does age REALLY matter?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

O.k. I don't want to offend ANYONE out there, I just want to know what are the opinions of different people and maybe not feel so bad for thinking this way. I'm currently attending an ADN program and I'm so happy that I was accepted to nursing school. HOWEVER, I have to say, It really gets me thinking when I see the OLDER crowd, and what I mean with that is people who are OVER 50, who get into nursing school. Now, I have NOTHING against ACCOMPLISHING a life-long dream! I'm all for that, but... REALLY if you're over 50 years old, it takes 2 years to become an RN. How much longer can you work and before you retire?

And so my question is, do you think that person's spot would have been better off to a younger person who could aleast work MORE than 15 years in nursing before it's like, "oh, I can't no longer catch up with all the action?" I mean, we are in a nursing shortage, and we have enough nurses retiring as it is...to now have new nurses that won't really last that long in the field.

You can start biting my head off now!

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
I don't know about all of yall but I'm done with this subject! Thanks for the comments! :rolleyes:

I think we are done as well. What else is there to say? LOL

I'm glad you took it well. If you'd like us to close the thread, let us know.

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Specializes in ICU.

I am glad you brought this topic up. There were few really young nurses in my class, most were starting second careers, or through raising kids. The older people tended to be very committed to finishing, and if you have had a lot of jobs in your life which did not satisfy you personally or financially, then you are more apt to stick with nursing from start to finish. The other part of this is, if you are older, then you are more likely to have had some hospital stays yourself, or lost a loved one, or a child, and those kinds of experiences help to make you more compassionate when you see other people going through the same things. I know some wonderful young nurses, but I also come in contact with older nurses who are just starting out. These days, with the economy the way it is, and with my health as good as it is, I probably will work as long as I can, and I think many others feel the same way. Besides, I love it.:heartbeat

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I really can't believe you have the cahones to say something so hurtful, spiteful, and as I can tell full of jealousy. You are so worried about not getting that position cuz some older person came in that has the knowledge and wisdom you do not? Shame on you, you are not in the nursing field to care for the sick, you are there for the money. That is NOT the kind of person I would want in charge or, caring for me or any of my loved ones. I am 44 and graduate in December from nursing school, I worked long and hard to earn this degree, I put off school to raise a child, and you teeny boppers think you deserve everything, I have news for you, you have to earn it with more than just passing the boards.

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This one really made me think before I decided to comment....

I would imagine that the original poster is in her early 20s and more interested in the bar scene and possible marriageable opportunities than she will be in nursing. Well, guess what - I am one of those over 50s who entered nursing school and helped to bend the grading curve!! I spent my 50th birthday in clinical in my first semester of a ADN program. I did not graduate with top honors, nor at the bottom of my class. However, I was the one who put in a lot of hours in the lab practicing for my tests and studying before exams. I really did not see a lot of 20 somethings there. I guess that it is because they are so smart that they need not practice or study out in the open.

Actually, the 20 somethings I saw were few and far between. Most of the class was in their 30s - Mothers and some singles.

The average amount of time a nursing graduate works as a nurse nationwide, is only 5 years. I assume that they have found other occupations where their education aids them, as in working for pharmacutical companies, or insurance companies. But, it is only 5 years!!! So, for the nurses you see in the hospital that have been there for 15-20 years 3 or 4 have left the business. Yes, nursing and medicine is a business.

I started nursing school just out of high school, but was not ready for it and quit in my first semester. I got married, raised my family and worked for an insurance company all that time. Now, my children are grown, and I decided to return to school and get my nursing degree. I realized that I was going to school to get a degree that will get me a job that pays less than I was making, but it was what I wanted, so I went for it. I graduated last year and am working as a Critical Care Nurse at a Heart Hospital. I am very proud of what I do, and what I have done to get there.

I plan on working as long as I am able.

It is postings like yours that continues the idea that "nurses eat their young". Grow up!!!

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Advanced age???? I don't consider 50's advanced age...

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Specializes in Ltc, Hospice, Spinal Cord.

I am one of those late starters you refer to. Life is unpredictable and it's impossible to plan it from beginning to end. I don't know too many people to begin a career at 20 and stay with it. They either change careers down the road or take time to raise a family... which is what I did. Now that my children are old enough to be on their own I've decided to contribute to society by becoming a nurse.

My age affords me many many benefits. I have insights and wisdom that younger nurses have yet to develop. I have patience and resolve, and I'm not easily shaken. When a person has been through a lifetime of experience they are more prepared for whatever comes their way.

I am in my last semester of nursing school and I have spent a great deal of the past 4 years helping my younger classmates overcome their fears and insecurities. They tend to get easily intimidated and unnerved because of their level of maturity. Although they are intelligent and caring they have a lot to learn and experience before they can become great nurses. Me and my fellow aged cohorts, on the other hand, will be hitting the ground running!!

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After reading the lastest posts, I wanted to say, I'm already raising a family, I have 3 kids, my first one I was 17 years old. And b/c of that wonderful "old" nurse is why I decided I wanted to be a Nurse. Been married for 9 years now and have been in school full-time for the past 2 years and still holding a full-time job. I just quit b/c I'm starting nursing school. I was in a ADN nursing program before when I was 19, but didn't pass b/c I wasn't prepared for the demand of nursing school. I was pregnant with my 2nd child, working, school, etc.

I don't think I'll stop working in nursing after 10 years, b/c I've been working too damn hard for the past 5 years to get into it now, it's not just a career for me it's a way of living and may explain why I'm so passionate about it and ask questions like this.

And I do appreciate all your comments about how I think, and you all may be right it is my age that limits me to think that 50 is not a dead-end, but only time will give me that gift of understanding.

It's just sad to see how some of you have to be degrading when expressing yourself, when I haven't b/c no matter what my mother always taught me to be polite!

So, you have been married since you were 16, started nursing school before 19 and didn't pass the first time around because you were not prepared for the demand of nursing school.

Sounds to me like you are experiencing maturity.

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Couldn't have said it better myself!!

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You may be right, but to ask such an insulting question to people who are older is hurtful, not polite. i believe you will be successful in what you do, my apologies for being cynical towards you, keep going you will be ok.

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I will graduate in 2011 at age 50 with a Bachelors in Nursing. Am I wasting space? I challenge anybody to get better grades and take my spot, because fortunately that was how I was selected. (Our class has 96 seats with over 450 applicants.)

My Great Grandmother lived to be 107 and was living independently. She told me that she thought she'd only live to be 80 and was surprised at that attitude when she turned 100 (she could have made 20 more years of plans.)

I plan on working until I am at least 70, possibly longer. I have raised four sons and feel it is still my responsibility to set the best example of what I can be. For me that would include a college degree. My kids love to say, "My Mom goes to college." I love to show them it is important to march to your own drum.

I think the poster is missing the beat.

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Discrimination is the same whether it is sex, religion or age!!!

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

you know i'm pretty disgusted at some of the comments made on this thread. this is a classic example of nurses eating their young. yeah the op should have written her question maybe a little better but she really wanted an answer to her question. nurses should be setting a better example than this. nursing students come in all shapes and sizes, some have less life experience and maturity than others. this does not given anyone the right to gang up on them and make equally stupid and immature comments in return.

pardon me, but i've always thought that the expression "nurses eat their young" referred to some experienced nurses picking on some poor newbie who didn't deserve it for no good reason. this person came on a public board and asked a "question" in an offensive manner -- either they're trying to start a controversy (in which case they've succeeded) or they're clueless and need to learn.

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