Retirement in the nursing field.

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There is an issue going on at health care facilities about nurses who are still working as nurses well into their 60's and 70's. Assuming everyone ages differently, consider the effects of aging (such as decrease in vision, hearing, unsteady gait, ect.) do you think they put their patients and themselves at risk for injury? If so do you think there should be a mandatory retirement age for nurses?

Specializes in geriatrics.

We can't stereotype based on age. I've worked with 70 year old Doctors and nurses who are sharp and could run circles around many of us. Working and learning probably keeps them motivated. Retirement equals decline for some people, so unless they are unsafe, or they voluntarily retire, allow him/ her to work.

0 Votes
Always read the fine print........

This is an archival or historical document. It may not reflect current policies or procedures.

"Your full retirement age is 65 and 2 months"

The retirement was changed to 67....IF you want 100% of your benefit.......in an effort to reduce "government spending" and the strain of the "entitlements" of social security and medicare.

It's all about the fine print

An archival or historical document?, this page is dated 10/18/2012.

Retirement Planner: Full Retirement Age

[TABLE=width: 80%, align: center]

Age To Receive Full Social Security Benefits

(Called "full retirement age" or "normal retirement age.") [TR=class: linkbar]

Year of Birth[COLOR=#FFFFFF]* Full Retirement Age [/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, width: 41%]1937 or earlier[/TD]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, align: center]65[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: greycell]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, width: 41%]1938[/TD]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, align: center]65 and 2 months[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, width: 41%]1939[/TD]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, align: center]65 and 4 months[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: greycell]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, width: 41%]1940[/TD]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, align: center]65 and 6 months[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, width: 41%]1941[/TD]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, align: center]65 and 8 months[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: greycell]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, width: 41%]1942[/TD]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, align: center]65 and 10 months[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, width: 41%]1943--1954[/TD]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, align: center]66[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: greycell]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, width: 41%]1955[/TD]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, align: center]66 and 2 months[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, width: 41%]1956[/TD]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, align: center]66 and 4 months[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: greycell]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, width: 41%]1957[/TD]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, align: center]66 and 6 months[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, width: 41%]1958[/TD]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, align: center]66 and 8 months[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: greycell]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, width: 41%]1959[/TD]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, align: center]66 and 10 months[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, width: 41%]1960 and later[/TD]

[TD=class: grayborder-td, align: center]67[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

0 Votes

I have got to chuckle over this. I went to nursing school when I was 53, finished in record time, and was hired immediately. I'm currently in my 60's and work 12 hour night shifts. My managers tell me that I am an excellent critical care nurse and they wish there were more like me; please don't even think about retiring! I agree. I love my job, my patients, and the ever changing scene in critical care. It stretches my mind. I also enjoy mentoring new nurses and helping them find their flow. I will work until I fall over or my best friend tells me it's time to throw in the towel.

0 Votes
Specializes in PCCN.

I think this is pretty sad. Do any of you really think that someone would want to nurse into their 70's?

They are being forced to. They stay because they have a job. If they quit, no- one is going to hire them in any capacity of any kind. Not even Burger King.

And if a person doesn't qualify for benefits yet, what are they supposed to do?

By the time my age group comes to retirement , the age will be upped to 70. And if I continue under the stress I ( or any of my co-workers) are at, we won't have to worry about retiring/living til 70 .

And I'm sure the government will be happy to not have to pay.

0 Votes
Specializes in hospice and home health.

I value the young, new grad nurses for their "cutting edge" education... they've just graduated and have the most current information, which, as a 62-year old nurse, is invaluable to me! I love to consult with the newer grads! At the other end of the spectrum, I value the knowledge and wisdom that the older nurse has gained through years of experience. One thing that has always disturbed me in the nursing profession, from the time I was a new grad through the present, is the tendency to "eat our own". Collaboration is a tool that is so valuable, yet is often overlooked; why this is, I don't know. Perhaps it is related to competition between nurses. But young or old, collaboration can help nurses and patients, alike! As far as disabilities, these can happen at any age. The ability to manage the physical demands of a job should be evaluated identically, across the board, without regard to age.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

As OP has not chosen to come back and visit his/her post, I am forced to conclude that the suspicion that he/she was researching a topic for a school paper is likely correct.

