another which would you hire

Havin' A Party!, ASN, RN · Dec 10, 2012

Equal in every respect.

An impossibility in IMHO.

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Dec 11, 2012

62 y/o due to generational differences that indicate this person would miss less work, has a stronger work ethic and has experience.

Purely hypothetical of course. The 22 y/o has newer ideas, not worked long enough to have fixed practices that need changing and will probably adjust to electronic charting faster.

just a speculation

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2012

62 y/o due to generational differences that indicate this person would miss less work, has a stronger work ethic and has experience.

Then again, one of my former coworkers was a nurse in her 60s who was fired from my workplace for missing too many days of work. She missed more days and called off far more frequently than her counterparts who were decades younger.

She definitely had the experience, as she had been a nurse since the late 1960s. However, her work ethic was another story. She didn't answer call lights because she wasn't there to 'wipe butts.' This nurse ignored patients' concerns and basically did not want to touch them.

Orca, ADN, ASN, RN · Dec 13, 2012

There isn't a straight answer for this. It depends upon what you are hiring for, the demands of the job and the capabilities of the interviewees. The 22-year-old could be very sharp and a quick learner, or a total ditz and someone with more confidence than ability. The 62-year-old could be a very knowledgeable veteran nurse who is an ideal fit for the position, or a physical wreck who could never handle the demands of the job. Personalities also enter into the equation. How would they fit with your current staff?