Adult Learner Nursing \'You\'re Never Too Old

Adult Learner

Nursing

'You're never too old to learn.' However, much as we cherish this cliche, our society does little to support the value of adult education, often assuming that learning stops when someone is in their early twenties. This is not only limiting for the individual -- it is also depriving our economy of workers with critical skills, skills necessary to see our nation into the coming millennium.

Government push to educate adults

Despite the fact that the unemployment rate is unacceptably high, many positions are going unfulfilled because of a skills gap. "As many as 39% of people under 25 are either unemployed or underemployed" yet "49% of employers struggle to fill jobs" and only 42% feel that workers are qualified to fulfill the types of positions they need filled (Yang 2012). The solution to this problem is a return to the workforce of struggling employees so that employers will not have to go overseas to find the qualified candidates they need to fulfill these positions, which often demand technical capabilities not present in the skill set of recent liberal arts graduates -- or older workers that have obsolete skills. "We now live in a world in which half of today's jobs didn't exist 25 years ago" (Yang 2012).

There are also critical gaps in specific segments of the workforce, most notably nursing, which could have severe health consequences if not addressed. "The median age of nurses is 46. More than 50% of the nursing workforce is close to retirement" (Nursing shortage, 2013, Nursing World). The aging of the population and the requirement that all Americans have health insurance will bring an influx of patients with more critical needs and more patients in general into the healthcare system in coming years (Nursing shortage, 2013, Nursing World). The demand for nurses will grow, and for many, nursing is an ideal career-changing opportunity because of the high levels of demand and the financial security it offers.

Thus, adult learners can encompass many categories. Some may be high school graduates seeking to return to school because of a dearth of well-paying manufacturing jobs that do not require a college degree. Some may never even have obtained a high school degree and seek to pursue their GED. Others may be experienced in a field where there is no longer rapid growth of jobs, or they may simply be 'burnt out' and want to change jobs. More and more workers are seeing their vocational lives and flexible and dynamic, rather than something that are static and fixed. A former financial executive can become a chef; a former paralegal can decide she wants to go to law school. Mothers returning to the workforce after a long hiatus may wish to sharpen their skills. Older people may seek out personal enrichment and even young graduates who are dismayed that their degrees are insufficiently marketable may seek out adult education.

History of adult education

Adult education is far more accessible and dynamic than it was in the past. While previously adults would have to commit to being educated at a standard 'brick and mortar' institution (often a community college) or going to night school, today there are a myriad of online options for adults who wish to balance work and life commitments. For adults with families to support and full-time jobs, online education is a vital way to enhance their personal marketability or prepare to make a complete 'career switch.'

Principles of adult education

Even adults who are comfortable with their current career path can use new options to enhance their credentials. Executive MBAs and other minimum-residency graduate programs enable this balance to be achieved: "The main differences between a more traditional M.B.A… and an executive M.B.A. are job status and program structure" (Greer 2010). With an executive MBA, "students to pursue their education while still getting full pay, and a majority of employers will cover all or part of the fees" (Greer 2010). Classes do not meet regularly (often they take place on weekends), once again enabling adults to strike a more effective life-work balance. No longer relegated to M.B.A.s, however, many graduate programs spanning from healthcare to fine arts are offering minimum residency graduate programs to enable students to 'have it all' -- a job and a graduate degree, simultaneously. The situation is beneficial for both the school and the student. The student does not have to sacrifice his or her career and income and the school gains a student who is already experienced and can bring what he or she is learning in the real world to the classroom.