I LOVE abuse! I am actually thinking I might not hate Hospice. I am a freak like that, and RNguy... you'd be amazed at how perverse and dark Sped. teachers are (especially those who work with fragile students) I bet we'd be great pals. I have (as a teacher) done many a G-tube feeding, timed a seizure and administered diastat, popped my gloved finger into the bloody mouth of an HIV+ kid who cracked his lip open on the slide (all teeth accounted for!) been exposed to TB (that was a fun little few months of testing) and attended more funerals of kids than I care to recall... soooooo. Sign me up for ALL of THAT! ... BUT remove the need to "prove educational gains" all while potentially making more money and I will be feeling frisky. :)

The RN program is very rough , its a lot of discipline. Its militant in the fact that the instructors prepare you for the real world . You are not always going to be treated nicely by the docs and certainly some pts and certainly families . They mold you into a strong , confident , knowledgable nurse . This is fabulous though and a blessing bc this is the nurse you need to be and who the pts and families need you to be.
If you take this road , find one of us for help or to vent to and give you the pep talk to get through it :) , we've all been through it and have probably cried or attempted to quit it :).

* stupid endocrine/respiratory together ain't even right *

Tough, drill sergeanty instructors are good. I'd hope nursing students were being fed REALITY so they don't freak out and act stupid at a patient's expense. Wish education majors were treated to heavy reality too.

Ya know , you will be just fine . Go for it !!!!! When you fill out your application and or have to write the essay to apply then everything you just said about the seizure , hiv, g tube alllllll of it make sure you write that in the essay . That's what they want are people with medical terminology who provide services to others first . CNAs they will get in fast , emts , etc... I am a former lab tech that's why I got in bc it wasn't my looks or handwriting skills :)

Mid-life Career Change?
 

Yes!
:koolaid:

I'm toying with the idea of a mid-life career change myself, and if it wasn't for my sick spouse, I woulda done it already.:hangloose:

I actually did a mid-life career change back when I was 47. For the last 11 years I have considered myself one of the luckiest people on earth to love going to work (most) everyday :)

Go where your heart take you

Did mine at 42, though not working anymore, no regrets and had some great experiences as a result. :cheesy:

career
 

I thought nursing was the ultimate and got my degree and went to work at 22. After 5 years I was in a situation where I had to lift a patient with another nurse who could not count to 3 . On 3 I pulled up and she did not. Completely ruined my back for the rest of my life. Had therapy, had surgery and still have a bad back. I wish I had chosen another career as accident do happen but mine has lasted a lifetime. Back to school I went and got another degree. Best thing I ever did.

I've had many career changes at various times of my life.

Currently, I totally enjoy what i do, finally
I continue to grow and learn.

I did my career change when I was 50, never looked back once. Now when I finely get my knee replacement done and over with, I'm heading right back to it.

I am currently a full time employee and a full time student...at 52.

I have been with my company for 24 years, enjoy it, I`m good at it, I make good money... but I want to pursue a path i wish i had followed long ago...and reading this forum gave me a bit of a booster to keep on going.

I will have my AS degree in Graphic Art and Design in March 2017, and will continue on for another 32 months for a degree in 3d Animation...then I WILL get a job with Disney World finally!

I to have had many jobs as a manager and just an employee. After nearly 22 years in retail, I am stepping out of my comfort zone. Monday, I will embark on a new career path. I will be putting on my teal scrubs and going to work as a nursing assistant with hopes of becoming a registered nurse.

Zimmeh

Thank you all for the inspiring words for all of us who are contemplating going into nursing. Monday, I start working at a nursing home as a certified nursing assistant. My next step will be a registered nurse.


Zimmeh

I have a couple really good inspirational stories about mid life career change....

The doctor that delivered my girls was an early childhood educator well into her 40s. Something got her going and she started her path to med school. It took her 12 years. And it made her very happy. She started a successful practice and delivered hundreds of babies.

I admire her hugely. She's mostly retired now except for home births...but she really did leave ab excellent impression upon me...

The other only know OF..

I went to this park ranger center type place one day. I don't know how we got on topic but I mentioned I'd love to study botany...mushrooms especially...but I didn't feel I was young enough to take on years of study. One of the rangers told me about a woman she knew who had kids and grand kids...found out tuition was free for people over 63 ( in Massachusetts any how) and decided to take "a few classes". She discovered botany, fell in love and kept going In school til she had a doctorate. Now 80, she is the utmost expert in New England botany. The ranger pulled a book off the shelf...hugge text book. That same woman wrote it and it's used in botany classes all over the country.

So no. Its never too late

I love reading about all these jobs people do at mid-life! Even if I don't end up switching careers, it really makes me feel better to know I always CAN if I want to.