Age of Nurse = Level of Experience? Or Not?? The survey says...
One might assume that the age of a nurse reflects the number of years of nursing experience. However, looking back over the past 2 decades we have seen that this would be an incorrect assumption.
It is interesting to see the demographics of nursing changing, including average age, gender, ethnicity etc., and there are several reasons for that. In looking at some of the results from the allnurses 2017 Interactive Salary Survey, we can see a change, but do the results leave us with more questions than answers???
The 2017 allnurses Salary Survey asked questions about nurse's age, years as a nurse, and years of experience. It is interesting to compare the current data provided by more than 18,000 respondents to data from the past. Looking back in time, we are able to see from a study conducted in 1980 that 25% of registered nurses were over 50 years old. By 2000 33% were over age 50, and in 2007 the numbers rose to 41% of RNs were over 50 years of age. In the allnurses 2017 interactive study, results show that 30% of nurse respondents are over 50 years old. Why the drop? Are aging Baby Boomers leaving the workforce? Are nurses retiring early? Are they leaving the nursing workforce for other careers? Leaving to care for aging parents?
Now, let's look at the opposite end of the spectrum. In 1980 25% of nurses were under age 25, but by 2007 that number drastically dropped to only 8% under 30 years old. Our 2017 survey shows that approximately 16% or our respondents were under the age of 30 with 4% under the age of 25. This presents an interesting question? In 2007 there are the least number of nurses under 30 and the greatest number over 50. The largest percentage, 54%, of respondents in the 2017 allnurses survey fall in the 30 - 50 age range. Does the shift have to do with age entering into nursing as a career? In other words, were there more nurses choosing nursing as a second career or career change? What factors may be playing into the drop in nurses entering nursing under the age of 30?
Part of the equation seems to be the age of nurses when they graduate nursing school as their INITIAL education. We have some statistics showing that in 1985 the average age of the registered nursing school graduate was 24 years old. By 2004 that number jumps to 31 years old.
Additionally, many students obtaining an RN license have initially earned a different academic degree before deciding to enter the nursing field. During the years from 2000 to 2008, the percentage of RN candidates having earned previous degrees rose from 13.3 percent to 21.7 percent. The increase in the number of second-career students entering the nursing profession would help account for the increase in age of nurses with fewer years' experience.
When we compare the years of experience as a nurse from our allnurses 2015 study to the 2017 study we see age does not seem to correlate directly to number of years of experience. In the 2015 results, 62% of nurses had less than 10 years of experience as compared to the 2017 results showing the number has dropped to 56% having less than 10 years experience. As one would expect the numbers have increased in years of experience between 11-20 years (a 3 point increase), 21-35 (2 point increase), and 35+(up 1 point) since the 2015 survey.
There are so many variables to factor into these statistics, and it will be interesting to see if the entire 2017 allnurses survey answers or leaves more questions. As we can see, the average age of registered nurses is increasing yet the number of years as a nurse or years of experience does not reflect the age increase. When a younger friend of mine graduated nursing school with her BSN in 1993 their graduating class had a greater number of second career, or mothers that raised children prior to attending nursing school, than those of us coming straight out of high school into college.
What have you new grads been seeing? This year's survey did not ask how many of you entered nursing as a second career or how old you were when you graduated, but we would love to get your input on that, and any other variables you think contribute to the statistics.
The results of the 2017 allnurses Salary Survey will be posted soon.