Certainly, many responders have given the OP plenty to write about....

Wonder how instructors these days feel about "research" derived from an online forum?

0 Votes
Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.
I think this is pretty sad. Do any of you really think that someone would want to nurse into their 70's?

They are being forced to. They stay because they have a job. If they quit, no- one is going to hire them in any capacity of any kind. Not even Burger King.

And if a person doesn't qualify for benefits yet, what are they supposed to do?

By the time my age group comes to retirement , the age will be upped to 70. And if I continue under the stress I ( or any of my co-workers) are at, we won't have to worry about retiring/living til 70 .

And I'm sure the government will be happy to not have to pay.

I think you are mistaken about a good many nurses. The ones I know who have remained active into their 70s (and I can name a dozen or so of my acquaintance) do so because they love their jobs, their patients and the mental stimulation of clinical situations. NONE of them work because they 'have to'.

I am 57 and have ZERO plans to retire. I just completed my MSN and yesterday passed the CCRN Pediatric exam for the first time. There are PLENTY of reasons to stay active and remain employed. A paycheck is only one of them.

0 Votes
Specializes in Care Coordination, MDS, med-surg, Peds.

>>

As a nurse in my med-50's with severe arthritis and using a cane to ambulate because of "not being able to walk well'...I betcha I can work rings around you any day!! I may be slower getting somewhere, but there ain't a thing I am unable to do when I get there and my 20+ years of nursing are sure gonna help me when I do arrive!!

That being said, I know there will come a day when I may not be able to do the job that I love to do and will have to go to a less ambulatory type position and I will do so when that time comes, until then.............

I have taught CPR as well for 5 years and, no, I don't crawl around on the floor, but I can CPR with the best of them...ask my ER triage/Code blue team!!!

Sorry, but this just pushed my buttons.. I hate it when sterotyping goes on.

0 Votes

Remember 30 years ago and there were questions about how old is too old for a hip replacement or a valve replacement? The answer was invariably, it depends on the patient. The same holds true for nursing retirement...it depends on the nurse! No, there should not be mandatory retirement requirements for nurses. Yes there should be supportive transition for nurses getting close to retirement. I am 60 and plan on working full time for 7 more years and part time after that as long as my body and mind are willing.

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I am 70 years of age. On the 12 December 2012 I received my Bachelor of Nursing degree from QUT here is Australia. I intend to take up full-time nursing and will retire when I reach somewhere between 85 and 95 years of age. At seventy I consider myself fit, strong and intelligent. People should get away from the false idea that people loose intellectual capability as they get older. Modern day research has demonstrated that as we age our brains still generate new neurons. It has been demonstrated that older people are slower at learning.However, it has also been demonstrate that older people have an elevated retention rate. The best nurses are those with maturity as their lives are rich in experience.

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Yes, I know several people, including myself, that love their jobs! Saying that 70 year old's are not hiring material is just BS...Please do not put us in our graves before we are ready.

60 and loving it!

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That said, people should recognize their own limitations.

I agree. For myself at least. If I can't do the job, I hope I don't have to do the job. That's why I'm looking to get out of nursing at the bedside, as much as I actually love what I do. (Most days, some days I'm ready to escape asap.)

But...

We have to work around our coworkers' limitations. Some because they're "old and slow." Some because they're too overweight to get around. (I'm overweight, but have a coworker that has weight issues that really limit her mobility.) Some are just dumb. Some because they're YOUNG AND PREGNANT and refuse to lift or take a patient with anything the least bit infectious.

Point being: If we're going to start mandating retirement, then let's mandate people not come to work when there's anything at all "wrong" with them, including pregnancy, since some of my coworkers have acted more disabled being pregnant than my old and slow or overweight coworkers or even my ACTUALLY DISABLED coworkers.

It's kind of the, "I didn't say anything when they came for my neighbors, so nobody to say anything when they come for me."

Watch what you wish for, you just might get it, and get it yourself too.

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