit of you learning later is that you also have some experience of life elsewhere and hopefully can see it as just a job and jump ship at any point if it does not feel right for you. Sunk-cost fallacy is true for many healthcare workers who want to get out but aren’t sure how. Many have become so conditioned to healthcare work that they just don’t know how to leave.

Why would you want to retrain at that age for a more demanding job which doesn't pay well?

This