How old is too old to safely practice?

Specialties NP

Published

Okay - I just read one of a comment on another thread and was floored when the comment was about a person getting a DNP at 62 and a poster wondering how long they would be able to safely practice at that age...

So....my question is: how old is too old to safely practice as an APRN?

I will preface my remarks with the fact that I am in mid-late 50's, have been an APRN for 10 years, currently precept two new NPs, and my practice considers me at the top of my game.

So...at 62 I'll be washed up??? Ugh - I'm planning to work till I'm 70 as long as I remain physically able to do the work.

Is there a magic age when one should just hang up the lab coat?

Specializes in Psych, Addiction.
While you may feel that higher insurance rates for older people and having to take exams and renew their licenses frequently is wrong, just consider that while your parents may have had clean driving records and were perfectly safe, you also have people like my grandmother who constantly ran her car into a large ditch trying to get into her driveway because her eyesight began to decline, but refused to stop driving.

Just like that, you also have older physicians and nurses who are perfectly capable of performing their work as they get older, but you will have the remaining stubborn few who cannot perform their job safely. So you would risk public health and safety because others may feel that they are discriminated against? If I was older, I would gladly take a test every few years to ensure I'm competent to do my job, especially if doing my job improperly meant I could kill someone.

It's not about how someone would "feel" or how I "feel". There's a federal law that prohibits employment discrimination because of age.

As far as driving goes, 16-25 year olds are a higher risk group driving than the older drivers group. Just like anything else there are horrible doctors and nurses and drivers and there are good ones in every age group. Testing drivers who are over 65 is legal but in employment law, it's not. Doctors who specialize who want to be members of their professional organization have to retest every few years. I think nurses should too. Nurses of ALL AGES. Which would not be against the law.

It's not about how someone would "feel" or how I "feel". There's a federal law that prohibits employment discrimination because of age.

As far as driving goes, 16-25 year olds are a higher risk group driving than the older drivers group. Just like anything else there are horrible doctors and nurses and drivers and there are good ones in every age group. Testing drivers who are over 65 is legal but in employment law, it's not. Doctors who specialize who want to be members of their professional organization have to retest every few years. I think nurses should too. Nurses of ALL AGES. Which would not be against the law.

Which is why you either cannot get a rental car or you must pay a premium to do so. There is a field called actuarial SCIENCE. They generate those nifty grids that you use to look up your insurance premiums etc.. It isn't based on opinion or bias.

It's not about how someone would "feel" or how I "feel". There's a federal law that prohibits employment discrimination because of age.

As far as driving goes, 16-25 year olds are a higher risk group driving than the older drivers group. Just like anything else there are horrible doctors and nurses and drivers and there are good ones in every age group. Testing drivers who are over 65 is legal but in employment law, it's not. Doctors who specialize who want to be members of their professional organization have to retest every few years. I think nurses should too. Nurses of ALL AGES. Which would not be against the law.

There may be a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on age by an employer, but it would not be discrimination for the BON and board of medical examiners to require the tests as healthcare professionals get older. If you can't pass because of physical or mental decline once you reach a certain age, then your license shouldn't be renewed, just like in the driving situation. It would probably never happen and especially wouldn't become widespread, but it would be a good idea.

Specializes in Psych, Addiction.
There may be a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on age by an employer, but it would not be discrimination for the BON and board of medical examiners to require the tests as healthcare professionals get older. If you can't pass because of physical or mental decline once you reach a certain age, then your license shouldn't be renewed, just like in the driving situation. It would probably never happen and especially wouldn't become widespread, but it would be a good idea.

A nurse can get sloppy or be incompetent for a variety of reasons-- just plain unhappiness with her job, alcohol or drug use, early onset Alzheimer's--- if you're going to test any one of us you have to test all. Tell me-- what kind of special qualities does a 25 or 35 year old nurse have that makes him or her superior to a 55 or 65 year old nurse? The blatant ageism in many of the comments here is unbelievable.

There is no magic age to hang it up, or stop working as long as you remain mentally and physically sharp. I was forced to retire on disability at age 63. I had been an RN since 1971, and an OR RN since 1980, as well as becoming certified CNOR. Unfortunately with all the call hours and the heavy lifting of both patient's and equipment, my body finally gave out on me. In the space of 4 years starting from 2012, I had my right knee replaced, my first lumbar laminectomy, followed several months later by a total right hip replacement, and then last December I've had an ALIF. Now as a result of that last surgery, I've developed a hernia, I do miss my nursing colleagues, and the job. I just don't miss the hospital politics, overwork and the demeaning surgeons.

