Nursing is a lucrative career. Whether it’s your first job or you are looking to switch, it’s the most emotionally rewarding and physically devastating career you can come across. There’s a constant demand for nurses everywhere and not enough applications to fulfill the shortage. Your age shouldn’t be a causality to reject your application, but if you are not emotionally or physically fit – especially if you’ve never had any healthcare jobs – your age could be the deciding factor.
Anna is an educational freelance writer who has been helping women of age to secure their dream education and job. Anna specializes in writing about health, education, and Assignment Geek.
In this article, I’m going to educate you about the healthcare sector and whether you are still fit to take on nursing as a very demanding day job.
Why be a Nurse at 40?
Nursing is a career that, while being prospective, can soon become a nightmare for some. If you already have decided on taking nursing as your career at age 40, read on to know more about the benefits nursing delivers.
1. Diverse Backgrounds:
Nursing applicants come from diverse backgrounds and professions. While you don’t need a lot of specialized training to become a nurse, there are several nursing categories that need expertise and educational background to get into, like surgeries and trauma care, which pay well too.
No worries, being a nurse is not only about the first one to tackle the blood and bone. Taking care of recovering patients, keeping the families informed, managing others around your block all come under nursing. And being 40 means you are mature enough to empathize with the patients and take good care.
2. Looking After the Overlooked:
Nursing is a great opportunity for those who thrive by helping others—the givers.
Working as a nurse means to experience it all; all the blood and the beauty of the world. You’ll see birth, you’ll see death, but you wouldn’t ever be able to look at the clock again. If caring is your second nature, no matter the age, nursing is for you. Being able to take care of someone(or multiple ones), feeding them, cleaning them, is only going to make you regret your decision, but feed your feelings and, of course, bank account.
3. Life Experience at 40:
One of the thousands of reasons why you should be a nurse at 40. Your life experience is going to throw all others out of the park. Healthcare is all about experience and knowledge. As no one trusts a doctor who doesn’t have much experience, institutions would trust you more than a teenage girl for the most critical work around a healthcare facility – nursing.
4. Getting in Nursing is Fast:
You can get your complete nursing training with 58 hours of study and 800 hours of clinical experience through ABSN – an accredited nursing bachelor program that helps you get licensed. If you have any previous healthcare certifications, credits can even be transferred from those graduation certificates onto nursing courses to complete the certification within 18 months or less.
5. Better Management of Time:
When you are taking a certification course for nursing, you ought to find yourself more engaged in studies and organizing your time. More elder nursing students often find more work-life balance when starting out professionally than the younger ones. You, being 40, are going to approach the nursing career with more maturity than anyone else.
How to Be a Nurse at 40?
Just after you’ve decided to pursue nursing, the next question comes automatically. Am I ready to be a nurse at 40? Here’s how you would know if you are ready or not.
1. Physical Condition:
You should never consider nursing as a career if you are physically unwell. Nursing, being a physically demanding job, is enough to make you unwell. If you are not in your prime condition of health, think well ahead and consider a less physically demanding job.
2. Emotional Wellness:
You would be expected to keep your head high even if the world around you trembles while being a nurse. If you are mentally not very strong, it’s going to cause a lot of trouble. Do have a very good idea of how strong you are emotionally before applying.
3. Socialize:
While in nursing school, try socializing with other students to get a good idea of what is expected of you. Discuss with your college about the transferability of previous degrees and what additional training you can do while being in college for a better opportunity in the field of nursing.
The Bottom Line:
It’s never too late to become a nurse. There always exists ample vacancies and opportunities to explore. Your length of career doesn’t limit your chance to do good for the community with the opportunity to make use of the wisdom you’ve garnered throughout your whole life.
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