Now that I'm an "old" nurse

Nurses General Nursing

Published

So, I have been at the same organization for 20 years and have worked hard to develop a stellar reputation with a variety of experiences. Recently, I had an experience that is challenging all of that. I had a "Professional disagreement" with a surgeon about him marking his site. He felt it was beneath him to have to go to preop to mark his patient's site. Needless to say, the organization asked me to transfer rather than step up to fight for what was right. Two weeks later, same surgeon different issue but with a younger, skinny, cute nurse. Want three guesses to see how the organization handled it this time? Human Resources, the Hospital Board, the Hospital Lawyer, and the CMO all got involved.

HMMMM...

sorry but you do not know who or whom she knows,get mydrift?

Do not let this keep you awake that surgeon will soon show his true colors.Hold your head up high and laugh it off.

Laugh off 1/3 of her pay?

Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Ageism is alive and well. Sadly.

Although you weren't fired, Tasern, just so you know how much your feelings are shared, here is a thread that painfully details the experiences of nurses with many years of experience being devalued by their employers.

I keep an eye on this thread, hoping somebody will say something encouraging.

I'm not trying to make this older vs younger. I lay it at the feet of corporations who care about nothing but a balance sheet.

Hospitals Firing Seasoned Nurses: Nurses FIGHT Back!

Nurse156, in reading this article, all I can say is WOW-powerful!!! In my 26 years of active nursing in numerous hospitals, my experiences, unfortunately, exactly align with this author's. Our profession seems to have a peculiar habit of 'talking around' the most critical issues instead of uniting together to truly effect change. As an example, direct care nurses being tasked by hospital administration to address nursing retention when the causes (and solutions) are glaringly obvious-really?? Come on! Through the years though, I have seen some positive change in physicians' attitudes toward nurses, but when Doctor A, can instead admit his/her patients to the competitor hospital across town, he/she is still pretty much given carte blanche by administration in terms of their behavior-surgeons are the worst in my opinion. This myopic arrangement limits Nursing's voice and creates a power disparity that is not only unfair, but ultimately negatively impacts patient care. Ageism? You bet and money again is the root cause. Sadly, I find that the older I become, the more and more repugnant I find the current climate of nursing, specifically, and healthcare in general and I look forward to the day when I can retire and walk away forever:( In the meantime, I just pray that I and my loved ones stay healthy and don't require inpatient hospital services.

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