A nurse can get sloppy or be incompetent for a variety of reasons-- just plain unhappiness with her job, alcohol or drug use, early onset Alzheimer's--- if you're going to test any one of us you have to test all. Tell me-- what kind of special qualities does a 25 or 35 year old nurse have that makes him or her superior to a 55 or 65 year old nurse? The blatant ageism in many of the comments here is unbelievable.

. . . I "LIKE" THIS STATEMENT YOU MADE X 10 X 10. . . The way the mindset is headed these days, the discrimination is believable; human nature even in "free" republican societies always seem to eventually make a return to a socialistic minset. . .let's weed out those we deem unfit! Those making those judgements had better look in the mirror and watch what size rock they roll uphill! LOL

Ms. Shellie, you are correct. It is a socialistic mindset that wants to weed out the older folks, so now older nurses should be tested for competency and evaluated for early onset Alzheimer's. Part of the problem too is that the market has been saturated with new nurses who can't find jobs but that doesn't mean I as an older nurse am obligated to give mine up. I have 36 years of critical care experience as well as physical stamina and a sound mind. Everyday we see posts on AN about new nurses ready to quit after 6 months on the floor because they can't get along with coworkers and they feel disrespected. Or they don't know to start an IV, etc., and the list of complaints goes on and on. So they're going back for NP or DNP or whatever before they have even learned how to take care of patients and develop skills. Those are the things we older nurses will take with us when we're gone, and they are going to miss us!

Ms. Shellie, you are correct. It is a socialistic mindset that wants to weed out the older folks, so now older nurses should be tested for competency and evaluated for early onset Alzheimer's. Part of the problem too is that the market has been saturated with new nurses who can't find jobs but that doesn't mean I as an older nurse am obligated to give mine up. I have 36 years of critical care experience as well as physical stamina and a sound mind. Everyday we see posts on AN about new nurses ready to quit after 6 months on the floor because they can't get along with coworkers and they feel disrespected. Or they don't know to start an IV, etc., and the list of complaints goes on and on. So they're going back for NP or DNP or whatever before they have even learned how to take care of patients and develop skills. Those are the things we older nurses will take with us when we're gone, and they are going to miss us!

SPOT.ON!! Very well put...it is a scary turn nursing is taking. I'm brushing up on my natural remedies and eating my spinach! LOL

Specializes in CVICU, Critical Care Transport, PICU,.

I am in my 50's and have traveled as a PICU RN for over a year. Believe me, if I was not seen to be competent after a 12hr orientation that includes them assessing your bedside and computer skills I would be out the door.

What I have seen at my advanced age :yawn: and experience is that no matter what their age nurses that have worked at only one hospital develop some inflexibility in their practice and are resistant to new ideas, new equipment or new people.

That is "old person" behavior.

You sound like me, 3 surgeries on left leg, just had my third on the right leg. Facing hip and knee replacements. Both rotator cuffs gone. 43 years lugging and tugging as we say. 300 to 400 pound patients, even with lifts it is still too much. My first back injury happened at my first job. An 80 pound 3 year old (his mother like to feed him) tried to climb over me like I was a ladder. He was standing I suddenly was not. I lifted men twice my size off toilets. Getting them to do what I told them to do was a task, they argued with me all the time until I could show them how it worked and then we had the "ah-ha" moment. I used good body mechanics, it was the frequency and duration that killed me. I was always athletic and moved easily. 43 years on concrete floors alone is enough to do one in. I too miss the patients, the planning, the educating, doing what I did best in life, now I struggle to walk.

Thank you for you service!!!

you sound like me, 3 surgeries on left leg, just had my third on the right leg. Facing hip and knee replacements. Both rotator cuffs gone. 43 years lugging and tugging as we say. 300 to 400 pound patients, even with lifts it is still too much. My first back injury happened at my first job. An 80 pound 3 year old (his mother like to feed him) tried to climb over me like i was a ladder. He was standing i suddenly was not. I lifted men twice my size off toilets. Getting them to do what i told them to do was a task, they argued with me all the time until i could show them how it worked and then we had the "ah-ha" moment. I used good body mechanics, it was the frequency and duration that killed me. I was always athletic and moved easily. 43 years on concrete floors alone is enough to do one in. I too miss the patients, the planning, the educating, doing what i did best in life, now i struggle to walk.

I am 70 and in demand. It is individual based on your experience, qualifications, and physical ability. My mother-in-law worked until age 80. 62 should not be a limit unless you decide that is your limit. I enjoy my work, and my employers appreciate my abilities. Energy, initiative, problem-solving, compassion, honesty, reliability - some of the qualities that are essential, not age-related.

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