Nursing & FT Work

Hello, I have made up my mind to finally follow my desired career path at age 39...I want to go into nursing, and would like to eventually end up as an NP, in either Psychiatry or Internal Medicine.

I have a BBA and MBA, with a 3.9 GPA for both...I know most of these credits are not going to do me much good in a nursing program, but I have a few questions that I want to ask:

1) I will need to work full-time while I am doing college...I have done this for both of my degrees, but wanted to know how much time that I will have to devote to nursing school and if it is even possible to work F/T while pursuing a nuring program?

2) I've seen a lot of these "fast-track" nursing degrees from various nursing colleges/programs that take existing degrees and cut down on the number of prerequisites that one has to take. Are these programs just as rigorous as traditional programs in nursing, and do they have a positive or negative impression with potential employers of nurses?

3) I have some patient-care experience, though this was YEARS ago. Would it be a good idea for me to first get a CNA cert and work part-time as I am doing college to gain more hands-on experience with direct patient care?

4) I'm probably going to be very close to 40 years old when I apply for the program...I am in great health, and don't really look 40...do you think that my age is going to be an issue for admissions into nursing school?

Thank you for all of your help. Sorry so many questions, but this is a new field for me. I am very excited about this upcoming career change, but a bit intimidated at the same time.