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Mature study and retraining

Talk to other Mumsnetters who are considering a career change or are mature students.

Honest answers? Would you start training to be a nurse at age 40?

158 replies

manchestermum82 · 13/06/2022 16:50

Due to needing to do the access course first I wouldn't qualify till I was 45!
I've never had a career, even though I was quite bright at school and always wanted to be a nurse. I was married and had children young and due to Dh's job moving us away from family I always stayed at home and picked up part time minimum wage jobs to fit round the children.
I'm now 40 and the dc are all getting more independent, dh earns a good wage which I have full access to and I always thought I would be content working part time for extra "pocket money" then hopefully being childcare for my own children at some point so they can have the careers they are working towards.
I don't know if it's turning 40 that's changed things but I'm now realising I'm older than my managers (retail job) and treated like a bit of dirt most of the time. I still fit into the "mums working around kids" group but don't want to move into the "this is my forever job now" older group who openly say they hate the job.
I feel now is the time to either do something about it or suck up the fact I'll be moving around basic type jobs forever with no progression or decent pension of my own etc.
By the time I do the access course though I'll end up in uni with classmates younger than my oldest dc Confused

OP posts:
IfOnlyOurEyesSawSouls · 14/06/2022 01:13

Nooooooo.... dont do it !

Honestly, dont do it Flowers

Sortilege · 14/06/2022 01:17

IfOnlyOurEyesSawSouls · 14/06/2022 01:13

Nooooooo.... dont do it !

Honestly, dont do it Flowers

Just curious here. Aren’t surgery and community nursing jobs less stressful than hospital nursing, for example? That’s how it looks from the outside.

Windypants21 · 14/06/2022 03:01

Sortilege, as an ex community nurse of many years I can assure you that you couldn't be more wrong.

In the area i live my experience, and I'm assuming you mean Gp surgery nurses as in Prsctice nurses, they are often ( not always but its very common) dumped on massively by gps and not paid incrementally for years of work, despite increasing work load or upskilling.

Community nurses have increasingly complex patients to deal with that have long term health complaints and significant needs They have to cope with the demands of the family and the patient. Hospital discharges, often crudely done, dealing with unhelpful or unsupportive Gps who expect them to get in the queue along with everyone else to assist with their patients. Pretty much every other discipline that says it isn't their job to do x y or z for some spurious reason it gets delegated to nurses.

It is also worth bearing in mind that the 'unsuccessful' hospital patient ( and by that I mean not fixable or very difficult to fix patient) will be discharged to the community be they non compliant, deteriorating, or have significant drug or alcohol issues. The homes too can be the least conducive environments to health and well being possible, so nurses have to just do their best. There is also the threat of the violent patient who as a lone worker you can be very vulnerable to especially as a woman.

On top of the paperwork, training, meetings, equipment management and red tape there is poor back up and support from management who feel it is still apprpriate to rapidly increase demands, but less staff, hence more burnout and sickness.

Add to that paying for your petrol to do your job once you've reached your yearly mileage 'allowance' !!! Especially now.

I know nurses who went back to the hospital after trialling community because they thought it would be easier...its definitely not.

Nevernottrying · 14/06/2022 03:42

Absolutely not ! Those poor nurses work their ass’s off. I am very grateful for their care but could never do it myself. Very poorly paid in often very stressful situations and very long hours😩

QueenCremant · 14/06/2022 05:02

i love my job but do think carefully about how training will fit in with family life. Placements may not necessarily be local, you may be doing long days/nights/weekends/bank holidays and some places we are better than others at giving you your rota in a timely manner.

autienotnaughty · 14/06/2022 05:03

If your children are old enough to let themselves in/entertain themselves in hols etc or you have good childcare support you could do it . Nursing would not appeal to me personally. Long hours, gruelling shift patterns, stressful job and rubbish pay. But if we all felt like that we would be in trouble.

Dexy007 · 14/06/2022 05:29

I appreciate you say you always wanted to be a nurse, but if I were going to start all over again and retrain I wouldn’t be doing anything that didn’t guarantee a nice lifestyle with good hours (dentistry, for example) and/or a great salary.

you’re (possibly) choosing to train for a very hard career, physically and mentally, with horrible hours (nights, Christmas etc) and for years you’ll be earning not a whole lot more than you do in retail.

why? If the vocational draw is so strong then fine but it strikes me as odd. You’d be years away from the nicer side of nursing - running clinics and hospital administration.

garlictwist · 14/06/2022 05:43

My sister has just qualified as a nurse - she is 52. Do it! She will still have 10+ years of work ahead of her and has a lot to give. She's really enjoying it.

garlictwist · 14/06/2022 05:45

PS - and I think the money is good! It's not rubbish at all. It's more than I earn working in a university.

mrsjackrussell · 14/06/2022 05:45

I did it at 41 with young children and if I could do it again I wouldn't. I would go to uni but do something different.
The course was the hardest thing id ever done and nursing is really hard work for crap pay.

mrsjackrussell · 14/06/2022 05:47

If you've never done it before i would suggest working in hospital first as a HCA.

ChagSameachDoreen · 14/06/2022 05:58

Absolutely not. Drudge work.

ItsMutinyontheBunty · 14/06/2022 06:45

mrsjackrussell · 14/06/2022 05:47

If you've never done it before i would suggest working in hospital first as a HCA.

Really good point. I know a couple of people who came in with no experience, did one week of the placement then quit! You could get on your local hospital bank - they’ll give you basic training - and do some shifts in different areas.

Finewine76 · 14/06/2022 06:46

What is that you do now please? I'm looking to change and quite like the idea of sales but no experience! I'm in a professional role now in a school if that helps!

OddsandSods · 14/06/2022 06:57

“Pretty much every other discipline that says it isn't their job to do x y or z for some spurious reason it gets delegated to nurses”. @Windypants21 sums up nursing more than any other thing I can think of, after more than 30 years in the job.

I wouldn’t recommend it Op, at any age. For no reason I can think of, other than the workforce being the largest in health and the costs involved, nurses are paid less than other HCPs. You can be on a Band 7 upwards very quickly as an AHP (OT, physio, pharmacist etc) in a purely clinical role with very defined boundaries, whereas most clinical nurses are stuck at Band 5 for years in a role with poorly defined boundaries. In a job keeping people alive. And then you get shat on from all angles. It makes me furious. Yes, a minority can climb the ladder and a teeny minority can be a corporate nurse on a good wage. If you live in a big city there are more options to do different kinds of nursing, but the pay won’t support you living in said city. The majority will be on relatively poor pay working long and unsocial hours on wards their whole career.

imhereforthecake · 14/06/2022 07:07

No way.
(I'm a nurse)

headstone · 14/06/2022 07:12

You have to have a lot of stamina for ward work. Some wards are not nice places to work because of staff shortages and bullying. However it’s easy to get another job as a nurse and not all wards are bad even if you have bad days. Nursing is a very sociable job and you learn skills that make a difference and can be life saving. I don’t find it boring like other jobs I’ve done, there is always something going on. I’ve been offered set days at the moment due to childcare issues so some kind of flexible working is possible. I’m currently on 31 k extra for unsociable hours which isn’t too bad. There are lots of bank and agency jobs going where you can choose your hours too.

Libertybear80 · 14/06/2022 07:14

I qualified as a nurse in 1991. You simply cannot compare it with retail. It's a very different role. Holding a man's hand as he takes his last breath. Being the first to see a new baby. I don't regret it for a moment. However it's physically demanding and you will need to be fit and resilient in the nhs of today.

catfunk · 14/06/2022 07:17

Only if too don't need the money, have no commitments on weekends/ holidays and have a LOT of energy

maddiemookins16mum · 14/06/2022 07:30

Totally. If I was 20 years younger (I’m 57 now), I’d have done this…..well midwifery probably. A dear friend of mine qualified as a Midwife at 51.

TheComptonEffect · 14/06/2022 07:34

Absolutely do the access course. I would advise being open minded about the route you take, explore options. I'm a Therapeutic Radiographer, we deliver and plan radiotherapy and are part of the professional allied to medicine like physio and OT, dieticians.
Experience is a fantastic resource to bring with you and as long as you are adaptable and hard working, and physically fit enough then go for it! Good luck!

malificent7 · 14/06/2022 07:46

I would do it. Many jobs ask you to work evenings, bank holidays and weekends including retail. In my new trust ( not a nurse) we are entitled to 8 bank holidays off.

Redlorryyellowlorryblue · 14/06/2022 08:43

Like others, I’d highly recommend getting some paid or unpaid healthcare experience first, preferably in different settings. It will definitely be eye opening!

I’m your age and training to be an OT and I absolutely love it. Hands down the best thing I’ve done career wise. Some people on my course are in their early 50s. Do the access course and consider your options - there are lots.

With regards to funding, have a look at the Learning Support Fund. Half price tuition fees etc. The LSF was introduced in 2020 and it’s the only way I could afford to do it after grants were taken away a few years ago.

Take your time, consider your options. Be true to yourself.

TabithaTittlemouse · 14/06/2022 10:02

You will get free pizza and everyone will hate you because Asda will offer you 10% off your shopping. (Half joking).

With any job you will find the good and bad. Definitely look at working as a domestic or health care first just to get an insight into working in a health care environment. Although I’m going to put my hands up and admit I didn’t do that.

What is it that’s drawing you to nursing?

DratThatCat · 14/06/2022 13:24

I'm literally sat on my healthcare assistant course that I started a week ago, with a view to starting my nursing training in a couple of years when my youngest starts high school. I'm 41. Ive just worked 7 years in retail so its a bit of a culture shock but im glad I'm learning to be a hca first rather than jumping straight into nursing.